2000 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel Carla's Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 90.6 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  6/1/2023 - forceberry wrote: 88 Points

  A Zinfandel from a vineyard with vines up to 104 years old. 15% alcohol.
  
  Evolved and somewhat translucent blood-red color. The nose feels quite ripe, moderately sweetish and somewhat evolved with fruit-driven aromas of wizened dark fruits, some creamy and slightly jelly-like diacetyl, a little bit of dried figs and raisins, light strawberry tones, a hint of black raspberry, a toasty touch of mocha chocolate and a whiff of cherry marmalade. The wine feels ripe, juicy and quite sweet-toned on the palate with a rather full body and quite intense flavors of wizened cherries, some strawberry tones, a little bit of woody oak spice, light toasty notes of sweet oak spice and milk chocolate, a hint of something vaguely metallic and a touch of brambly black raspberry. Although the wine is noticeably ripe and the alcohol shows through a bit, the wine still sports surprisingly high acidity, which lends good sense of balance and structure along with the somewhat grippy medium tannins. The finish is ripe, gently grippy and slightly warm with a long, juicy aftertaste of sweet black cherries and brambly black raspberries, some strawberry tones, a little bit of vanilla oak, light raisiny nuances and a toasty hint of milk chocolate.
  
  These Carla's Vineyard Zinfandels seem a bit sweeter, oakier and more polished wines in comparison to the other Rosenblum Zins. More often than not I enjoy older Rosenblum Zins quite a lot, but these Carla's Vineyards seem always a bit too soft, sweet and oaky for my preference. Although the overall feel was pretty enjoyable here and especially the quite high acidity helped a lot, the wine was still far from perfect: the sweet, vaguely creamy and somewhat candied streak of diacetyl in the nose was so subtle that it didn't bother much, but that light streak of metallic flavor on the palate did distract me a bit more. Without these qualities this might've been better than the 2002 vintage we tasted at the same time, but this time we didn't luck out. I hope this was just bottle variation and not indicative of the vintage as a whole. Priced somewhat according to its quality at 28,50€.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View The Drunken Cyclist's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/17/2014 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 93 Points

  I have stated repeatedly that I am a huge fan of older Zinfandels and I realize that is not a common affinity—even in my own home. My wife is not a big fan, for she often finds the fruit “stewed” and therefore shies away from the older Zins. Honestly, that is just fine with me since that means I do not have to share. This was my third bottle of this wine and this was clearly the best. Fruit, depth, finish. Whoa. Exactly why I love old (ish) Zins…. Outstanding. thedrunkencyclist.com

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View The Drunken Cyclist's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/29/2013 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Another older Zin that is just fantastic--great dark berry fruit of blackberry and cassis. On the palate, completely integrated tannins and balanced acidity. The finish rounds out this truly fantastic wine. Outstanding. thedrunkencyclist.com

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View The Drunken Cyclist's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/17/2013 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 92 Points

  What a difference a few days (or bottle variation) make. My wife promised pizza for dinner as I went off to the gym (don't judge--I was only going to have a couple pieces) and all through the class I envisioned my little slices of heaven--I might have even worked a little extra hard because of it, planning on having this wine as well--I love old Zins. Well, in the end, the wife decided against ordering pizza so I was left to scavenge from a few nights worth of leftovers. I was not going to vary from this wine, though, and I am glad I didn't. Great, rich fruit this time around, perfectly balanced. This wine salvaged my night (and probably my marriage). Outstanding. thedrunkencyclist.com

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View The Drunken Cyclist's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/5/2013 - The Drunken Cyclist wrote: 88 Points

  I decided to pop this after the De Loach, and there is no doubt that it would have shown better if I had done it the other way around. The fruit is a bit muted, resulting in a rather austere wine. Still very good. thedrunkencyclist.com

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 6 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.