Community Tasting Note

srh Likes this wine:

Saturday, October 29, 2016 - Sat, 10/29/16, $2 Tasting + a Zin "surprise" (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): (Only slight browning on rim)

N: RIPE; raisins, prunes, & some smoke

P: Med body, MF with additional air [the acidity also seeming to pick up with time]; Smooth entry, nice length & BALANCE; The acidity has CLEARLY held this, there no longer being any sense of tannins whatsoever. Blind I'd **never** have guessed this to be, in essence, 19 YEARS after the vintage!

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This experience brings so MANY things to mind. In no particular order:

1) The many ACCURATE comments on this wine here y-e-a-r-s previously! Folks mentioned the ACIDITY level of this, with the post immediately preceding this on how the wine didn't yet seem "together" but still [10 YEARS after vintage] seemed to have plenty of stuffing. All of which imply...

1a) ...the *CRITICAL* role of acidity for ANY wine to age

1b) ...the ability of at least CERTAIN Zins to age.

That last leads me to some general ideas re aging wines:

2) I didn't notice any particular nuances or layers of flavors as a result of this having been cellared. Granted, I'm next to positive it wasn't decanted, & as I noted improvement from my first to last taste, perhaps decanting WOULD have revealed additional layers/complexities that were truly THERE. Otherwise, other than to "finally" get this bottling to express its FULL potential, WHY cellar it *if* ADDITIONAL nuances & layers weren't to make up for the natural loss of YOUTHFUL exuberance?

IMHO all of these are considerations for those of us who cellar wines WITH the expectation of actually IMPROVING what we purchased initially. ;)

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