Seattle's 'Twisted Tongues' rock out with some ZINs

With the weather getting colder here in Seattle, we decided to focus our inaugural tasting on Zinfandels. Fifteen (15) zinfandels were presented in five (5) flights. The tasting was blind, wines were served from decanters and to avoid influence/persuasion there was limited discussion during the tasting regarding the merits of each wine. Each participant was informed that at the end of the tasting they would be asked to rank each wine from 1 (their favorite) to 15. Therefore they should score accordingly throughout the evening. Various cheeses, sliced pears and bread were available throughout the tasting.

• 2002 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile 92 Points

  USA, California

  Tasted blind at TT Zin Night.
  Deep Ruby
  On the nose a fair amount of minerals, red & black licorice and pepper.
  Very big and ripe on the palate with cherries and red berries.
  Group Rank (3rd of 15)
  My Rank (4th best of 15)

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• 2001 Chase Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Tasted blind at TT Zin Night.
  Black Cherries, blackberries and pepper on the palate, but a bit of a let down on the finish kept this from cracking the 90's.
  Group Ranking (4th of 15)
  My Ranking 89 points and (10th best of 15)
  >I think of this wine being bigger, riper and sweeter than it showed me on this night. The group obviously found it more appealing than I. By the time I got back after the bottles were revealed -- it had seen too much air and the fruit had completely vanished.

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• 2002 Cline Cellars Zinfandel Ancient Vines 83 Points

  USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa County

  Tasted Blind at TT Zin Night
  Candied Fruit Nose with hints of vanilla.
  This was completely overshadowed by the wines that preceded it.
  Decent fruit on the palate, but lighter bodied and an abrupt, unpleasant finish.
  Group Ranking 14th of 15.
  My Ranking 83 points and (13th place of 15)

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• 1999 Robert Biale Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  Tasted Blind at TT Zin night.
  Dark Dark Red.
  Blackberry Jam, melon (?), chocolate, and a tad of alcohol on the nose.
  YUM. Ripe and big bodied.
  But the fruit is well defined, nicely balanced and an awesome lingering finish.
  Group Ranking (6th of 15)
  My Ranking 93+ points and (2nd best of 15)
  >Once unveiled this surprised me a little. I've always liked Biale, but not quite this much. This was a polarizing wine, with many tasters ending up on either end of the spectrum.

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• 2001 Martinelli Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa 89 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Tasted blind at TT Zin Night.
  Medium Red color, but almost seemed faint compared to the wine that preceeded it.
  Cherries, spices and vanilla on the nose.
  Nice enough on the palate with sweet rasberry jam, acidity and some spices that I couldn't ID.
  Finish was lingering and very pleasant.
  Group Ranking (9th of 15)
  My Ranking 89+points (9th best of 15)
  >Looking back I think I may have underrated this wine slightly. I must admit I also had some cryptic notes suggesting this could be a ripe pinot. yikes. When I revisited the bottle after the unveiling, it was late in the evening and I thought the wine was great. 4-5 hours of air and the fruit was still present. I am a little surprised this wine didn't fare a little better, but I think the Biale was a hard act to follow on this night.

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• 2003 Marquis Philips Shiraz 88 Points

  Australia, South Eastern

  Tasted blind at TT Zin Night
  Bright emerald red
  Berries, asparagus (?) and vanilla on the nose.
  Nice berry flavors carry over to the palate, but the oak is slightly out of whack for me and keeps this down.
  Group Ranking (13th of 15)
  My ranking 88 points and (11th best of 15)
  >I dont remember being clued into the oak in this wine in the past - but i was on this night.

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• 2001 Allora Primitivo Puglia IGT 75 Points

  Italy, Puglia, Puglia IGT

  Tasted Blind at TT Zin Night.
  Not much fruit on the nose, forest floor (?) and oak.
  Is this a Zin?
  Can't find much fruit on the palate. Thin, with licorice and a touch of taint?
  Group Ranking (15th best of 15)
  My Ranking 75 points and (15th best of 15)
  >slipping in a Primitivo was a good idea, but this did nothing for me. $7 retail, and only one person had it ranked above 13. He has a pretty experienced palate and had this wine at his 4th best of the evening!! He was convinced it wasn't a Zin and he cited intriguing spiciness and pinot like funk.

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• 2001 Turley Zinfandel Dogtown Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi

  Tasted blind at TT Zin Night
  Really like this nose. Blackberry Jam bursting with juicy aromas.
  Full body with juicy cherries and berries.
  Loses a little on the finish.
  Group Ranking (2nd best of 15)
  My Ranking 91 points and (5th best of 15)

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• 2002 Outpost Zinfandel Howell Mountain 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Tasted blind at TT Zin Night.
  My nose is not as entusiastic about this after the last wine.
  Fruit (berries) are a bit fainter, and slight perfume of flowers.
  On the palate, once again the fruit is much more restrained than the last wine,
  but this has nice texture, an interesting finsh and is obviously well crafted.
  Enjoyable.
  Group Ranking (8th best of 15)
  My Ranking 90 points and (8th best out of 15)
  >I've always really enjoyed Outpost in the past, and like Martinelli tonight, this is one that if I saw the label I'd probably have a few extra (subconcious) points on the total.

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• 2002 Radio-Coteau Zinfandel Von Weidlich 94 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Tasted blind at TT Zin night
  More complex in the nose. Besides berry, I'm getting full cherries and some apple.
  Possible ringer?
  HOLY COW! This is not big, but there is oh so much to like.
  Stylish, complex, finesse... but not at the expense of the fruit.
  Forget the dump bucket, I just want to keep sipping and not think about anything else.
  Group Ranking (9th out of 15)
  My Ranking 94+ points and (1st place out of 15)
  > This wine had incredible deviation in the scoring. People either loved it - and ranked it high (like me) or did not and punished it. Some were pretty sure this was not a Zin. I was slightly fooled by the nose.

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• 2002 Carlisle Zinfandel Tom Feeney Ranch 90 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Tasted blind at TT Zin Night.
  Deep ruby color.
  Pepper and vegetal nose? Is this a Zin?
  On the palate, full bodied with cherries and berries and a nice finish.
  I think it is a Zin. A well crafted one, with nice balance throughout.
  Group Ranking (1st of 15)
  My Ranking 90+ points and (7th best of 15)
  >This wine obviously showed well tonight. It had a very tight deviation of high scores. I was among those that scored it at the lower end. Something seemed strange about the nose to me. Once the wines were unveiled, I never got a chance to get back at it. It had more admirers than Fonzi.

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• 2001 Turley Zinfandel Pesenti Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Tasted blind at TT Zin night
  Dark ruby red color.
  Plums and pepper on the nose.
  Big, round and voluptuous.
  A sit on the couch in front of the fireplace wine.
  Great finish.
  My Ranking 93 points (3rd best of 15)
  Group Ranking (5th of 15)
  >Some questioned this being a Zin. I didn't really think about it all that much. I got caught up enjoying it.

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Sineann and Maryhill were thrown in to see how they stand up to the Cali Zins. They got placed together and in the final flight -- but I'm not sure it would've made much difference. Based on their performance this night, I'm not sure they are ready to take on Cali.

• 2002 Neal Family Vineyards Zinfandel Rutherford Dust 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Tasted blind at TT Zin night
  Blackberries, nutmeg, and alcohol on the nose.
  Sweet berries, licorice, faint vanilla, fine pepper on the palate.
  A little cuter than I'm used to in a zin -- but I like it and the finish makes me want her number!
  My Ranking 91 points and (6th best out of 15)
  Group Ranking (6th of 15)
  >Those that didn't like this cited Oak as the reason. I didn't think it detracted from the wine, but as my notes indicate my reasoning may have been on the decline. What is the wine equivalent to beer goggles? Wine spectacles? Whatever it is, I may have been donning them by this point.

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• 2002 Maryhill Zinfandel 83 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Tasted blind at TT Zin Night
  Dark Red color
  I can't find any fruit on the nose.
  Vegetal and restrained. Is this a Zin?
  Some cherries and light berries on the palate but too restrained.
  Lacks concentration and ripeness of fruit.
  My Ranking 83 points and (14th best of 15)
  Group Ranking (11th best of 15)
  >a few liked this wine, one citing chocolate and some rainforest exotic flavors (!?). I am intrigued and would like to taste this again at some point to see if I find any rainforest exotics, whatever that may be.

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• 2003 Sineann Old Vine Zinfandel The Pines Vineyard 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Tasted blind at TT Zin night
  'Low Sugar rasberry jam.'
  The fruit was there, but this wine just wasn't concentrated or complex enough to stand up to its friends.
  My Ranking 84 points and (12th best of 15)
  Group Ranking (12th of 15)
  >once the wines were unveiled -- I searched this one out to retaste. I had heard good things about this particular wine. After staring at the label and retasting -- I thought maybe, MAYBE this could be an 85/6

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