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Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel 2006

January 20, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

I like Ridge a lot – but generally less so for what they are famous for. I prefer their chards and cabs over their zins, but since I was in California with access to some of their more obscure bottlings, I thought I’d give zin another chance. I also heard good things about Paso Robles zins….

The nose was a dusty, brambly red fruit. The palate was pepper, high in acid, and with butterscotch berries. Smooth easy drinking with some nice depth that zin lovers will probably enjoy. However, this still doesn’t do it for me as anything special – at least it is restrained and thoughtful.

Very Good
$30 at Andronico’s
Filed Under: $20-$30, Californian Wine, Very Good, Zinfandel

Turley Contra Costa County Duarte Zinfandel 2005

December 13, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

Despite being a cult winery (or perhaps because of this) Turley seems to get a bad rap from some. I have heard them decried as overly alcoholic unsubtle wines. With this being my second experience with Turley, I can’t say that I’m sure where these criticisms are coming from. In my limited experience, Turley zins have an amazing clarity of fruit that is actually incredibly uncommon in the world of zinfandel – indeed showing the potential of this grape.

The nose held raspberry, cherry, strawberry and spice, which opened into a palate of juicy rich blackberry and cherry fruit that was ripe and wonderful. The wine was pretty much replete with tons of authentic berry juice complimented by caramel, spice, licorice and vanilla brought by the well used oak. Simply put, this is not just very tasty wine, but has a purity and clarity of fruit that is rarely seen. Even if you think you don’t like zin, you owe yourself a taste of Turley. In my opinion, these guys make nearly perfect Zin.

Excellent
$60 at Marquis
Filed Under: $60+, Californian Wine, Excellent, Zinfandel

Neyers ‘High Valley Vineyards’ Zinfandel 2005

September 28, 2008 By Shea 2 Comments

I find Zin to be a spotty grape. It can be standard berry forwardness with little complexity, or it can be full, deep, and filled with flavour. Generally I seem to prefer the Napa zins over those from Sonoma – but I have yet to try many from other areas of California (not to mention I have an old vine Sinean Washington zin to give a whirl at some point). What I like is the refinement in the Napa zins. I won’t deny that Sonoma has a little more of a rebelious spirit with their zins. Yet I prefer the Napa refinement to the Sonoma wildness. Sometimes Napa Zins can enter into the realm of the over-manipulated. Yet, if you choose wisely, this can be avoided.

With that preamble out of the way, this particular wine had a big nose of red berry, with a wiff of alcohol. This dissipated on the palate, which introduced Indian spice, candied orange rind (reminds of Christmas), sweet plum and raisin. I also detected some pepper. This was very nicely balanced for a Zin, and I found this simple and yet very pleasant and robust. Also, if you happen to be having Lamb and tomato sauce – this is the perfect pairing.

Excellent
$40 at Marquis
Filed Under: $40-$60, Californian Wine, Excellent, Zinfandel

The Prisoner 2006

June 9, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

The famous Napa Zin-based blend finally makes an appearance. I have been meaning to try this wine ever since I first sipped it at Napa’s Bounty Hunter wine store over a year ago. And, I am pleased to report that this new vintage is even better than the last.

Peppery blackberry jam and plum filled the nose and palate. This was integrated and balanced, despite a reasonably high ABV. The flavours are intense and excellently structured against each other, with a long finish and smooth tannins.
$50 at BCLDB
Excellent
Filed Under: $40-$60, Californian Wine, Excellent, Zinfandel
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