2016 Seghesio Family Vineyards Defiant Sonoma County Red Wine 750 ml

Rich, ripe, bursting with warm red fruit, and begging to be popped open the moment you get it home, the 92-point 2016 Seghesio Defiant is a shining California red blend from one of California’s true originals. Seghesio has unmatched history in Sonoma County and access to the best Zin and Cabernet in the region, and they stand atop the slew of wineries aiming to make blends like this one.

Seghesio’s old-vine Zins are superstars due to their concentration, intensity, and silky-smooth mouthfeel, and this red has all that jumping out of the glass: tons of spicy black plum, blackberry and dark cherry, accented with notes of cracked pepper, chocolate, and vanilla bean. With its silky tannins and smooth velvety finish, this is an open-now, think-of-a-reason-later crowd-pleaser. 

Seghesio stands apart because of the stellar estate they’ve built over a century-plus in Sonoma County: the River Road, Lone Oak, and sprawling Home Ranch Vineyards in Alexander Valley, Montafi and Keyhole in Russian River, Chen’s in Dry Creek Valley—the list goes on, and it means Seghesio has a direct line to first-class Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Alicante Bouschet. And since the wine gets its brooding depth and sturdy backbone from one-third Cabernet Sauvignon, it certainly doesn’t hurt that Seghesio can source from their neighbors in Alexander Valley, Sonoma County’s ground zero for the King of Grapes.

Defiant is named as an homage to the spirit of the Seghesio family (and based on a toast to founding matriarch Angela Seghesio), which Wine Spectator says “embodies the rise of Sonoma’s wine industry.” Their origin story is straight out of American folklore: Edoardo Seghesio left Piedmont, Italy in 1886 and settled in the Italian Swiss Colony nestled in Sonoma County. In 1893 he wed Angela Vasconi, the niece of the Colony’s manager. The couple purchased 56 untouched acres in northern Alexander Valley two years later, and the family has methodically expanded their holdings to include some of the most extraordinary Zinfandel parcels in Sonoma County. 

Seghesio survived Prohibition, and then set the bar for Zinfandel in California, and Defiant is a perfect example of how they’re thriving today. Rich, ripe, smooth, and spiced from aging in French and American oak, this is the perfect winter warmer red wine, and one that will segue beautifully to barbecue season.