Marietta Cellars
Román Zinfandel 2023
North Coast
Named after cellarmaster Román Cisneros who has worked at Marietta for over 32 years, this Estate Zinfandel is from the Angeli estate vineyard in Alexander Valley and the McDowell Valley estate vineyard. One of the grape varieties that Marietta is famous for, this wine captures the bright, juicy character of Zinfandel, and hearkens to an era before dark, thick and oaky styles of Zinfandel took hold. The Virgin of Guadalupe on the label is a nod to Román’s dedication, selflessness, and sacrifice, both for the Bilbro family and his own. It is also a nod to the Mexican-American heritage of Román and many of Marietta’s crew members.
VINEYARD
This wine comes from Angeli Estate in Alexander Valley and McDowell Valley Estate. Angeli’s 35-acre vineyard, planted since the 1880s, features Zinfandel on gravel swales. Foggy mornings, hot afternoons, and cool nights create perfect growing conditions. McDowell Valley’s mountain-surrounded “cold sink” preserves acidity and freshness.
WINEMAKING
Fermented in stainless steel tanks and barrel aged in neutral French oak barrels for 20 months before bottling.
VINTAGE
The 2023 growing season included an incredibly wet winter and spring. Late budbreak and abundant soil moisture resulted in delayed but robust canopies with moderate fruit set. Coupled with a cooler than typical summer and a slow start to veraison, the ripening window was among the latest we have ever seen. The long slow pace of maturation and the cool weather combined to yield dark, intense wines with great acidity and restrained alcohol levels. Delicious, saturated, and age-worthy.
TASTING NOTE
Román Zinfandel is bright, juicy, and complex with vibrant stone fruit and spice. Not your typical heavy, dense Zin, this has a light touch that belies the complexity within.
FOOD PAIRING
Spicy sausage, wood-fired pizza
Color
Red
Blend %
93% Zinfandel, 5% Barbera, 2% Petite Sirah
Appellation
North Coast
Alcohol
14.9%
Suggested Retail Price
$30
Reviews
Jeb Dunnuck - September 16, 2025 "Made with small amounts of Barbera, for an acid boost and savory spicy notes, and Petite Sirah, for tannic backbone and length, the 2023 Zinfandel Roman is named for a longstanding Marietta employee who has become part of the family. Fermented on the cooler side to gain focus and hold on to delicacy, it has an Old World soul in its austerity and reserve. Black olive, blackcurrant, and dustings of dried herb accent a medium-bodied core of layered concentration that finds its way to a long, elegant finish."
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Nadi Riesling
Cienega Valley, California
This Dry Riesling comes from a special vineyard in the Cienega Valley appellation inland of Monterey, California. These old, dry farmed, head pruned vines produce a small but concentrated crop. The second oldest Riesling in California, this block was planted in 1964.
Gibson Block Syrah
McDowell Valley, California
Made from the oldest Syrah vines in California, in the heart of the McDowell Valley AVA, this wine reflects the hidden property where it is grown - quiet, obscure and profound. This ancient, dry farmed, mixed block next to the original Gibson Homestead has been producing grapes for over a hundred years. Limited in production due to the unique grape source, this wine is built to enjoy with food.
Game Trail Cabernet Sauvignon
Yorkville Highlands, California
From a high elevation site in the Yorkville Highlands with coastal influence and large diurnal shifts, the Game Trail Cabernet offers an intense, fragrant, savory, and fresh style of Cabernet that speaks of site and demands to be paired with food. This area, with trails worn by mushroom hunters and wild game that travel through the woods, was a refuge for Chris Bilbro, who hunted here and searched for Chanterelles. The mushroom on the label is a tribute to this unique place and its significance.
Angeli Zinfandel
Alexander Valley, California
Marietta Cellars sits at the entrance to a small canyon off Alexander Valley. Known as Angeli Ranch after the family who originally settled there in 1886, the property’s vineyards connect gravel swales from the Russian River to terraced knolls invisible from the valley floor. The extremes of this site create a wine that is powerful but has surprising elegance and clarity.
Christo Red Blend
North Coast, California
Named and styled after Chris Bilbro, affectionately called "Christo" by his great-aunt Marietta, this Rhone varietal blend is gentle but powerful, pleasurable but deep, and refined while raw. An ode to Scot's father and founder of Marietta Cellars, this blend is largely Syrah from the McDowell estate, blended with Petite Sirah from the Angeli Estate and Grenache from the Yorkville Highlands Estate. The pig snout on the label is a reminder of how Chris Bilbro made wild boar sausage and carted his creations around the country to share with chefs and wine lovers alike as he sold Marietta wines.
Armé Cabernet Sauvignon
North Coast, California
Named after Armé, the husband of Marietta and great-great uncle of Owner/Winemaker Scot Bilbro, this Cabernet Sauvignon conveys a taut freshness and aromatic purity. Stylistically balanced between modern California and Old World, this wine is dense with fresh, dark fruit and tempered with a savory, earthy character. The dry fly on the label is a reference to Chris Bilbro's long family history of fishing with his great uncle Armé along the waterways that now adjoin the three estate vineyards.
