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

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

Buy this wine online

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

Buy this wine online

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

Buy this wine online