Winemaker Interview Series – Limerick Lane – Chris Pittenger – January 2026

On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, we interviewed Chris Pittenger once again. Chris is the winemaker at Limerick Lane. This year we covered eight very impressive 2023-vintage Zinfandels. We also covered four other wines from Limerick Lane in other tastings. In this post, you can learn what is new with Chris and Limerick Lane and read our reviews of all of these terrific wines.

Before we get to the wine reviews, I thought I would share a few new tidbits we learned during the tasting with Chris.

• This is Chris’ 25^th harvest!
• 2023 Vintage – Latest vintage since 2011!
  • Long and even keel vintage with moderate temperatures.
  • Even ripening.
  • Able to pick selectively when the blocks are ready.
  • 2023 was the first time they picked Monte Rosso in September. (Usually late August)
  • It did test the patience of winemakers, but in the end, it was spectacular.
• 2024 Vintage – Back to the mean in terms of pick dates.
  • Very pure vintage – Fruit driven and expressive.
  • Very excited about the Rhone varietals.
• Banfield Vineyard is a historical site. Vines were planted in the 1880’s.
• Squatter’s Hill – Younger vines planted by Jake.
  • They now lease and farm the vineyard themselves.
• They tend to use neutral to 1 year old barrels.
  • They do not use American oak.
• Marquis uses the best barrels from the vintage in the blend. In 2023, it consisted of 14 barrels.
  • 1 From Banfield Vineyard.
  • 2 from Monte Rosso Vineyard.
  • 2 from Maffei Vineyard.
  • 11 from Limerick Lane “Estate” Vineyards.

Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Limerick Lane that we covered. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Limerick Lane website.

1. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “Maffei Vineyard” (RRV) $64 (KWGTP 94)
2. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “Banfield Vineyard” (RRV) $64 (KWGTP 94)
3. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “Monte Rosso Vineyard” (Moon Mountain) $72 (KWGTP 93.5)
4. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “Squatter’s Hill” (RRV) $56 (KWGTP 93)
5. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “Ricci Block” (RRV) $68 (KWGTP 94)
6. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “1910 Block” (RRV) $68 (KWGTP 96)
7. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “Rocky Knoll” (RRV) $68 (KWGTP 94)
8. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “Marquis” (Sonoma County) $72 (KWGTP 95)

Additional Wine Covered After Our Tasting With Chris

9. Limerick Lane 2023 Zinfandel “Russian River” $46 (KWGTP 93)
10. Limerick Lane 2023 Grenache “Russian River Valley” $46 (KWGTP 91)
11. Limerick Lane 2023 Syrah “Russian River Valley” $46 (KWGTP 94)
12. Limerick Lane 2023 Red Blend “Rocks & Fog” $56 (KWGTP 93)

You can find reviews of past and future Limerick Lane wines that we cover on the Limerick Lane KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken