The place for all things wine, focused on serious wine discussions.

WTN: Some Zins...(long/boring)

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

TomHill

Rank

Here From the Very Start

Posts

7856

Joined

Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:01 pm

WTN: Some Zins...(long/boring)

by TomHill » Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:54 pm

We tasted last night (7/9/14) some Zinfandels:
1. Teira Zin DryCreekVlly/AlexndrVlly/RRV/SonomaCnty (13.9%; www.TeiraWines.com) 2011: Med.color; slight dusty/earthy
bright raspberry/DCV/Zin/Zinberry/spicy light Am.oak pleasant nose; faorly tart bit lean/hard bright raspberry/
Zinberry/DCV Zin light Am.oak flavor w/ light/bitey tannins; med.long bright Zinberry/raspberry/DCV Zin/spicy
light oak finish w/ light/bitey tannins; a pleasant enough bright DCV Zin at a good price, but just that.
$14.38 (PrimaIlC)
______________________
2. Ridge Zin HeartsDesire GeyservilleVnyd/SonomaCnty (Planted in 1990/WhittenRanch; Yield: 3.5 tons/acre; 14.3%;
42 brls; Bttld: 2/13; Drk: 12/12-12/17: EB) 2011
: Med.dark color; strong vanilla/Am.oak/DraperPerfume bit more
blackberry/Zin/very spicy attractive classic Ridge Zin nose; lightly tart strong vanilla/Am.oak strong blackberry/
Zin/very spicy bit dusty/earthy balanced flavor w/ light/graceful tannins; very long tart/tangy quite spicy/
blackberry/Zin slight dusty strong Am.oak/vanilla finish w/ light/gentle tannins; a pleasant typical Ridge ATP
Zin that's one (small) step above the EastBench. $32.00 (ATP)
______________________
3. DryCreekVnyd Zin HeritageVines SonomaCnty (VineAge: 20 yrs; 15% PS; 14.5%) 2012: Dark color; strong bright/spicy/
Zin/Zinberry/raspberry/blackberry light toasty/oak quite lovely/fragrant nose; fairly tart bright/raspberry/
Zinberry/blackberry quite spicy bit peppery light toasty/oak flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; long very spicy/
bright/Zinberry/raspberry/blackberry/bit peppery light toasty/oak finish w/ light/gentle tannins; quite spicy
and balanced; a classic DryCreekVlly Zin at a very good price. $nc (BS)/$20.00
______________________
4. DryCreekVnyd Zin OldVine DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (VineAge: 90+ yrs; 14.5%; 1-2 tons/acre; 23% PS) 2012: Dark
color; deeper blackberry/Zin/Zinberry/spicy/peppery some dusty/OV light toasty/smokey/oak some complex nose;
softer rather dusty/OV strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zinberry/peppery/very spicy light toasty/smokey/oak fairly
rich/lush flavor w/ some soft/round tannins; very long some dusty/OV ripe/blackberry/Zin/Zinberry/licorice/
DrPepper rich/lush light smokey/oak some complex finish w/ some soft/ripe tannins; almost like a DryCrekVlly
Pagani Zin w/ bit of a sauvage character; less oak & more fruit than previous OV Zins; lovely example of OV
Zin. $nc (BS)/$30.00
______________________
5. Americano PetiteSirah Calif (13.5%) DonAugust Sebastiani Jr/Napa 2011: Dark color; some coarse/rustic/old timey
light peppery/pungent/PS/blueberry rather earthy bit simple nose; bit peppery/PS/blueberry dusty/earthy some
rustic/earthy flavor w/ light/coarse tannins; med.long slight redwood tanky/old oak/old timey some peppery/PS/
blueberry finish w/ light/coarse tannins; the earthiness suggests some Lodi PS therein; a rather old-timey PS
like Gus or Lou would have made, but w/ a bit more peppery fruit; nice PS at a fair price. $20.00 (UdW)
______________________
6. Dehlinger 60% Zin/40% PS RRV (15.3%) 2011: Dark color; strong pencilly/toasty/oak/smokey very strong blackberry/
boysenberry/Zin/ripe bit peppery/PS bit dusty/OV very fragrant/perfumed nose; bit tart some earthy/dusty/OV huge
fruit/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/ripe strong toasty/pencilly/smokey/oak flavor w/ big/ripe/round tannins; very
long ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/bit peppery strong toasty/pencilly/oak huge fruit finish w/ ample/soft/
round tannins; loads of intense ripe fruit yet not over the top; beautiful Zin at a very fair price. $27.00 (vBS)
______________________
7. Radio-Coteau Zin Robert'sBlock/SonomaCoast (von Weidlich vnyd; 54 cs; U/U; 14.4%; www.RadioCoteau.com) 2011:
Very dark/near black color; quite dusty/OV/herbal quite spicy/rosemary/forest floor/peppery intense blackberry/
boysenberry/Zin some toasty/charred/oak quite complex nose; rather tart/grapefruity/tangy/citrusy quite dusty/OV/
peppery very intense blackberry/boysenberry/framboise light charred/oak flavor w/ ample/ripe tannins; very long/
lingering very dusty/OV/herbal/rosemary intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/peppery/pungent finish w/ ample hard/
rough/ripe tannins; a very unusual/atypical Zin w/ lots of tangy/grapefruity on the palate; a classic example
of dusty/OV character; seems to have a strong whole-cluster signature; needs age; an amazing Zin.
$nc (BS)/$48.00
______________________
8. Radio-Coteau Zin vonWeidlich/RRV (220 cs; 15.4%; U/U) 2004: Med.color w/ much bricking; light dusty/OV bit
alcoholic rather fragrant/perfumed/floral/light blackberry light pencilly/oak some complex bit tired nose;
rather tart some pencilly/toasty/oak slight peppery/blackberry/spicy slightly tired flavor w/ some tired/
dried-out/astringent tannins; long light spicy/blackberry/Zin/peppery/floral some pencilly/oak/old Zin finish w/
some tired/dried-out tannins; some pleasant things therein but seems further along than I would expect.
$28.00
______________________
9. Ottimino Zin OttiminoVnyd/RRV (14.5%; 448 cs) Occidental 2004: Med.color w/ slight bricking; some pencilly/
oldZin bit floral/spicy/pungent/Zin slight toasty/oak/smokey slightly tired/dried-out nose; bit tart some tired/
oldZin/pencilly/tobaccoy slight funky/earthy flavor w/ tired/drying tannins; med. slight toasty/oak some earthy/
pencilly/tobaccoy/oldZin finish w/ light/dried-out tannins; pretty much on the tired/oldZin side and not a lot
of pleasure; not nearly as alive as the R-C. $28.00
______________________
10. RobertBialeVnyds Zin MonteRosso/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (15.8%) 2011: Med.light color; lovely perfumed/raspberry/
Zin/very [/b]spicy light toasty/oak classic MR/aromatic/perfumed nose; rather light quite lean/hard/tight bright
raspberry/Zin/very spicy bit dusty/OV light toasty/oak quite perfumed/aromatic flavor w/ some hard/tight/lean
tannins; very long/lingering bright/very spicy/raspberry/Zin bit dusty/OV light toasty/oak very aromatic finish
w/ some hard/tight tannins; needs more age; a rather lean/tight/sinewy Zin w/ classic MR aromatics; on the
light side for a Biale Zin but very well-crafted. $40.00 (SFW&S)
______________________
11. RobertBialeVnyds Zin RockyRidgeVnyd/Rockpile/SonomaCnty (15.8%) Napa 2012: Med.color; rather spicy/raspberry/
Zin/Zinberry bit dusty/earthy light toasty/oak quite attractive nose; tart rather lean/hard/structured very
spicy/Zin/raspberry light earthy some toasty/oak flavor w/ some hard tannins; long very spicy/raspberry/Zinberry/
cherry/bright light toasty/oak slight earthy/dusty/stony structured/tight/lean finish w/ ample/hard tannins;
very nice aromatics and on the hard/wiry side but speaks of DCV Zin; no heat or alcohol evident; needs 2-5 yrs
of age to show much. $48.50 (SFW&S)
______________________
12. RobertBialeVnyds Zin BlackChickenVnyd/Napa (15.8%) 2011: Med.dark color; strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/
ripe very spicy light toasty/oak bit alcoholic/hot nose; somewhat softer/riper bit lush/mouthfilling strong ripe/
blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/bit jammy light toasty/charred/oak some dusty/OV/earthy flavor w/ some hard/rough
tannins; long rather ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/jammy/Zin light toasty/charred/oak structured dusty/OV finish
w/ ample hard/rough tannins; my favorite of the Biales; shows more of the ripeness I racall of the Biales of
old; rather hard/angular tannins and needs more age; bit on the pricey side. $50.00 (SFW&S)
________________________________________________________________________________________
And stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Teira: A new wnry for me. Dan & Alexis Donahoe. She is the daughter of FrankWoods, founder of Clos du Bois.
Dan is the founder of FreeFlowWines, that provides premium wine on tap from a keg to restaurants. Their
winemaker is BillKnuttle, formerly w/ DryCreekVnyds.
______________________
2. Biale: It had been over 5 yrs or so since I'd tried any of the Biale Zins, so thought it was time to revisit
them. I have, of course, followed the Biale Zins from the very start. I sort of quit trying them as their
prices started to escalate sharply. But I bit the bullet and bought these three to try.
I originally was attracted to the Biale Zins because of their intensity and extract. Classic big/bold Zins.
I was quite surprised by these three Biales. They were lighter than I recall in the past. They seem to have
gone the way EhrenJordan took Turley...cut back on the extract, letting the vnyd/terroir be more clearly
expressed, but still hefty alcohol levels. And like the Turleys, they seemed to carry their alcohol levels
well and not seem particularly hot/fumey.
I liked all three of the Biales. They seemed a bit on the pricey side for what they are. They didn't seem
to have the lush/round/supple character of before and I was rather struck by the hard/angular tannins they
showed on the palate. Perhaps it's just a matter of them needing more age.
______________________
3. vonWeidlich: This is a very old Zin vnyd just NE of Occidental on OccidentalRidgeRd. Owned by the late Robert
Weidlich (the "von" is his self-annointed connection to German nobility as I understand). Back in the early
'70's, Ridge made some superb Occidental Zins from Robert's vnyd. PaulDraper finally gave up on the vnyd as
it was too difficult to get the grapes to ripen properly. He recalls onetime going up to the vnyd to pick
up their bins of grapes and seeing Robert out there tossing handfulls of C&H on the bins of grapes.
EricSussman probably made the best of the Zins from vonWeidlich (Ottomino also makes a Zin). He lost
those grapes after the '07 vintage when BradAlper/Ottomino took over the farming of that vnyd. He has since
had access to those grapes again w/ the '11 vintage and, I understand, is farming that vnyd now.
This '11 is an incredible Zin, very unlike other Calif Zins. It was given to my group to try by a good
SantaFe wine friend. It has a very high acidity you would expect from Occidental Zin and will probably age
exceptionally well. I was a bit disappointed by how far along the '04 was in its aging curve.
_____________________
4. DryCreekVnyds: Another very strong HeritageVines Zin from DCV. For a sub-$20 Zin, this wine is, yr in & yr out,
my go-to inexpensive Zin. Their high-end Zins are the OldVine, the BeesonRanch, and SomersRanch. The latter two
are always my favorite. The OldVine, in the past, has tended to have more oak and not the fruit intensity of the
Beeson/Somers. This '12 version struck me as the best OV Zin I've yet had...less overt oak, more dusty/OV
character, a bit more fruit. I think TimBell is doing a great job w/ their Zins.
Tom
no avatar
User

Tom Troiano

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

1244

Joined

Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:22 pm

Location

Massachusetts

Re: WTN: Some Zins...(long/boring)

by Tom Troiano » Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:48 pm

Despite my vast Ridge collection I've never been a fan of the Heart's Desire. Seems crazy at that price.
Tom T.
no avatar
User

TomHill

Rank

Here From the Very Start

Posts

7856

Joined

Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:01 pm

Well....

by TomHill » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:07 am

Tom Troiano wrote:Despite my vast Ridge collection I've never been a fan of the Heart's Desire. Seems crazy at that price.


Not crazy price, Tom....that's about the standard ATP price for a Zin.
But you're right...I've never found anything special about the few Heart'sDesire they've made...thus far, anyway.
Tom
no avatar
User

David M. Bueker

Rank

Riesling Guru

Posts

34256

Joined

Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:52 am

Location

Connecticut

Re: WTN: Some Zins...(long/boring)

by David M. Bueker » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:54 am

Given that when I do a case buy of Lytton or Geyserville I can get essentially the same price as you paid for Heart's Desire, that is in fact a crazy price.
Decisions are made by those who show up
no avatar
User

Tom Troiano

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

1244

Joined

Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:22 pm

Location

Massachusetts

Re: WTN: Some Zins...(long/boring)

by Tom Troiano » Fri Jul 18, 2014 11:24 am

David M. Bueker wrote:Given that when I do a case buy of Lytton or Geyserville I can get essentially the same price as you paid for Heart's Desire, that is in fact a crazy price.



Agree. I've never paid more than $32 for Geyserville or LS.
Tom T.
no avatar
User

Tom Troiano

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

1244

Joined

Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:22 pm

Location

Massachusetts

Re: WTN: Some Zins...(long/boring)

by Tom Troiano » Fri Jul 18, 2014 11:29 am

Here's the most recent price I paid. Exactly $32 for Geyserville as it turn out.

2012 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountain Estate 750ml - $43.00 NET
2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountain Estate 750ml - $43.00 NET
2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountain Estate 375ml - $24.00 NET
2011 Merlot, Santa Cruz Mountain Estate 750ml - $43.00 NET
2012 Geyserville 750ml - $32.00 NET
2012 Zinfandel Paso Robles 750ml - $27.00 NET
2012 Zinfandel East Bench 750ml - $24.00 NET
Tom T.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: AhrefsBot, ClaudeBot, Google [Bot], Yandexbot and 4 guests

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign