This was my choice for our Thanksgiving feast this year, somewhat inspired by Robert Parker’s recommendations in BusinessWeek. I picked up this bottle at the winery in the summer of 2005 and enjoyed a bottle when I returned home for Winecast 31. Only 300 cases of this Zinfandel were produced and it appears to be sold out at the winery. The grapes come from the “home ranch” vineyard in the Rutherford AVA of Napa Valley. The final blend is 92% Zinfandel and 8% Petite Sirah aged in 42% new oak barrels (French, American & Hungarian) for a total of 16 months.

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

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Larry Turley makes very individualistic wines from a wide variety of vineyard sources. His California appellation wines are a mixture of many of these great sources and often are very nice values at about $25 a bottle upon release. This wine was given to me by Grape Radio’s Brian Clark, along with a 2000 that I reviewed previously.

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

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A return to the Quick Picks format last seen almost a year ago with a review of a value-price Zinfandel.

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

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D-Cubed Cellars, Zinfandel, Napa Valley 2002 ($25)

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

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This month Wine Blogging Wednesday returns to it’s normal first Wednesday of the month and host Vivi’s Wine Journal has picked a very appropriate theme for July: Barbecue Wines (or is it BBQ, or Bar-B-Que?). The history of BBQ appears to be an American invention, but there seems to be some debate on this if you look closer. Whatever the derivation, today the term means either the slow cooked meats prepared across the southern U.S. from pork, beef or chicken or grilled meats in general. I took the latter definition for the purposes of this post and podcast and chose three wines I think would pair well with summer grilling. Different than in the other months I have participated in this event, my three wines will be a white, a rose and a red. All quite dry and loaded with fruit flavors to stand up to the heartiest summer fare.

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/

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De La Montanya, Zinfandel, Sack Vineyard Russian River Valley 2004 ($32/sample) - Dark purple in color with blackberry and plum aromas coming through quite a lot of cedar. Lots of dark fruit and pepper flavors that barely balance the alcohol, but the thick, rich mouthfeel and lack of noticeable tannins is intriguing. Finishes hot with a slightly raisony aftertaste, but nothing objectionable. For lovers of big Zin’s only and not one to match well with food. Drink now before the fruit goes away.

Score: 8.5/10

Peterson Winery, Hambrecht Vineyards, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley 1992 – Mostly blogged for historical reasons, or if you have some of this wine still in your cellar. The bottle came from the wine library of Peterson Winery this past weekend (thanks, Fred!). Tawny garnet in color with elegant aromas of earth and black raspberry; Nice black raspberry flavors, some spice and white pepper with fine tannins. Very good for a 14 year old Zin now showing its “Claret” side; drink now. Score: 8/10

Alan from Ratcast and Joe from a A Guy, a Girl and a Bottle podcasts have posted their impressions of ZAP. Alan started the ball rolling yesterday on his blog and Joe posted pictures to his Flickr account (the image here is of all three of us near the end of the tasting; from the right, Joe, Alan and your humble narrator). I will post other links as I see them rolling in from my aggregator after I return to Minnesota overnight… podcasting to resume tomorrow and continue throughout the week.

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…

Yesterday in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to attend the largest wine tasting event of my life, the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) Festival. This was the 15th year of ZAP and about 7,000 wine lovers attended on a drizzly Bay Area winter day. The festival was divided into two halls, with A-G in the first pavilion and H-Z in the second. Being a member of the media gave me access to the trade tasting which started at 10am and continued until the general public was admitted at 1:00pm. I attended the tasting with Alan Baker, the Cellar Rat, who will also be podcasting and blogging ZAP. While standing in the rain before the doors opened we had the chance to meet Alder Yarrow of Vinography, which was great as I have enjoyed his writing for more than a year and he shared some strategies for getting the most out of the day from his past experiences at ZAP. Once the doors opened, it was time to see who was pouring the best expression of California’s signature red wine varietal.

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.

…yet too far expensive.

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