4th of July Weekend Zin Fest

The Wine Country offers Saturday tastings of 10 wines for $20.

• N.V. Marietta Cellars Old Vine Red Lot Number 51 - USA, California
  Very juicy and sweet with little balancing acidity and some heat on the finish. Not overoaked like many Cali wines in this price range. This is a good BBQ crowd pleaser that should go well with BBQ sauce. (80 pts.)
• 2006 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel Richard Sauret - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
  Had again at a tasting. This is very smooth with pure fruit but lacks many things that really good zins have -- bramble, spice, pepper, acidity. It's really just a summer BBQ quaffer and, at $19, a bad value for this kind of wine. (86 pts.)
• 2006 Carol Shelton Wines Zinfandel Monga Zin® Lopez Vineyard - USA, California, South Coast, Cucamonga Valley
  Not getting much on the nose. On the palate, a burst of really nice brambly zin fruit but a really hollow mid-palate followed by a very tannic finish. A bit awkward at this stage, but may improve with some age. (86 pts.)
• 2007 Branham Estate Wines Zinfandel Rockpile - USA, California, Sonoma County, Rockpile
  Not much at all on the nose. A lighter style of Zin with good Zin character. Nice balancing acidity and soft tannins to finish. Nice wine but nothing remarkable about it. A pass at $26. (87 pts.)
• 2004 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines Scherrer Vineyard Alexander Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
  Fantastic big, brambly nose. Big and round Zin fruit all the way through to the long finish. Nice balancing acidity and good structure. A pretty decent value at $26. (90 pts.)
• 2007 Nalle Zinfandel - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
  Really interesting molasses on the nose when first poured, but dissipated after a minute or two. Good Zin character on the palate with excellent balance and structure despite the bigness of this wine. An added bonus of only 13.5% alcohol. (90 pts.)
• 2006 Saxon-Brown Zinfandel Casa Santinamaria Vineyards - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
  Big and dark port-like zin. Raisiny and viscous with little structure and some heat from the 15.5% alcohol. A decadent wine that is sure to please many, but is not my favorite style. It did go very well with BBQ sauce, though, which really brought out a nice black pepper component in the wine. (88 pts.)
• 2008 Bedrock Wine Co. The Bedrock Heirloom - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
  Another no-holds-barred big zin in this tasting. Nice zin flavors but is really too over-the-top for my tastes and lacks some balancing acidity. Very long finish, though. (88 pts.)
• 2007 Ridge Lytton Springs - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
  Not getting much on the nose. On the palate, really great zin flavors of brambly fruit and spice with perfect acidity levels and great tannic structure. This is very enjoyable now, but I'd lay this down for a few years at least to let this really strut its stuff. Easily my favorite wine of the tasting and the only obvious ager. (91 pts.)
• 2008 Brown Estate Zinfandel - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Really disappointed in this wine. Yes, there is big and pure zin fruit, but it's on the sweet side and is very simple and has no balancing acidity. I can see why a lot of people would love this wine, but this is pretty unremarkable from a complexity standpoint and particularly at the $30+ price point. This showed very poorly against the other zins in this price range at the tasting. (83 pts.)