Comments on: WBW 43 – Comfort Wine

By: badman

badman — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:43:40 +0000

I agree – there are some terrific Zins out there to be sure. I'm thinking my current favorite wineries for their breadth of quality Zin vineyard designates are Rosenblum and (new to me) Four Vines. I adore the latter's "Maverick" (Amador County) and "Biker" (Paso Robles), both in the low to mid-$20s, and their "Old Vine Cuvee" at $11 is a wonderful bargain. The former winery, of course being one of the Big-R's, is no stranger to any Zin fan, but I've managed to somehow consistently avoid them until last year, when I fell in love with the (surprisingly to me since it's in an elegant/finesse-y style and I always thought I preferred the monsters) Annette's Reserve Redwood Valley 2005.

Within the next month my wine group will be tasting several Rosenblums, which will include:
2005 Rosenblum Cellars Annette’s Reserve Redwood Valley Zinfandel, $30
2006 Rosenblum Cellars Rockpile Road Vineyard Rockpile Upper Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, $31.99
2006 Rosenblum Cellars Monte Rosso Vineyard Sonoma Valley Reserve Zinfandel, $39.99
2005 Rosenblum Cellars Snows Lake Vineyard Lake County Zinfandel, $29.99
2005 Rosenblum Cellars Aparicio Vineyard Amador County, $28

Those were the ones locally available; do you have a favorite Rosenblum Zin we should seek out and be sure to include?

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:07:36 +0000

Thanks for finding some back catalog posts here. I have been pleased with recent Ridge Lytton Springs bottlings but agree some of them over the past decade have not been as good as they were in the past. But there are plenty of other great Zin’s on the market…

By: Badman

Badman — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:56:40 +0000

Hey Tim, first time comment here.

Thanks for the excellent article – I have a similar affection for the original Lytton Springs Winery. In 1986 I sat down with a bottle of Lucas Lodi Zin and Lytton Springs, my first blind tasting, and “realized” the difference between the two wines. Since then, Lytton has been my favorite Zin.

Unfortunately, having been out of the wine tasting business for about 8 years I have rekindled my interest and started another wine group, and was very disappointed by how the Ridge Lytton Springs shows these days.

If you’re interested, you can read our reviews on my pages; I’d recommend just going to the “Ye Zinfandel Page” page on the top menu.

Thanks again for your post – it’s interesting that there are a number of us who were born into Zinfandel via the marvel and mystique of Lytton Springs Winery.

By: Imagine there’s no scores… | Winecast

Imagine there’s no scores… | Winecast — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:55:45 +0000

[...] blogged here recently, Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel is one of my personal favorite wines. But I couldn’t get my mother to drink it because she [...]

By: Agent Red

Agent Red — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 03:40:32 +0000

Last month one of our mission names was, “Comfort Wine”, so i was happy to see this same concept elsewhere on the Winoshphere!

By: I Drink Zinfandel With Fish… | Winecast

I Drink Zinfandel With Fish… | Winecast — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:38:56 +0000

[...] not that “white” off-dry drek either, but the real deal from Lytton Springs, Geyserville and Hayne [...]

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:42:21 +0000

Matthew,

What’s really nice about this one is the wine is still so good, a testament to this vineyard and the fine folks at Ridge who saved it.

By: Matthew Apsokardu

Matthew Apsokardu — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:17:51 +0000

Nice entry! I agree, this month’s topic was a good one and brought up some warm memories for all of us. Your Zin sounds like a wine worth remembering.