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Zinfandel
Snowgoose
Tasted April 20, 2007 by jjclips2 with 497 views
Introduction
Brown Jug tasting with some new products and new vintages. Started off with a nice Rose of Valdguie from Frogs Leap called La Grenouille Rougante. Light and refreshing, dry style Rose'.
Flight 1 - Flight 1- Value Zins (3 notes)
Red
2002 Kunde Estate Zinfandel Sonoma Valley
88 points
Still fresh and alive as ever. Had an '01 two weeks prior and was so surprised how long it has held up. This is the same. Fresh picked raspberries are explosive on the nose with a nice spiciness. The palate is the same with a jammy mouthfeel, cherries, and nise toasty vanilla on the finish. Amazing how a quality Zin can last a few years without fading.
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Comment
Red
2005 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel Appellation Series North Coast
87 points
Always a pleasure to drink Rosenblum products and this one continues that. Subtle nose of smokey plum and a hint of herbal stemminess. The palate is a richer style with thick plum and a peppery finish. While this was one dimensional, it provided a pleasant drinking experience at a great value.
Red
2004 Marietta Cellars Zinfandel
82 points
A little let down on this one. Marietta does a great job with all their wines, but this one didn't show as well as previous vintages. Seemed higher in acidity than usual without being jammy. The nose had an aggressive menthol characteristic to it. Good fruit, but a short finish. I guess I'm comparing to previous vintages. Overall it's a fine wine, but nothing to get excited about. What happened Chris?
Flight 2 - Flight 2- Nicer Zins (3 notes)
Red
2002 Ridge Zinfandel Ponzo Vineyard
90 points
This bottle destroyed my previous opinion that Zins don't obtain complexity, but rather fall apart. (With the exception of the Geyserville) This had great aromatics of pencil lead, sawdust, with some nice red fruits and spices. Nice juicy, not jammy, palate of ripe red plums, cherries, and currants. Moderate acidity and spice on the finish without being hot. Well done. This shows that Zins with a few years can offer more than just quaffable enjoyment.
Red
2003 Renwood Old Vine Zinfandel
87 points
These Renwoods all had a distinct nose on them. A minty spice, almost Wintergreen note. Thick and rich black fruits, cherry and plum, dominate the palate, with some tobacco leaf and gripping tannins towards the midpalate and finish. Nice intensity and mouthfeel. Big and bold.
Red
2003 Renwood Zinfandel Grandpère
88 points
Again a distinct nose of mint and camphor. Some ripe razz and strawberry with some baking spices as well. Palate is huge and ripe with cherries and plums wiht a nice toasty finish. Spices emerge on the finish as well with nicely balanced acidity. Not as thick as the Old Vine and seemed brighter.
Flight 3 - Flight 3- "Why we're all here" Zins (4 notes)
Red
2004 Jeff Cohn Cellars Zinfandel Arrowhead Mountain
91 points
Second time trying, this time with 10 other zins and this is the WOTN for me as well as a few other colleagues. The nose is explosive. Huge red cherry jam, toasted vanilla, and a hint of cedarwood. Palate is nicely extracted without being too rich, but definitely ripe. Red berry fruits dominate with some sweet oak, again vanilla, and a finish full of cinnamon and plum. Almost off-dry in style, this was a great Zin.
Red
2003 Ravenswood Zinfandel Barricia
86 points
Bigger, darker style of Zin without any jammy fruits. Had some bitter chocolate on the palate with some black plum and some decent spices. Still had a tannin structure that I couldn't get past, hiding the fruit. Aromatics were fine with camphor and blackberries, somewhat simpler than I expected. This is a good bottle, no doubt, but have had better experiences with Ravenswood.
Red
2003 Ravenswood Zinfandel Belloni
88 points
Way better than the '03 Barricia in a tasting. Showed very nice ripe red fruits and a very spicy palate. Jammy raspberries explode towards the finish along with some licorice. This was so refreshing after having the very bland Barricia. There is hope for Ravenswood!
Red
2005 Ridge Lytton Springs
flawed
Unfortunately my boss is a knuckle head and decided to pour this at a tasting the day after we received the container with the '05 Ridge products. This was very shocky and didn't show very well at all.
Closing
The lineup was rather bland at first, but after trying, I was very happy with a few of these products that surprised me, particularly the value oriented Zins