Like many wine lovers, my journey started with California jug wines. Since I came of age in California during the early 1980’s, many of these jugs accompanied meals through my last couple years of college. Brands such as Almaden,  Italian Swiss Colony, Paul Mason and Inglenook were regulars but the first jug to become a “house wine” were from Gallo.

The first wine book I picked up, for a whopping $1.95, was the Signet Book of Inexpensive Wine by Susan Lee. My original copy was thrown away many years ago but I picked up another copy at a used book store earlier this year as part of my research for my book, And browsing the “United States” section of this book tonight, I see Gallo’s Hearty Burgundy in the “Best Buy” category (3 stars). This was my go-to red and the first wine I picked up for our roots tasting tonight.

Today Hearty Burgundy is part of Gallo’s “Twin Valley” brand while it’s white cousin Chablis Blanc is now in the ultra-budget “Livingston Cellars” brand. Since the latter was only available in 1.5L and 3L bottles, I passed on trying this wine tonight but did get a bottle of Hearty Burgundy; my first in over 20 years.

Gallo Family Vineyards, “Twin Valley”, Hearty Burgundy NV ($5) - Deep garnet in color with aromas of red raspberry, geranium and fennel. Bright red fruit flavors with cherry pie filling in the mid-palate finishing with moderate tannins. Clean and state of the art for industrial wine blends but seems unnatural (what Gary would term as “fakey-fake”).

13% ABV
Synthetic cork closure
Score: 77
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Since my former house white of Chablis Blanc was only available in industrial quantities, I decided to pick up my first house Zinfandel. Back in 1981, this was from Sebastiani which I bought on sale for $2.50 a bottle.  Since Sebastiani has since rebooted their brand as a limited production, premium product, I settled for my second place Zin from the 1980’s: Sutter Home.

Yes, from the house that was built from white Zinfandel but back in the early 1980’s, they made some pretty interesting red Zins. My favorite being their reserves tasted on my frequent visits to Napa Valley during my college years. But their regular release was also pretty good from memory so I thought it would be interesting to revisit this wine.

Sutter Home, Zinfandel, California 2005 ($5) - Medium ruby in color with aromas of black cherry, strawberry and sage. Fresh red cherry and strawberry fruit flavors, some black pepper, finishing with supple tannins. A very light style of Zinfandel but a decent red for pizza and pasta dishes.

13.5% ABV
Composite cork closure
Score: 81
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

An interesting tasting that shows how my tastes have evolved since the days of the first Reagan administration. But it’s also good to see both wines being clean, fresh and drinkable… although I would not drink these wines daily as I used to.

Thanks to Lenn for his leadership over these last 4 years and I’m hoping to blog WBW 96 with him and other friends in 2012.

It must have been late 1981 or early 1982 when I stumbled across a small winery named Lytton Springs in my search for the best Zinfandel. This variety had already become my favorite most likely due to the forward fruit in most bottlings that was noticeably different from the Bordeaux and Napa Cabs I was mostly drinking at the time. Since I didn’t yet read any wine publications, I must have chosen Lytton Springs Zinfandel from the recommendation of a wine merchant or, more likely, just at random. From my first experience with the aromas of dark fruit offset by spices and cedar, I was hooked. The layers of flavor and impeccable balance also didn’t hurt either and this became my “benchmark” Zinfandel that all others were judged against.

The Lytton Springs Winery was founded in 1970 after Richard Sherwin purchased the old vine vineyard near downtown Healdsburg, California. The vineyard had been planted around the turn of the 20th Century on lands owned by a Captain Litton who many years before built a hotel catering to Bay Area visitors to the local hot springs. By the time of the vineyard planting, the spelling of his family name had evolved to Lytton.

The vineyard is a classic “field blend” of inter-planted varieties with about 70% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah and the remainder split between Grenache and Carignane. As early as 1972, Ridge Vineyards winemaker Paul Draper made wines from this vineyard but it wasn’t until Ridge purchased Lytton Springs Winery in 1991 that the entire 35-acre property was devoted to Ridge wines. There is a great interview with Richard Sherwin over at Gang of Pour if you are interested in more background on Lytton Springs Winery.

I can’t recall when I made the switch to Ridge Lytton Springs but it was most likely in the early 1990’s. The grace and even elegance of this wine made it stand out to me over another favorite Sonoma vineyard, the famous Ridge Geyserville most recently tasted on my birthday last year. So I was looking forward to getting back to Lytton Springs 2004, a wine I last tasted about 14 months ago but failed to blog here for some unknown reason.

Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Lytton Springs, Dry Creek Valley 2004 ($34) - This wine still displays a youthful purple-ruby color. The aroma profile is classic Lytton Springs: black raspberries & blackberry with fennel and cedar. The flavors are also a mixture of dark fruits with the addition of some blueberry, black pepper and minerality that finishes long with great balance and moderate tannins. Although this wine weighs in at 14.5% ABV, there is no hint of heat on the palate or in the aromas. This is clearly still one of the best Zinfandel’s produced today and is in wide distribution due to production of over 10,000 cases each vintage.

14.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 92
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Buy this wine online

When I taste this wine today, it takes me back to my earliest memories of noteable wines. In fact, Lytton Springs Winery Zinfandel was the best wine I had ever tasted until it was upstaged by a glass of 1974 Heitz Cellars “Martha’s Vineyard” Cab that I had in 1986. But I still have a warm place in my heart for Lytton Springs Zin that will never be changed.

Kudos go to Joel from Wine Life Today for a great theme and congratulations on the birth of his second child just a few days ago. I’m hoping he can find some time to recount all the stories this month in between his fatherly duties.

Next month some guy from New Jersey named Gary is hosting. Should be fun to see what he’s got in mind.

Aside from Ridge and Sebastiani another name stood out for Zin in my formative wine years: Foppiano. A family winery for more than 100 years, this Sonoma winery produces some of the best Petite Sirah and Cabernet in Sonoma. I’ve also enjoyed their Zinfandel over the years but have not had the opportunity to taste a recent vintage until they sent me some samples recently. And I’m glad they did as this is one of the better Zins under $20 now in wide release.

Foppiano Vineyards, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley 2004 ($15/sample) - Medium purple in color with aromas of blackberry, black raspberry, fennel and vanilla. Nice dark cherry and blackberry fruit flavors with cracked black pepper and moderate tannins. Textbook, old-school Sonoma Zin.

14.5% ABV

Natural cork closure

Score: 87

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Buy this wine online

Although I also greatly admire the Ridge Lytton Springs bottling, I always come back to Geyserville for the power and elegance that could only come from old vine Zinfandel, Carignan and Petite Sirah grown in this vineyard. Over the years the wines have been distinct and very malleable to the vintage but the layers of dark fruit flavor is always represented. So this wine was the natural choice for me to pickup to celebrate my birthday this past weekend.

Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Geyserville 2005 ($34) - A field blend of 77% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane and 6% Petite Sirah. Very deep black-purple color with aromas of blackberry, kirsch, sage, fennel and cedar. The palate is classic Geyserville, with layers of dark fruit — blackberry, black cherry, black raspberry — supported by black pepper and spices. The tannins are firm but nicely integrated making the wine well balanced and very enjoyable right now. I would also expect this to age well over the next 8 to 10 years.

14.6% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 94
Rating: 4/5 stars

Buy this wine online.

Tasting Notes:

Deep ruby in color with aromas of black raspberry, sage, vanilla and licorice. Well balanced bramble fruit with black pepper and spice finishing with moderate tannins. Very nice, old school Zin and a good value.

14.7% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 87

Comments:

Rating: 4

Their spring tour is in full swing this week with stops in Austin, Texas on May 8th, Phoenix, Arizona on May 10th and my hometown of Minneapolis on May 11-12. Get all the details at the ZAP website. If you are a zinophile like me, you will want to attend these tastings.

For Twin Cities readers and listeners, I’ll be at the Zinposium and Grand Tasting next Friday evening. Feel free to interrupt my spitting and scribbling anytime… and, yes, that long delayed ZAP podcast is in the works for posting next weekend. Think of it as the best of ZAP, coast to prairie

In the four stores I visited, I only found a couple of options (ironically in the same store). The first were a couple of Rosemount Chardonnays from 2005; the regular Diamond label, the other their “Show Reserve”. I’ve had the “Show Reserve” Rosemount wines in the past and thought they were generally worth the price difference but trying a $25 Chardonnay against their $8 Chardonnay didn’t seem too interesting to me. And the bottles were standing up on the shelf for who-knows how long. The second choice ended up being my selection here. Two Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel’s from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley. Although the regular release was the 2004 vintage, I was able to spot a single bottle of the 2003 in the bottom of the bin to compare with the ‘03 “reserve”.

The term “reserve” is used by many wineries but in my experience there are two usage methodologies. The first is just branding to imply higher quality for lower-end wines. You’ll see term this used on Yellowtail, Columbia Crest and other popular brands to separate those from their entry priced wines. Many times the wine in the bottle is not that different from the regular release. The second methodology is used by several established Napa Valley wineries where “Reserve” or “Private Reserve” is used to designate their best wines. At one of the better local stores they stocked nearly a complete 1990’s vertical for Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, but were selling the 2003 vintage of the regular release (the reserves were also $95 a bottle and up so I probably would not have gone in this direction had they stocked the 1999 Beringer Cab to match with the youngest reserve in stock). The wines I ended up with are probably somewhere in between these two usages of the term so I thought it was a pretty decent choice. I also like Zinfandel quite a bit and haven’t had this brand recently.

Rancho Zabaco is one of the many Gallo sub-brands used for Zinfandel, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. Their ubiquitous “Dancing Bull” bottling gives the Ravenswood Vintner’s Blend brand a run for the money in the $8 and under range of Zinfandel. But they aspire to higher levels of Zin and each of the wines I selected tonight is from this upper tier.

Tasting Notes:

Rancho Zabaco, Zinfandel, “Sonoma Heritage Vines”, Dry Creek Valley 2003 ($15) - Dark garnet-purple in color with aromas of black raspberry, sage and vanilla. Rich in the mouth with very ripe blackberry fruit, black pepper and spice finishing with supple tannins. A very nice soft and jammy Zin for the money.

14.3% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 87

Rancho Zabaco, Zinfandel, “Sonoma Reserve”, Dry Creek Valley 2003* ($22) - Dark purple-black in color with aromas of blackberry, sage and spice. Blackberry, black pepper and spice flavors finishing with medium firm tannins and a bit of heat. More structured than the regular release with nice body but not nearly as jammy in the fruit department. The heat is the main difference here.

14.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 85

So is the “reserve” better than the regular release? Not in this tasting although the wines are very similar. The regular release is a softer wine with less of a tannic backbone but a lot more ripe fruit. The reserve is more of a structured Dry Creek Zin with hard angles but some heat on the finish. Each wine is recommended but the regular “Heritage Vines” release is the best value here as for $22 there are much better Zin’s to be had on the market.

Thanks to the folks at the Wine Cask blog for an interesting theme and I’ll see you all next month for what I hope is a bit easier theme

* The first bottle of this wine was corked so I only tasted this wine over one night. The other wine was tasted over two nights and the notes and score was a composite.

Tasting notes:

Chase Family Cellars, Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard 2004 ($45) - Ruby-purple in color with aromas of raspberry, blackberry and spice. Ripe blackberry and black cherry fruit flavors with black pepper finishing elegant and very balanced with medium-firm tannins. A real fruit bomb but has enough structure for further aging.

Score: 91

Chase Family Cellars, Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard “Reserve” 2004 ($75) - Dark purple in color with intense aromas of blackberry jam, raspberry and licorice. In the mouth, there is rich blackberry and black cherry fruit along with white pepper and spices finishing very smooth and long with well integrated tannins. Perhaps the best Zinfandel I’ve ever had. Only 100 cases produced.

Score: 95

Show Notes:

00:04 - Welcome and winery background
01:30 - Chase Family Cellars, Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard 2004
02:12 - Chase Family Cellars, Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard “Reserve” 2004
03:29 - Contact details

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com
Copyright 2007 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under Creative Commons.

Direct mp3 Download
Direct aac Download

I had high hopes that my new strategy of tasting on the floor during the trade tasting then switching to the media lounge would allow me to taste over 100 wines like uber wine blogger Alder of Vinography (who, unfortunately, missed the tasting sick with the flu; get well soon, man). That proved not to be the case as I tasted and reviewed “only” 70 wines today. I think this was due to my pacing, longer conversations at the tables and how crowded it was but overall I’m very pleased with the result, as I didn’t taste any marginal wines this time. In fact, nearly all of them were very good or excellent with styles ranging from elegant to hedonistic fruit bombs.

In order of tasting, here is my first cut at standouts; full reviews later in my full roundup:

- Chase Family Cellars, Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard, Reserve 2004 ($75)

- Carlisle Winery, Zinfandel, Pietro’s Ranch 2005 ($38)

- Robert Biale Vineyards, Zinfandel, Grande 2005

- Benessere, Zinfandel, Black Glass Estate Vineyard 2004 ($40)

- Ballentine Vineyards, Zinfandel, Pocai Vineyard, Block 11 2005 ($25)

- August Briggs, Zinfandel, Napa Valley 2004 ($30)

- Downing Family Vineyards, Pelissa Vineyard, “Fly by Night” 2004 ($30)

- Dashe Cellars, Zinfandel, Louvau Vineyard, “Old Vines” 2004 ($28)

- Dashe Cellars, Zinfandel, Todd Brothers Ranch, “Old Vines” 2004 ($28)

- Hendry, Zinfandel, Block 28, Napa Valley 2003 ($30)

- Turley Wine Cellars, Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard 2005 (Barrel Sample/$75)

- Trinitas Cellars, Zinfandel, Russian River Valley 2004 ($26)

- Edmeades Winery, Zinfandel, Perli Vineyard, Mendocino 2004

I’m sure I missed a couple wines here but will present my full notes and scores for every wine I tasted in tomorrow’s post.

Now it’s off for dinner and hopefully some Pinot Noir

I’m meeting some other wine bloggers, podcasters and Wine 2.0 folks at the tasting and if you are there, send me an email to meetup. I’ll be in town until Tuesday, so much tasting and many meetings are on my schedule.

Today is Great Grape Day over at Wine Sediments and they have selected my favorite red variety, Zinfandel, to feature (yea, they also threw a bone to Primitivo, too). So I looked into the ol’ cellar to see what Zin I had on hand that I hadn’t yet blogged and a St. Francis “Old Vines” Zin caught my eye.

St. Francis is an old brand, at least for me, from Sonoma County. When I first got into wine, I used to drink a fair amount of their Zin and Merlot and always found it a good value. Started in the late 1970’s, the winery is named in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and specializes in mostly red wines (they also make a Chardonnay). Unlike some brands, St. Francis takes the “Old Vines” designation seriously with vines at least 50, and sometimes over 100, years of age. The result is a concentrated wine with firm tannins that suggests a year or two in the cellar might be in order.

St. Francis, Zinfandel, “Old Vines”, Sonoma County 2004 ($19) - Dark purple in color with aromas of brambles, pepper and vanilla. Bold and concentrated blackberry, licorice and black pepper flavors finishing with a touch of raison and firm tannins. A very solid Zin at this price point, but the fruit is almost out of balance with the alcohol. Drink over the next year or two.

Synthetic cork closure (easily removed)
15.5% ABV
Score: 89

Buy this wine online

Neal Family is one of my favorite Napa wineries for this wine and their excellent vineyard designated Cabernet Sauvignons. It is well worth the effort to seek out and very good value across the board.

Neal Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, Rutherford, Napa Valley 2003 ($22) - Deep ruby color with powerful aromas of blackberry, licorice, vanilla and spice. Rich in the mouth with brambles, black pepper and spice flavors with a long finish. The tannins are nicely integrated but still apparent after two hours of breathing in the bottle (I’d decant next time). As good as Zin gets and a great Thanksgiving match.

14.4% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 96

Buy this wine online

While Larry might not get as much press as his famous winemaking sister Helen, he does make some great wines particularly my favorite varietal, Zinfandel. I had a barrel sample of his 2004 Hayne Vineyard Zin at ZAP this year and found it to be among the best Zinfandel I have ever had. One issue some have with his style is that they tend to be very extracted and high in alcohol which might mean they don’t age well. That did cross my mind as I opened this bottle last night and re-tasted this evening.

Turley Cellars, Zinfandel, “Old Vines”, California 2001 ($25/gift) - Dark ruby in color with powerful aromas of blackberry, black cherry, vanilla and some alcohol. Rich and ripe in the mouth with concentrated black cherry, black raspberry, licorice and black pepper flavors and plush tannins, finishing hot from the 15.5% alcohol. Although there is still substantial fruit left, the wine is now out of balance with the alcohol. I’d advise to drink up all the bottles you might have of this wine over the next 6 months. Still a very good wine.

15.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 87

Buy this wine online

Tasting Notes:

Castle Rock, Zinfandel, Sonoma County 2004 ($10) - Dark purple in color with aromas of blackberry, sage and a touch of vanilla. Round and soft in the mouth with boysenberry and blackberry flavors, some spice and silky, sweet tannins. An excellent value drinking as well as wines more than twice it’s price.

13.9% ABV
Composite cork closure
Score: 88

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com
Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Direct mp3 Download

Direct aac Download (enhanced for iPod)

D-Cubed Cellars is a Zinfandel specialist from the Napa Valley. Starting out 10 years ago with Howell Mountain fruit, they have rounded out their line of 5 Zins from various Napa Valley appellations and vineyards: Black Sears, Slaybaugh Ranch and Brown single-vineyard wines, a Howell Mountain blend and this wine from all these appellations. I first tasted D-Cubed Zin at ZAP 2006 and found both the 2003 Howell Mountain and Napa Valley bottlings to be delicious. So when I found this wine at Napa’s Vintner’s Collective tasting room in June, I had to pick up another bottle or two.

Garnet in color with a ruby rim. Black raspberry, cherry, vanilla and spice aromas. Nicely concentrated black cherry fruit along with some spice and silky tannins. The hedonistic mouthfeel and long finish are about as good as Zinfandel gets. This is a stellar value that I recommend snapping up before they raise their prices.

14.6% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 9+/10

Buy this wine online

Since yesterday was Independence Day here in the U.S., my grilling choice was classic Wisconsin brats and traditional side-dishes, potato and macaroni salad. Whatever wines I select, they would need enough acidity to cut through the mayonnaise in the salads and brown mustard on the brats. I selected two different kinds of brats, the common “beer brats” and a new-age chicken with bacon and swiss cheese. Both presented an interesting flavor profile to deal with in matching wines, where in past years I’ve just reached for an IPA or dark beer.

Of course, the best wine for Bar-B-Que or grilled meats depends upon the type of meat roasted. If I made steaks, for instance, I would have probably selected three red wines to match here. But since I had foods that were not overpowering in their flavors, I had a pretty open spectrum of wines to choose from. My strategy was to find wines with enough flavor to stand up to the food, but also enough acidity to enhance the flavors and not overpower the food. The rule of thumb at this time of year is to choose a dry rose, so my first match was a Wolffer Rosé 2005 the winery sent me recently as a sample. You probably remember Wolffer from my interview with winemaker Roman Roth in Winecast 56. Their rosé is made from 48% Merlot, 39% Chardonnay, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with the red grapes given a short time on the skins to minimize the color. The wine was totally made in stainless steel to accentuate the freshness of the fruit and retails for a reasonable $14 a bottle. This rosé is salmon in color with aromas of peach and fresh flowers. Rich and crisp in the mouth, showing cherry and citrus with a bit of white pepper on the dry finish. A very nice rosé for a hot summer’s day and nice accompaniment to my grilling yesterday. In fact, this might be the most versatile wine for grilled meats in the round-up. 11.5% ABV. Finished with natural cork. Score: 8.5/10

I usually don’t think of white wine and grilling, but I do think about white wines on hot summer days so I thought I would pick one from my cellar to see how it might work here. I’ve always liked the aggressiveness of Sauvignon Blanc, particularly from New Zealand, but I didn’t have any bottles handy from that country. What I did have was the 2005 vintage of Veramonte’s Sauvignon Blanc from the Casablanca Valley of Chile. I first tried this brand in my round-up on Winecast 12 last year and it has made it into my cellar ever since as a great value for hot summer days selling for $8-9 a bottle. The wine is light straw with a slight green hue. Fresh hay, lime and pineapple aromas with some gooseberry reminiscent of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. On the palate, there is tart grapefruit flavors with nice acidity to match with food. The match was especially good with the chicken brats adding an nice counter-point to the bacon and swiss cheese flavors. I’d recommend this one for grilled pork too, as long as there is not spicy BBQ sauce involved in the preperation. 13.5% ABV. Stelvin closure. Score: 8/10

Finally, I wanted to try a fruit forward red wine. After considering Syrah/Shiraz, I fell back on my old favorite Zinfandel, selecting a 2003 Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, “Giana,” which sells for $28 a bottle. I first tasted Chiarello Zin at ZAP this past January and was very impressed with all their wines. You might recognize the family name from owner Michael Chiarello’s Napa Style TV show, book and website. If anyone knows how to make food-friendly wines, it’s Mr. Chiarello, but I have to say that you need a steak or, better yet, Mexican food to match with this Zin. The wine is garnet-purple in color with powerful aromas of blackberry, plum and licorice. In the mouth it is substantial with blackberry jam, black pepper, spices and silky tannins. A hedonists Zin that somehow balances the substantial alcohol with fruit. Delicious, but overpowering to my 4th of July brats. 16.1% ABV. Finished with natural cork. Score: 9/10

So what did I learn this month? That a range of wines go well with grilled meats. If I had some true Bar-B-Que to match here, I think only the Chiarello Zin and Wolffer Rosé would have made the cut. For best wine, it easily goes to Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, “Giana” 2003 and best value to the versatile Wolffer Rosé 2005. Thank to Joel over at Vivi’s Wine Journal for hosting this month and a great theme. I’m looking forward to seeing what founder Lenn has in store for the two-year anniversary of WBW next month.

Show Notes:
00:21 - Welcome and show theme
01:10 - Matching wine with Bar-B-Que or grilled meats
03:56 - Veramonte, Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley, Chile 2005 ($9)
04:58 - Wolffer Estate Vineyards, Rosé, Long Island, New York 2005 ($14/sample) +
06:20 - Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, “Giana” 2003 ($28) *
07:50 - Best of tasting
07:58 - Best value
08:15 - Wrap-up and contact details
08:50 - Next show theme

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com
Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Direct mp3 Download
Direct aac Download (enhanced for iPod) - to be posted soon

Score: 8.5/10

Update Jan. 31: The Corkdork has a nice write-up on ZAP. My only point of disagreement is on Brown Vineyard, but I didn’t taste the 2003…

Update Feb. 1: I’ve finally caught up on my wine blog reading and see that Tom over at FERMENTATION has posted his favorites from the tasting and some pictures. Interestingly enough, he tasted a number of wines I didn’t get to and liked one of the three Karmere Zin’s (”Empress Hayley”). I gave up on Karmere after “Angie” and “Daisy” failed to crack 7.5 on the ol’ scale; should have hung in there, I guess. I agree with his pick of Trinitas “Old Vine” Contra Costa; very tasty stuff.

Also just noticed a post from Truffle Pig Wine, a blog I have never heard of before, with very interesting notes from ZAP.

Update Feb. 2: Alder has posted his scores for a whopping 176 wines tasted at ZAP. I’ll have to really step-up my game next year

Update Feb. 7: The Cellar Rat has podcast ZAP…

We started in the second pavilion to get to some the the most well known producers. Wineries like Ridge, Rosenblum, Turley and Trinitas, where we began our tasting of Matt Cline’s Old Vines Zin’s from Contra Costa county. It was great to meet and speak with Matt as we tasted his wines and I will be featuring an interview with him on a future podcast. After being “calibrated” by wines I have had before, we ventured into the more than 300 other wineries participating featuring over 1,000 wines. Since it would be impossible to taste them all in the allotted time, not to mention palette fatigue from the intense flavors and tannin buildup in the mouth, we had a game-plan going into the tasting which featured some old favorites and new wineries who have been getting some high scores with critics or industry buzz. In the 6 hours that I tasted, I had 90 wines in my mouth and spit every one of them back into the plastic cups supplied. I took a 15 minute break every two hours to eat as much bread as possible and drink a pint of water which were also conveniently around the tasting tables. Near the end of the day, my bread eating and water guzzling became more frequent and I would estimate I had at least 80 pieces of bread and 8 pints of water at the event.

So what about the wines, you might ask. I have to say that I was amazed at the range of styles and flavors that are possible with Zinfandel. As I have said here in the past, Zinfandel is my favorite red varietal and I could drink it everyday and not get tired of the wines. Even after tasting 90 wines, I am still looking forward to trying some other examples later today as we taste around the Russian River Valley. I favor big and bold wines with lots of concentrated fruit flavors but did appreciate some of the more subtle examples offered at ZAP. In fact, of my handful of outstanding wines most of them are of the more elegant style where balance is paramount. I will be talking about 25-30 excellent wines in at least 2 podcasts in coming weeks but will offer some of my very best picks here. These were rated 9.5 on my 10 point scale and are some of the best expressions of Zinfandel I have yet encountered. They are in alphabetical order as I flip through my tasting log:

Chase Family Cellars, Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard, St. Helena 2003 ($40) - From the same vineyard of the outstanding Turley below, this wine has a stunning dark fruit nose and outstanding black cherry and black pepper flavors with moderate tannins. Another wine of great balance and it’s interesting to see how different this is to the Turley, vintage notwithstanding.

Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, “Felicia” Old Vine, Napa Valley 2004 (barrel sample) - Only 100 cases produced of this elegant and complex marriage of black cherry, blackberry, blueberry and spices. A silky mouthfeel and fine tannins sets up a long finish.

D-Cubed Cellars, Zinfandel, Howell Mountain 2003 ($37) - I love the concentration of mountain fruit and this wine packs in excellent blackberry flavors with perfect balance of fruit and moderate tannins. The first outstanding wine tasted early in the day and their Napa Valley bottling also scored a 9.

Mauritson Family Winery, Zinfandel, Rockpile Ridge, Cemetery Vineyard 2004 (barrel sample) - An almost unbelievable example of terroir in Zinfandel. Although this vineyard is adjacent to the excellent Rockpile block, the wines are quite different. I asked the winemaker how much Petite Sirah he added to give the blueberry flavors behind the boysenberry and spice; he said “none” as this is 100% Zin. An outstanding wine that I am looking forward to tasting again once they get it in the bottle later this year. I tasted 3 other excellent wines from this producer, as well.

Turley Wine Cellars, Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard, Napa Valley 2004 (barrel sample) - Huge and extracted blackberry and blueberry with spices and a long finish. Yes, it has a touch of jam in the mid-palette but the balance is perfect. Another wine tasted early in the day that made a big impression, but not as big as other Turley Zin’s I’ve tasted.

T-Vine Cellars, Zinfandel, Brown Vineyard, Napa Valley 2003 ($29) - A more classic Zinfandel with brambles, blackberry and spices finishing long with silky tannins. A shade better than the Brown Estate Vineyards version I tasted, but they were out of the 2003 vintage by the time I got to their booth in the afternoon. A great vineyard to watch in the future.

I have about 30 wines I rated 9/10 which I will sort and put into some podcasts and probably post tasting notes here too. Although most of the wines were very good, I did encounter a few 6 out of 10’s, which surprised me. Pouring defective wines at such an event is not the best way to make an impression. Of the wines above, it’s very difficult to pick a “best of the best”, but I obviously liked the Hayne Vineyard quite a bit.

This was a great treat and I am definitely looking forward to next year. I also have a great amount of respect from the pros who taste this many wines on a more regular basis. Keeping track of all the aromas and flavors is a lot of work, especially when surrounded by thousands of wine lovers in the afternoon.

Just received my media passes to the ZAP tasting in San Francisco today. Although I have a frequent flier ticket and a place to stay, the incidental expenses make this trip not prudent given my current situation. I will have to live vicariously through the reports of other podcasters and wine bloggers this year. Next year, however, I will be attending, and staying at my old favorite hotel in the area

I’ll be attending afterall

Show Notes:
00:22 - Welcome and show theme
00:37 - Zinfandel background
02:42 - Tasting Notes
02:56 - Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Geyserville 2002 ($27)
04:14 - Trinitas Cellars, Zinfandel, Bigalow Vineyard, Contra Costa County 2002 ($28)
05:45 - Peterson Winery, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley 2002 ($18/sample)
06:54 - Best of Tasting: Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Geyserville 2002 ($27)
07:35 - Best Value: Peterson Winery, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley 2002 ($18)
07:50 - Interview with Alan Baker, the Cellar Rat
20:44 - Contact Details
21:07 - Next Show Theme

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639)
Copyright 2006 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Direct mp3 Download
Direct wma Download
Direct aac Download (enhanced for iPod)

Thanks for sharing, Darrel!

Garnet in color, with nice blackberry and cedar aromas from oak. Ripe blackberry and plum fruit with dusty, but quite noticeable, tannins. I might cellar some of these for another couple of years. Very good value. Score: 8.5/10