| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.7 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 33 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by tedcholl on 5/13/2024 & rated 91 points: My 2nd of 6 bottles from my wine club purchase. While this was slightly better than my first bottle this vintage hasn't been on par with previous vintages. Good wine and enjoyable but more Zin bramble, raisin, and herbaceous notes than I prefer and have tasted in previous vintages. Might give an early try to my 2022 bottles to see if my observations carry over to the 2022's. (433 views) |
| | Tasted by PVJC on 5/6/2024 & rated 91 points: I'm a big Rafanelli fan, but this was too oaky. Drank half on Monday and when I got back in town and drank the rest on Friday it was no better. Need to give these more time. (383 views) |
| | Tasted by tedcholl on 4/11/2024 & rated 91 points: This vintage has a stronger raisin and also green herbaceous notes than what I've drank previously. Also notes of blackberry, cherry, pepper, blueberry. (792 views) |
| | Tasted by tomlee on 3/28/2024 & rated 93 points: Purple in color. 14.7% ABV. Soaring nose of red and black fruits, plums, earth and pepper. Medium body with just the right amount of acidity. Well balanced, perfumed and elegant with rich, earthy fruits. Black cherry, black raspberry, mulberry and pepper on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Outstanding Dry Creek Valley Zin from a stellar vintage. Best over the next 4-6 years. (920 views) |
| | Tasted by Rwsmith5 on 3/23/2024 & rated 92 points: Opened up beautifully after a few hours. (879 views) |
| | Tasted by FoMoCo on 2/11/2024 & rated 92 points: Maybe a little young - but still very enjoyable. Will space our other bottles out and see how this evolves. (1198 views) |
| | Tasted by lltl2021 on 2/9/2024 & rated 92 points: 1st night is tight and concentrated. Lots of things are going on, some sediments are present and the acidity level is quite high. 2nd night is great, plum, blackberry, and red fruit are all showing up. It's quite oaky with a vanilla note prominent on the nose. It is still quite concentrated with some pepper, spice, and cigar notes—medium length of finish. I will hold my other bottle for some time before revisiting it. (978 views) |
| | Tasted by David B on 1/11/2024 & rated 94 points: Fantastic. I almost gave up on it. 1st night, too tight. 2nd night beautiful Zin fruit, velvety but vibrant fruit long on palate. As I get older my palate seems to like these young vibrant Zinfandel wines. Had it with a breaded plump chicken cutlet and cheese ravioli with my home made tomato sauce from 2023 tomatoes. Both the chicken breast and raviolis' from the famous De Pasquale's Market in Newton MA. Their sausage is the best but their chicken breast are also 2nd no one else. (1162 views) |
| | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 11/1/2023 & rated 93 points: Really good, glad I have a few bottles remaining. (1836 views) |
| | Tasted by PinotAnyone? on 10/29/2023 & rated 84 points: Very prominent Rafanelli nose. Deep black fruit very evident upon tasting. Can detect quite a bit of oak as well. Not super tannic but definitely needs to open up for a few more years in bottle. (1419 views) |
| | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 10/11/2023 & rated 94 points: Excellent Zin - balance, intensity, depth and length. Should continue to evolve very well over the next several years. (1432 views) |
| | Tasted by wabi47 on 9/20/2023 & rated 91 points: deep young and potent zin; would hold for my taste (1363 views) |
| | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 7/19/2023 & rated 94 points: Excellent DCV Zin! (1577 views) |
| | Tasted by tomoem on 7/12/2023 & rated 92 points: Having this wine now 2 hours after opening. It has mildly improved with strawberry replacing the raspberry notes at the start. It's mid palette remains the same but it's finish is much more rich and almost rotted strawberry in flavor. Lovely !! Really my style. (1091 views) |
| | Tasted by tomoem on 7/11/2023 & rated 92 points: Raspberry nose with slight amounts of strawberry. In mouth the wine is much more strawberry than anything else. The notes are of a rather underdeveloped strawberry fruit over the more ripened notes. This underdeveloped fruit note grows into the finish as it becomes even more strawberry fruit dominated on the lingering notes. (1026 views) |
| | Tasted by ralstenm on 6/19/2023 & rated 92 points: Beautiful floral nose of red berries and forest floor, garden mulch. Strawberry and raspberry pop rocks, beautiful acidity and smooth tannins. Served with blue cheese burgers! (1070 views) |
| | Tasted by bowmanbc on 6/18/2023 & rated 91 points: needs more time (955 views) |
| | Tasted by Winokdub on 5/14/2023 & rated 93 points: Really amazing zin showing well at this early juncture but definitely also has structure to warrant aging. Will be curious to see where this goes. Likely further upside from this already wonderful wine. Bravo!! (831 views) |
| | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 5/4/2023 & rated 93 points: A delicious, complete young Zin! (900 views) |
| | Tasted by bowmanbc on 4/6/2023 & rated 91 points: hold (1132 views) |
| | Tasted by thesternowl on 4/2/2023 & rated 92 points: Splash decanted and then poured back into the bottle about 5 hours prior to dinner. This is my first impression of the 2021 Zinfandel which is even more exciting than usual because the 2020 vintage was skipped due to the LNU Lightning Complex fires which rendered that crop a write-off. The wine pours a deep ruby color with a translucent core moving towards a magenta edge and a slightly watery rim. Medium+ viscosity and moderate staining of the tears. There seems to be some sediment already, however this is not uncommon with bottles of Rafanelli both young and old. On the nose, the wine is clean although I do detect some VA, well within the “charming” range. Very expressive fresh red and black fruits, primarily brambles: Marionberry, ripe blackberry fruit, and raspberries. These are accompanied by white pepper and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. Alcohol is medium+ but not out of balance. Finish is medium. As usual, these wines upon release tend to be super primary but I like what I’m experiencing! Personally, I would recommend some patience when drinking these young. While they are no-doubt good, they tend to fill out with some time on their side in the cellar. Best after 2024 and should drink well through 2035. Oh…and this was an awesome pairing with grilled rack of lamb. (1104 views) |
| | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 3/24/2023 & rated 93 points: Bright, lively red fruit. Excellent balance, depth and length. Very nice now and it will only improve. (858 views) |
| | Tasted by raiderwes on 3/24/2023 & rated 92 points: we always open one right after receipt; bright and tart; will be fun to see this one age and develop (980 views) |
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