St. Amant Winery "Bootleg Society Speakeasy Red" Red Blend 2022
St. Amant Winery "Bootleg Society Speakeasy Red" Red Blend 2022
Lodi, Sierra Foothills, California
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Tasting Notes
The 2022 Bootleg Speakeasy Red is a masterclass in Lodi’s "bold and beautiful" style. On the nose, it opens with a seductive bouquet of baking spices and toasted oak, quickly giving way to rich, concentrated aromas of cooked plum and wild huckleberry preserves.
The palate is luxuriously layered, lead by juicy blackberry, ripe cherry, and a distinct raspberry brightness. What sets this vintage apart is a nostalgic, savory-sweet note of soaked fruit pie crust laced with aromatic vanilla bean. The texture is classic St. Amant—big, luscious, and exceptionally smooth—with velvety tannins that make it dangerously easy to drink. It’s a full-bodied powerhouse that feels like a secret worth keeping. -
Story
St. Amant Winery is a quintessential Lodi underdog story that began with a high-stakes gamble. Founded in 1979 by Tim and Barbara Spencer, the winery’s birth is the stuff of California legend: in 1981, after a local producer went bankrupt without paying for their grapes, Tim took matters into his own hands. Under the cover of night, he "bootlegged" his own fermenting wine out of the cellar before the creditors could seize it. That defiant act launched the St. Amant label and set the tone for decades of unconventional winemaking.
Though they began in the Sierra Foothills of Amador County, the Spencers eventually found their soul in the sandy soils of Lodi. Today, the winery is tucked away in an unpretentious industrial warehouse—a former post-Prohibition cooperative—on Lodi’s east side. Now led by Barbara and her son, winemaker Stuart Spencer, St. Amant has become a champion of "forgotten" grapes and historic vineyards. They are renowned for their work with Portuguese varietals and 100-year-old Zinfandel vines, proving that world-class wine doesn’t need a fancy tasting room—it just needs great dirt and a little bit of a rebel spirit.
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Somm Notes
If you want to understand the soul of St. Amant, you have to look at the label of the Bootleg Speakeasy Red. This wine is a liquid tribute to the winery’s founding in 1981, when founder Tim Spencer famously "bootlegged" his own fermenting wine out of a bankrupt facility in the middle of the night to save his harvest. That spirit of defiance lives on in this blend.
Unlike most California reds that are bound by varietal percentages or "market-proven" formulas, the Speakeasy is Stuart Spencer’s "no-rules" barrel project. Every year, he goes through the cellar and selects the most expressive barrels to create a blend that is simply delicious, regardless of tradition. The 2022 vintage is built on a powerhouse foundation of Old-Vine Zinfandel from the legendary Marian’s Vineyard (planted in 1901!), which provides that rich, jammy core. But the secret is the "bootleg" addition—often a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, and Barbera—that adds the "soaked pie crust" texture and structural backbone.
Somm Pairing Tip: This is the ultimate "crowd-pleaser" bottle because it balances high-intensity fruit with a smooth, velvety finish. Because of that vanilla bean and huckleberry profile, I love pairing this with smoky, charred flavors that can stand up to its weight.
The Perfect Match: Slow-smoked beef brisket with a slightly sweet bourbon BBQ sauce.
The Unexpected Match: Aged Gouda or sharp white cheddar—the saltiness of the cheese makes the "fruit pie" notes in the wine absolutely pop.
The Weeknight Staple: A classic bacon cheeseburger with caramelized onions. -
Region
Lodi, often called the "Zinfandel Capital of the World," is a California viticultural treasure defined by its unique geographical "gap." Situated directly east of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the region benefits from a cooling phenomenon known as the "Delta Breeze." As heat rises in the valley, it pulls fresh marine air from the San Francisco Bay, causing dramatic diurnal temperature shifts. This allows grapes to reach peak sugar ripeness during the day while maintaining the essential acidity and structural balance that prevents "flabby" wines.
The second half of Lodi’s magic lies beneath the surface. The Mokelumne River AVA, the heart of the region, is characterized by its signature Tokay Fine Sandy Loam. These are deep, well-draining, granitic soils deposited over millennia by the Sierra Nevada mountain runoff. Because these sandy soils are naturally resistant to phylloxera, Lodi is home to some of the world’s most prized own-rooted, old-vine Zinfandel. Beyond Zinfandel, the Mediterranean climate and diverse soil types allow a wide range of varieties to thrive—from heritage Carignane and Alicante Bouschet to bold Cabernet Sauvignon and even traditional Portuguese varieties like Touriga Nacional. The result is a region capable of producing wines with incredible concentration, depth, and a sense of history in every glass.