2002 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel Harris Kratka Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (12) Avg Score: 89 points

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  4/8/2022 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  A blend of Zinfandel (95%), Carignan (3%) and Petite Sirah (2%). 13,5% alcohol.
  
  Somewhat translucent brick-red color with an evolved rusty hue. The nose feels ripe and moderately developed with slightly sweet-toned aromas of blueberries, some ripe plummy tones, a little bit of sweet boysenberry, light raisiny nuances, a perfumed hint of dried flowers and a meaty touch of game. The wine is ripe and, savory and quite full-bodied on the palate, but at the same time remarkably fresh and light on its feet for a Zinfandel. There are rather savory flavors of brambly black raspberries and sweeter boysenberries, some meaty umami tones, a little bit of ripe black cherry, light herby nuances of bay leaf and other dried herbs, a toasty hint of sweet mocha oak and a touch of roasted game. The overall feel is surprisingly structured due to the still rather firm and grippy tannins, and the high acidity lends great intensity to the fruit flavors. The finish is long, savory and quite grippy with an intense aftertaste of ripe black raspberries and blackcurrant-driven wizened dark berries, some gamey notes of meat, a little bit of old leather, light evolved nuances of meat stew, a hint of sweet, toasty oak and a touch of peppery spice.
  
  This was a very positive surprise and quite an impressively structured effort for a Zinfandel. Instead of coming across as sweet or jammy, the wine seemed wonderfully crunchy and savory in style, and even if the overall feel was moderately evolved, this wine was much more youthful than I anticipated - had it been poured blind, I would've guessed this must've been about 10 years old. There's still some noticeable toasty oak nuances in the background, suggesting the wine might've been quite a bit oakier in its youth, but now the overall emphasis was almost completely on the layered, quite intense and beautifully matured fruit flavors; the woody tones just added to the complexity without overwhelming any finer nuances. All in all, this was a superb example of aged Zinfandel - and seeing how relatively youthful the wine was, I can imagine it will still continue to improve for a handful of years more. Great value at 32,50€.

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  10/22/2012 - europat55 wrote: 89 Points

  2002 Zinfandel Retrospective (Tasted Blind) (Rich and Peggy's House, Los Altos): Very good nose. Soft palate. Excellent!! Tasted blind.
  My 3rd. Group's 3rd.

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  1/7/2012 - walkerjfw wrote: 90 Points

  Didn't expect this to have much left, was pleasantly surprised. Dark cherry and oak come right at you on the nose, complex and elegant for a zin.
  
  Drank beautifully from the bottle for the first hour. Faded after that. Fair amount of sediment in the bottle I had. While past its prime, this is still very nice wine if you are Ok to pop and pour.

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  8/24/2008 - Tarrant wrote: 91 Points

  Awesome Zin, enough bottle age to make it very interesting and complex, and it looks to me like it has aged well, with perhaps a few years to go - Dark red/purple, well concentrated with notes of black fruit, plum, cherry, spice and vanilla on the nose, very well structured and balanced, complex and quite elegant surprisingly, smooth on the finish with excellent length (91 Points).

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  1/6/2008 - stevenp22 wrote: 89 Points

  Lots of sediment, smoothed out after a little time

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