Todays winea gorgeous, small-production rarity culled from vines as old as 140 yearswas not searching for publicity, or even necessarily sales. Our search began after a BYO dinner where this Sonoma County red blew us away with its full-bodied richness, silky tannins, and fresh, vibrant aromas of blackberries and baking spice. But the acquaintance who brought it couldnt even remember how it had ended up in his cellar.

We Googled the name of the producerno luck. We quizzed our most trusted Alexander Valley sources and came up empty-handed. We fruitlessly trawled through supplier lists, searching for a match on the estate name.

Our fact-checker, a tenacious researcher, finally got a hit off some online legal paperwork. All he had found was an addressbut that was enough. Plugging it into a GPS led us to a patch of land believed to be the third-oldest documented vineyard in Alexander Valley, with original plantings dating to the 1880s.

Just as remarkable was the tiny farming operation attached to the plot, which also felt right out of the late 19th century. Franklin Son Pre is run by a single family of third-generation growers descended from French-Alsatian ancestors, working a single plot of land, just as many immigrants did when they first settled in California over a century ago.

Yields off these ancient vines are TINYso tiny, in fact, that in many vintages the total production gets split between family members, friends, and a few local clients. Most of those lucky enough to try this wine have shook hands with the vintnersthe same hands that plowed the soil, pruned the vines, and dragged hoses in the cellar.

Were one of the firstif not THE firstto bring this incredible Zinfandel to a wider audience. Theres not much to go around, but what we do have will shock you with what you get for the $24 price. Aged ten months in French oak, this is a gorgeous statement-wine from a historic plot of land, reflecting the superb balance and fruit-forward concentration of the vintage.

Soils supercharged by generous rains, coupled with a long, cool growing season, resulted in a larger crop for Franklin Son Pre, which is how we were able to walk away with an allocation. We cant promise youll see the same deal again, so snap up this under-$25 ancient-vine rarity today before its gone.