Paired with arugula raviolini, and followed a Turley '05 Duarte, this pours a light red to pink on the edge. Medium body compared to the Turley. Dark oaky aromas of charred wood, peppery black berry compote, resinous tannins. Day two this is showing more maturity, with bass driven raspberry on the nose, and confected scalded jamberry compote. Slightly sour tannin drives the finish. Recommend consuming in one setting.
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Solid zinfandel. The Novy zins are underappreciated in my opinion. Have one more and will likely jump on it soon. Don't see this getting better and likely at or just past its peak.
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The winner of my all-time Weirdest Wine Ever award. Similar to my last two bottles - very light in color and body and short on backbone. This time, however, I switched to another wine and came back to this one about three or four hours later. With that much air time, I expected this wine to have completely fallen apart. However, it was bold, rich, and vibrant, with just the right amount of testosterone - everything I'd expected when I bought it back in '06. A bottle of wine is supposed to be a living, evolving thing, but this one went through several mutations in a relatively short time.
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Felt like a zin and pulled this out, PnP. Pours lighter than expected, with a silky fluid body of light ruby. Glyceric, displaying 14.9%, but not hot which is good. Unmistakeable zin nose of pepper, crushed pomegranate syrup, pencil shavings. On the palate bright strawberry and black raspberry. Fruit slams the mid and finish with decently integrated tannins. A little tart coming out with air on the finish. Not a powerhouse full throttle fruit bomb style, yet fairly ripe with good acidity. By day 4+ under vac-u-vin, this is starting to fall apart, with promenient acidity and oxidized toast notes.
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I give up. Third bottle in less than a year, with extreme variation. Had this one side-by-side with an '04 Carlisle zin from Papera ("Carlo's"). Very light color for a zin, with virtually no tannins or acids. Having opened about an hour before drinking, this one displayed a bright raspberry nose. Raspberry was almost explosive on the palate. Light body, with a short finish that was disguised by lingering taste and aroma of the fruit. Shouldn't last much longer, and I wouldn't open one without a back-up bottle on hand.
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Completely different than a bottle I had only nine months ago. This one was soft, fruity, almost like a Beaujolais (albeit, with a little more heft). Color was surprisingly light, but with no signs of age. Minimal acid and tannins. After the bottle had been open for an hour, it showed a little oak on the finish. I suspect there was something wrong with this one. Bottle variation is one thing, but this was extreme.
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Opened (not decanted) about an hour before drinking. Closed nose. Tart cherry pie filling. A plush texture behind the acidity. Decent finish. The acids will keep it going for years, but it's hard to say what will be left when the fruit fades.
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Opened with a barnyard funk on the nose that eventually blew off. Medium garnet in the glass--certainly not opaque. Tart dark, earthy berry with a touch of alcohol and spice. Very well-structured and not giving much. After about an hour or so of drinking the tannins are still somewhat bitter. Needs time. On the second day nose is much more generous and perfumy raspberry/cherry. The acidity is still there but less tart. The tannins are no longer bitter and interferiing with the fruit. Even after two days this wine tastes fresh and perky. On the lighter side of zin but great concentration of fruit and acidity. A slight touch of heat on the finish is the only indicator of the vintage. Otherwise, a well structured zin on the feminine side with good concentration of fruit. This wine needs air to open and should improve over the next 2-3 years at least. Well done.
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This didn't scream zinfandel to me, but it was an enjoyable bottle. Medium weight and restrained red fruit. I expected something more explosive or in your face. This is a happy wine that doesn't shout for attention.
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A bit softer than last year. But still with nice restrained red fruit on the nose, medium weight on palate and just enough acidity. Again this seemed more pinot like than zin, but in a nice way.
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Brought to pumpkin carving party. This wine didn't stand out from the crowd, but it may have been a victim of cheap stemware plus my reduced ability to taste. I will save my remaining bottle for an occasion where proper stemware can help it achieve its maximum potential.
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singing wine. Deep red, purple but lighter at the rim and deep pinot like colors. Mouth filling flavors. Not lush, but hitting on all frequencies of fruit, pepper, spice and tanins. I am not a zin head, so can't compare to a lot of other zins, but really enjoyable. Red fruits (berries, cherry, bramble) dominant.
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A pinot lover's zin. Nice red fruits and spice. Did not detect the stemminess noted in the '03. Full rich fruit on the palate, but very nicely balanced -- not a fruit bomb. Soft tannins with medium-low acidity. Everyone enjoyed this one.
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Nice on opening but showed more after being open for 3 hours. Surprised to note so much cherry and red fruits; on the 2nd day is showed a little better.
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LostVerse opened this at his home to get a bunch of the CWM to play worse billiards. It worked in my case. Hard for me to say but I liked this Zin. Dark reddish purple. Concentrated without being overdone. Black fruit notes. Long finish. 90-91 points.
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Wonderful zin. Not from the current fruit bomb style that is so in vogue today. After about 1 hour of being open the nose was filled with coffee and chocolate. Wonderful wine, Novy brings style/elegance to the zin grape.
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I would not have guessed Zinfandel in a blind tasting. This is probably the best Zin I've had. Opened and poured. Reddish purple in the glass but not quite opaque. Initial nose of coffee, dusty rose, rasberry and chocalate. Palate is heavy with the floral rasberry. Finish is excellent. There is not much in the way of tannin present. This is not your typical in your face jammy zin. It was, dare I say it, almost elegant.
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5/9/2014 - Senso-beak wrote: 89 Points
Paired with arugula raviolini, and followed a Turley '05 Duarte, this pours a light red to pink on the edge. Medium body compared to the Turley. Dark oaky aromas of charred wood, peppery black berry compote, resinous tannins. Day two this is showing more maturity, with bass driven raspberry on the nose, and confected scalded jamberry compote. Slightly sour tannin drives the finish. Recommend consuming in one setting.
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4/7/2012 - hanasowner wrote: 86 Points
Big drop off since my last bottle eight months ago. Opened an hour before pouring. Very little left on the nose other than some heat.
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7/16/2011 - hanasowner wrote: 89 Points
Solid zinfandel. The Novy zins are underappreciated in my opinion. Have one more and will likely jump on it soon. Don't see this getting better and likely at or just past its peak.
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1/16/2011 - Night Train wrote: 88 Points
The winner of my all-time Weirdest Wine Ever award. Similar to my last two bottles - very light in color and body and short on backbone. This time, however, I switched to another wine and came back to this one about three or four hours later. With that much air time, I expected this wine to have completely fallen apart. However, it was bold, rich, and vibrant, with just the right amount of testosterone - everything I'd expected when I bought it back in '06. A bottle of wine is supposed to be a living, evolving thing, but this one went through several mutations in a relatively short time.
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9/6/2010 - Senso-beak wrote: 89 Points
Felt like a zin and pulled this out, PnP. Pours lighter than expected, with a silky fluid body of light ruby. Glyceric, displaying 14.9%, but not hot which is good. Unmistakeable zin nose of pepper, crushed pomegranate syrup, pencil shavings. On the palate bright strawberry and black raspberry. Fruit slams the mid and finish with decently integrated tannins. A little tart coming out with air on the finish. Not a powerhouse full throttle fruit bomb style, yet fairly ripe with good acidity. By day 4+ under vac-u-vin, this is starting to fall apart, with promenient acidity and oxidized toast notes.
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6/21/2010 - Night Train wrote: 87 Points
I give up. Third bottle in less than a year, with extreme variation. Had this one side-by-side with an '04 Carlisle zin from Papera ("Carlo's"). Very light color for a zin, with virtually no tannins or acids. Having opened about an hour before drinking, this one displayed a bright raspberry nose. Raspberry was almost explosive on the palate. Light body, with a short finish that was disguised by lingering taste and aroma of the fruit. Shouldn't last much longer, and I wouldn't open one without a back-up bottle on hand.
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5/2/2010 - Night Train wrote: 85 Points
Completely different than a bottle I had only nine months ago. This one was soft, fruity, almost like a Beaujolais (albeit, with a little more heft). Color was surprisingly light, but with no signs of age. Minimal acid and tannins. After the bottle had been open for an hour, it showed a little oak on the finish. I suspect there was something wrong with this one. Bottle variation is one thing, but this was extreme.
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7/26/2009 - Night Train wrote: 88 Points
Opened (not decanted) about an hour before drinking. Closed nose. Tart cherry pie filling. A plush texture behind the acidity. Decent finish. The acids will keep it going for years, but it's hard to say what will be left when the fruit fades.
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6/5/2009 - dmatley wrote: 92 Points
Opened with a barnyard funk on the nose that eventually blew off. Medium garnet in the glass--certainly not opaque. Tart dark, earthy berry with a touch of alcohol and spice. Very well-structured and not giving much. After about an hour or so of drinking the tannins are still somewhat bitter. Needs time. On the second day nose is much more generous and perfumy raspberry/cherry. The acidity is still there but less tart. The tannins are no longer bitter and interferiing with the fruit. Even after two days this wine tastes fresh and perky. On the lighter side of zin but great concentration of fruit and acidity. A slight touch of heat on the finish is the only indicator of the vintage. Otherwise, a well structured zin on the feminine side with good concentration of fruit. This wine needs air to open and should improve over the next 2-3 years at least. Well done.
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3/23/2009 - BonnieM wrote:
This didn't scream zinfandel to me, but it was an enjoyable bottle. Medium weight and restrained red fruit. I expected something more explosive or in your face. This is a happy wine that doesn't shout for attention.
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9/4/2008 - thomaskeil wrote: 88 Points
A bit softer than last year. But still with nice restrained red fruit on the nose, medium weight on palate and just enough acidity. Again this seemed more pinot like than zin, but in a nice way.
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8/7/2008 - 2loyal wrote: 88 Points
Tasty juice, with nice sweet fruit, but this was missing that special Papera zing that made that made the 2003 such a unique eye-opener.
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10/28/2007 - BonnieM wrote:
Brought to pumpkin carving party. This wine didn't stand out from the crowd, but it may have been a victim of cheap stemware plus my reduced ability to taste. I will save my remaining bottle for an occasion where proper stemware can help it achieve its maximum potential.
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7/29/2007 - jwolfsthal wrote: 90 Points
singing wine. Deep red, purple but lighter at the rim and deep pinot like colors. Mouth filling flavors. Not lush, but hitting on all frequencies of fruit, pepper, spice and tanins. I am not a zin head, so can't compare to a lot of other zins, but really enjoyable. Red fruits (berries, cherry, bramble) dominant.
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7/14/2007 - spotfin wrote: 89 Points
ok, a bit hot.
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5/18/2007 - oeno8105 wrote: 75 Points
This was a mistake. It really was unsatisfying, even at the price we purchased it at.
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5/15/2007 - pjhr wrote: 92 Points
Delicious Zin! Nice red cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors with an elegant restraint and balance. Soft to medium tannins onthe finish.
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2/21/2007 - thomaskeil wrote: 90 Points
A pinot lover's zin. Nice red fruits and spice. Did not detect the stemminess noted in the '03. Full rich fruit on the palate, but very nicely balanced -- not a fruit bomb. Soft tannins with medium-low acidity. Everyone enjoyed this one.
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1/5/2007 - ClassicWineStorage wrote: 88 Points
Nice on opening but showed more after being open for 3 hours. Surprised to note so much cherry and red fruits; on the 2nd day is showed a little better.
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1/4/2007 - Vino Me wrote: 90 Points
LostVerse opened this at his home to get a bunch of the CWM to play worse billiards. It worked in my case. Hard for me to say but I liked this Zin. Dark reddish purple. Concentrated without being overdone. Black fruit notes. Long finish. 90-91 points.
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12/17/2006 - MBrown wrote: 90 Points
Wonderful zin. Not from the current fruit bomb style that is so in vogue today. After about 1 hour of being open the nose was filled with coffee and chocolate. Wonderful wine, Novy brings style/elegance to the zin grape.
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12/8/2006 - thelostverse wrote: 94 Points
I would not have guessed Zinfandel in a blind tasting. This is probably the best Zin I've had. Opened and poured. Reddish purple in the glass but not quite opaque. Initial nose of coffee, dusty rose, rasberry and chocalate. Palate is heavy with the floral rasberry. Finish is excellent. There is not much in the way of tannin present. This is not your typical in your face jammy zin. It was, dare I say it, almost elegant.
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