2022 Robert Biale Zinfandel Black Chicken
Regular price $52.98
The Black Chicken bottling is sourced primarily from Biale's estate vineyards in the Oak Knoll district. Round, plush, a gentle grip of perfectly ripe tannins, a spectrum of red and dark fruits - raspberries, cherries, blackberries, watermelon, bright vivid aromas, fine-grained texture, star anise, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, black and white pepper, cocoa, subtle nuanced oak. Age worthy, compelling, decadent: a beautifully proportioned Napa Valley Zinfandel. If cellared well, this wine will continue to improve for the next 3-5 years.
The history of Robert Biale Vineyards' Black Chicken Zinfandel is quite fascinating. It dates back to the 1940s when Aldo Biale and his mother, Christina, ran a small farm and vineyard in Napa Valley. To supplement their income, Aldo began making wine from their Zinfandel grapes and secretly sold it to friends and neighbors. To avoid suspicion, they used the code name "Black Chicken" for the wine, as their farm was known for its white leghorn chickens.
In 1999, Robert Biale decided to honor this family tradition by officially launching the Black Chicken Zinfandel, using grapes from the same vineyards behind Aldo's boyhood home. Today, the wine is sourced from the estate vineyards in the Oak Knoll District and is considered a benchmark for Napa Valley Zinfandel. It's a story of ingenuity, resilience, and a deep connection to the land and family heritage.
Shipping Policy
- Unless your delivery address is on the West Coast, we strongly discourage you from selecting “Ground Service” as your shipping method. During the winter and summer months, weather conditions (temperature) and longer delivery times can often result in the spoilage of your order. It doesn’t make sense to invest in fine wines and then take the chance of ruining them due environmental factors during transit (faster and safer delivery generally isn’t much more expensive). We don’t make an additional profit on accelerated delivery, but we frequently recommend faster shipping options to our customers outside the West Coast.
- You must be 21 years of age to order or receive alcoholic beverages. Any shipments containing alcoholic beverages are sent with an “Adult Signature Required” sticker, and the common carrier that delivers our merchandise is required to ask and check for identification upon delivery. This means that an adult will have to be present at the time of delivery. Please consider shipping to an office address.
- During periods of extreme weather, we attempt to ship wines at the beginning of each week in order to get shipments to you before the weekend. This is because we have no control over the temperature conditions at our freight carriers’ warehouses. The result may be that your shipment doesn’t go out the day that you place an order.
- We ship by Fedex or Fedex Ground. Our prices include packaging materials. Insurance may be available for an additional charge.
- Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. will arrange for shipment on behalf of the buyer, to an address specified by the buyer, provided that Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. in its sole judgment believes that such shipment will not subject Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. to the risk of any sort of legal action or other harm. If a buyer lives in a state where the direct shipment of wine by Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. violates the law, we suggest that the buyer provide an alternative address in another state or have their wine shipped to a third-party storage facility in a direct shipping-friendly state.
- Various states impose limitations on the quantity of alcoholic beverages that may be purchased and brought into their jurisdiction by a purchaser from another state without requiring the purchaser, a seller or shipper to possess certain licenses or permits. Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. does not, as a condition of sale, assume any obligation nor bear any responsibility whatsoever for applying or obtaining any permits or licenses. Therefore, we recommend that you investigate the possibility of such limitations, and determine the manner in which alcoholic beverages shall be brought into your state from California, so as to comply with all of your state’s requirements.
- Wine shipping rules in the United States are controlled by the state you live in. We do not ship wine to the following states at this time:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Delaware
Kansas - Kentucky
Louisiana - Maine
Maryland - Massachusetts
Michigan - Mississippi
Montana - Nevada
New York - North Dakota
Oklahoma - Pennsylvania
Rhode Island - South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
List Updated 2/1/2023
Please inquire about international shipping.
Vintage Wine Merchants
377 Santana Row, Suite 1135
San Jose, CA 95128
408-260-1115
