Zinco de Mayo 2009

AH1N1 be damned, nothing was going to stop our group of drinkers from getting together to commemorate two stirring examples American independence from European influence - one political and one oenological. We tasted a sweeping range of Zinfandel styles from a 13.5 % alcohol Nalle to a seemingly psychedelic Martinelli. Our group continues its drift away from blind tastings and towards food and wine friendly social events.

• 2006 Nalle Zinfandel

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley

  I probably made a mistake by rushing this into a big Zinfandel tasting as it was just too young, tight, and ungiving to show well next to a wide ranging selection of zins that featured some famous fruit bombs. It was a sad waste of a food friendly and well made wine.

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• 2003 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Scherrer Shale Terrace

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  Once again this is unzinlike and delicious with a striking strawberry-Royal Anne cherry-nectarine fruit profile and woodsy herbal accents. Balanced and super food friendly.

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• 2005 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines Scherrer Vineyard Alexander Valley

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  This came across all night as young but not tight. It showed plenty of depth of rich flavor. A clear fan favorite of the evening. Both Scherrer wines were enjoyed by all of our drinkers as great wine first and then as Zinfandels. It was very interesting to drink these balanced food friendly wines in a group that contained a number of more typical Zinfandel big boys.

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• 2005 A. Rafanelli Zinfandel

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley

  This wonderful Dry Creek zin was another fan favorite. All of our drinkers kept returning to it and commenting on its lively richness and characterful flavors that included red and black fruit, sweet earth, dark florals and French oak accents.

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• 2005 Robert Biale Zinfandel Black Chicken

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Another one of the crowd favorites of our Zinco de Mayo drinkers. It offered a rich layered palate of dark fruit and zin spice with smooth long tannin. It started to crack up just bit at the end of the evening.

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• 2004 Carlisle Zinfandel Rossi Ranch

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  This has been Greenblanket’s favorite Zinfandel and it suffered in this tasting next to some more recognizable zins and because of lack of finish. It brought a huge nose and attack of bright fruit and those almost Provencal herbal notes. The tannin structure was nearly crystalline in it’s fineness. Greenblanket thought it shortened up after the mid palate and most disturbingly detected a hint of raisins on the finish.

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• 2004 Turley Zinfandel Rancho Burro

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  A wonderful Zinfandel and pretty clearly the WOTN among our tasters/drinkers. The bouquet was enormous and evoked the entire blackberry patch all the way down to the sun-warmed earth. The palate was long with gloriously intertwined beams of fruit, smooth tannin, zin spice and uplifting acidity. All of these wines were open for more than six hours and Greenblanket also detected some raisin/prune flavors on the finish of this wine at the end of the night.

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• 2006 Martinelli Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  This wine caused an uproar the last Zinco de Mayo with its outrageous suite of over the top flavors and sensations. The riot of fruit has calmed down in the last year but there was still enough going on to evoke some “party in a bottle” comments this year. And Greenblanket was concerned that this might extend to a “party in the underpants” of some of his guests if they weren’t careful. (Greenblanket was haunted all evening by the old Sam Kinison gag about offering his undershorts to his doctor because they contained samples of at least five possible bodily fluids) Actually this wine had a lot to offer sadly including an unavoidably high alcohol content.

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So, Zinfandel tastings are tough. There are lots of styles and palate bonk is a real problem considering the size of some of the wines. A lovely and restrained Zinfandel like Nalle can seem tart and ungiving compared to the high physiological ripeness, “dialed to eleven” models. And, while our drinkers were impressed by the big wines, the Rafanelli and Scherrer bottles were the first to empty.