September 6, 2019 - A Ledbury lunch (The Ledbury, London): Beautifully detailed and resolved. Briary dark red fruit that develops a haunting blackberry nose. Smooth, the Zin tempered by PS. Smooth, rounded but long and complex. Just so smooth. Gorgeous. *****
April 26, 2019 - Magnum - I expected the worst and was surprised by this lovely, mature wine. The color is bright; the nose jumps out of the glass. Overall, nicely balanced with soft fruit.
April 19, 2019 - wow - what a pleasant surprise! no idea how to rate this one. zin at (almost) 30! didn't expect this bottle had survived, but it was an interesting pairing decanted and nicely presented alongside a birthday dinner at the always tasty tar & roses. earthy and dusty, with hints of tobacco and even a little bit of lingering spice. there was also a subtle and concentrated suggestion of sweetness, almost port-like without being saccharine, that played nicely in the balance. certainly long past its peak, but still worth drinking if you have a bottle in hiding somewhere.
July 10, 2017 - Very closed nose upon initial opening. But good things come to those who wait. And what a nose it has after 30 minutes. Completely a different animal. Still some tannins left on the palate. Well balanced
May 30, 2017 - We first tasted this wine about 8 years ago and still, after 25 years in bottle, this is drinking like a much younger wine. The palate has shifted, from dark fruit and black licorice to cranberry and fennel; but this is a rich, structured wine...tasty acidity and mouth-coating tannins and ripe (even sweet) fruit really deliver with a rich, full mouth feel. Early after opening there was a strong smokey component, but the oak blew off after an hour and it turned very smooth, with a bit of cigar box, those secondary characteristics just starting to peek through.
There is so much fruit here, and such great tannin/acid balance, that I think this would still be drinking well in 10 years, easy.
April 6, 2017 - Acker Merrall Pre-Auction Tasting (Le Cirque - New York NY): Tasting, brief note. 64% Zinfandel. Lots of powerful black fruit with good freshness, good concentration and spice hints. Very tasty, even if slightly non-descript, other than "tasty, maturing red wine."
January 21, 2017 - Beautifully mature wine with excellent color and fragrant bouquet. Soft fruit reflective of 26 years, but still complex and balanced wine. Finish a bit short.
January 19, 2017 - A bit past it's best but still quite lively with lots of spices, iodine, cedar, and dried cherries. A moderately long finish was similar to the palate. More claret at this point in it's life. Easily the best showing of this I've had in recent years. Though not one to last much longer so I'd recommend drinking this vintage up much sooner rather than later, as in the next couple years at most.
88 Points
June 21, 2016 - Understated, simple, but so delicious and perfectly balanced. I lack the vocabulary to describe this well...drank at a dinner with many other more flashy wines, this one was my favorite. Quiet, honest, deep.
March 20, 2016 - Ridge Monte Bello component tasting (and a Meursault!) (Ridge Vineyards, Santa Cruz, CA): Soft and developed. Mature stewed figgy fruit. Light and tired on the palate - not distinctively zin at this point.
m body, m acid, m+ alc, low tannins (very rounded and soft).
It’s old wine, but it doesn’t taste distinctively Zin. It sort of tastes like all old wine.