Browse Tag

zinfandel

Piedmonts

[vineyard]Montevina 2005 Zinfandel (Sierra Foothills) – 13.5%. Sort of a sangiovese-esque take on zin, with spotlit raspberry/strawberry fruit geysering forth on a crest of acidity. This is neither as brambly nor as spirited (pun intended) as zins from this area usually are. Juicy, tasty, fun, and under $20. Not many of those left, at least among zins worth drinking. (3/09)

Tulocay, three to go

[tree]Tulocay 1999 Zinfandel (Amador County) – 15%. And: wow. I remember drinking zin like this. Ridge used to make it, and then we’d let it age, and much later on it would taste like this. Rolling tumblers of soft red fruit, spice (mostly of the baking genre, though there are various hues of pepper as well), earth, cinnamon cap mushrooms, and that delicious sensation of fruit-weight so crucial to zin, but without the all-too-common burn of Scotch on the finish. Long. I’d call this at very early maturity, but with emphasis on the mature aspect. More, please. (3/09)

Houndglove

Foxglove 2007 Zinfandel (Paso Robles) – 15% petite sirah, 14.6% alcohol. Big boysenberry fruit, with a nicely bitter espresso edge. A little short aromatically, but eminently drinkable. (9/08)

The powerlessness of 3

Ridge 2007 “Three Valleys” (Sonoma County) – 76% zinfandel, 8% petite sirah, 7% syrah, 6% grenache, 3% carignane. 14.3% alcohol. Monotone berries, ranging from deep red to deeper black, dusted with a bit of black pepper but otherwise fairly anonymous. A heavy wine…not hot, but ponderous and lifeless. Boring. (1/09)

When it was 2006, it was a zinfandel year

Easton 2006 Zinfandel (Amador County) – Upon first opening, a huge rush of bubbles and massive volatility seems to indicate an in-bottle refermentation. I put it aside and open something else. Two days later, it’s still a little prickly. A full week later, at room temperature – something I would not generally recommend – it has come into full form, shedding some of the wood along with the volatiles and knitting itself into a far more cohesive and more “winy” wine, full of dark, wild berries and that pine bark-edged touch of pruniness, twisted and sauvage, that so often seems to mark the region. I’m not sure what was going on at first opening, though. (1/09)

The Young’s & the restless

[vineyard]Young’s 2000 Zinfandel (Shenandoah Valley) – 13.8%. Light and coconutty. The wild-vine intensity, often expressed as something almost piney, of the region is nowhere to be found, except in a vague suggestion of fresh spring bush growth. Fresh, friendly strawberry (seeds intact) comprises the entirety of the fruit. I’m not sure aging did anything for this wine. In fact, I’m convinced holding on to it was a mistake, as it was much better, richer, and more textured in its youth. (1/09)

Riding the Bench

[vat]Ridge 2006 Zinfandel East Bench (Dry Creek Valley) – 14.9%. Pure essence of Dry Creek – just like the text on the label promises – and quite wonderfully restrained in its post-harvest packaging. Wild, vine-y berries, twisted and gnarled, swirl on the palate. There’s a very light bit of coconut, but this wine is mostly about its fruit, which is concentrated but not overly intense. There’s light but balanced structure for medium-term ageability. Delicious. (12/08)

Martin

Marietta 2005 Zinfandel (Sonoma County) – 15.3%. Stylistically and varietally anonymous, but I don’t think this wine has aspirations to anything else. A bit heavy and alcohol-laden, and though the latter isn’t expressed as heat so much as it is sheer palate-deadening weight, I’ve certainly tasted brawnier and more whiskey-like wines. There’s a good deal of fruit, of both small- and large-berry varieties, but they too are rather gravity-stricken. Maybe some age might help, but I’m not convinced it has the structure to support it. (12/08)

Easton down, Easton down the road

Easton 2006 Zinfandel (Amador County) – 14.5%. Suave zinfandel, carrying its weight with ease, and dressing up its usual tangled-vine Amador gnarliness in a fine, tailored suit…which it wears well. Those for whom differential character in zins is the primary goal will be slightly disappointed in this wine, but it’s very hard to criticize it from any other perspective, as it could hardly be more sluggable. (10/08)

Dynasty

Coturri 2001 Zinfandel Forsythe (Napa Valley) – 15.9%. This tastes very much like the Coturri grenache, which just can’t be good. It’s an overwhelming explosion of slutty fruit given a massive sheen of oak; not the flavor, but the polish, which (for me) is rarely a positive for zinfandel. The acidity is vibrant, and the wine is – despite the temple-throbbing alcohol, which is immediately noticeable – quite chuggable, but there’s just nothing interesting in this bottle. Except, perhaps, the next morning’s hangover. (10/08)