1999 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel Carla's Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 90 points

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  6/1/2023 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  A Zinfandel from a vineyard with vines up to 104 years old. 14% alcohol.
  
  Luminous, somewhat translucent and still relatively youthful black cherry color. The nose feels sweetish, expressive and relatively youthful with aromas of strawberries, bilberries and ripe black raspberries, some woody notes of cedar, a little bit of gamey meat, light oxidative nuances of sweet soy sauce, a hint of Bassett's black wine gum, a touch of boysenberry jam and a whiff of vanilla. The wine feels ripe, juicy and quite chewy on the palate with a full body and moderately intense flavors of sweet black cherries and ripe black raspberries, some gamey tones, a little bit of savory spice, light crunchy notes of fresh red plums, cedary hints of woody oak and an evolved touch of dried dark fruits. Unlike most other vintages of Carla's Vineyard, this particular vintage feels quite firm and structured with its rather high acidity and fine-grained yet moderately grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is ripe, long and moderately grippy with a savory and quite intense aftertaste of juicy red plums, some ripe black cherries, a little bit of gamey meat, light oaky notes of both cedar and sweeter toasty character, a hint of raspberry jam and a touch of earth.
  
  Of the five vintages of Carla's Vineyard Zinfandels we tasted, this was easily my favorite. It seems that on average, Carla's Vineyard Zin is a softer, sweeter and slightly more oaky effort compared to the overall Rosenblum style. However, of the vintages we tasted, this 1999 was the driest, least oaky and most structured vintage, stylistically closer to the other Rosenblum Zinfandels than the other vintages of Carla's Vineyard. Compared to the bottle of this same vintage I tasted earlier (half a year ago), I found this bottle slightly more evolved, but also more harmonious and more enjoyable - as the previous bottle showed a subtle streak of sweet, buttery diacetyl character, which I'm not a fan of - making this a pretty terrific vintage of Carla's Vineyard. Although the wine is in a great spot right now, I can imagine it will continue to evolve for a handful of years more from here. Terrific value at 28,50€.

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  10/4/2022 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points

  A Zinfandel from vineyards up to 104 years old. 14% alcohol. Tasted half-blind.
  
  Dark, somewhat evolved and moderately opaque black cherry color. The nose is rich, sweetish and surprisingly expressive with aromas of juicy bilberries and boysenberries, some strawberry jam, light elderberry tones, a little bit of vanilla oak, an evolved hint of wizened dark fruits and a sweet, lactic streak of diacetyl, perhaps? The wine feels silky smooth, somewhat concentrated and enjoyably chewy on the palate with a full body and intense flavors of ripe blackberries, meaty umami and inky tones, some tart notes of chokeberries and red plums, a little bit of brambly black raspberries, light bitter notes of roasted spices, a hint of beef jerky and a touch of wizened dark fruits. There's also a tiny bit of alcohol heat. The overall feel is quite firm and structured, more thanks to the balanced high acidity than to the round, powdery medium tannins. The finish is dry, spicy and somewhat grippy with a long, somewhat evolved aftertaste of juicy dark berries, some toasty oak spice, a little bit of ripe black cherry, light creamy oak tones, a hint of game and a touch of crunchy chokeberry.
  
  A firm, fine-tuned and pretty serious old Zinfandel with great intensity and lovely acidity. The oak showed a bit through here, but there might've been a bit of buttery diacetyl, boosting the oaky tones a little bit too much and lending a somewhat sweet edge to the fruit that otherwise wouldn't have been there. Tasting this wine alongside 1999 Turley Duarte Zinfandel, I felt this wine was slightly sweeter, softer and silkier in comparison, but at the same time showing more freshness and nuance. Although showing some age, it feels as though the wine is still on an upward trajectory and capable of evolving even further from here. It was quite impossible to say whether this or the Turley Zinfandel was better - they both had their own merits and from a quality perspective, they were pretty much equal. A fine example of aged yet not old Zin. Terrific value at 28,50€.

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  6/10/2007 - pea wrote: 88 Points

  A nice wine but nothing to be remembered.

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