Community Tasting Note

• csimm wrote: 87 points

  April 14, 2018 - Ok...I'll take the incoming arrows on this one. Apparently I'm missing something here. I found this to be a higher-register, linear, sour example of the varietal. Yes, it's young, but the lack of depth was so disappointingly flat and superficial that I really couldn't get any sense of the overall would-be flavor profile of this wine. Some unripe purple plum, sour cherry, imitation vanilla extract, alcohol, citrus rind (which I'm not sure really belongs in a Zinfandel), and maybe some dusty earth - if I imagine this actually came from a vineyard planted in dirt where grapes grow and not some processing factory in Omaha.
  
  I know Mike Officer has a strong following, and they are super swell folks, but I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go with this wine. As this label spreads itself thin with the amount of different wines being put out there, it seems to be subsequently producing thin wines. I'm not mad about it; I just don't understand it. Disappointing I suppose for someone like me who wants greater concentration and complexity, especially from some of these seemingly spectacular old-vine sites. Don't fear the fruit people! Flavor is ok. We don't live in France. Global warming should be helping us here (ok, maybe that's a little too far)...

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9 Comments

• wilypod commented:

  4/15/18, 11:34 AM - Not tasted it myself. Value the honesty, iconoclasm. Personal experience w/Carlisle supports letting the wines age brings out more. Few wines actually deserve either positive or negative hyperbole.

• csimm commented:

  4/15/18, 11:50 AM - Thanks for the comment wilypod. To note, my verbiage/poetic (or lack thereof) license in describing my experience with this wine isn't designed to be so much as iconoclastic as it is to illustrate my own personal take on what this wine meant to me. I suppose I could state some simpleton TNs with a few adjectives here and there and be done with it; however, I tend to value folks' true and full opinions on wines, whether or not I agree with them or not. I am fully aware of and respect the subjectivities of wine and those who appreciate it (and especially who take the time to write about it). Exaggerated to the point of being characterized as hyperbole? Eh, perhaps. But I guess I say take what you want and leave the rest. Obviously this wine isn't my jam. Others clearly love it. Luckily, there's room (I think) for all of us in the same forum. Cheers!
  
  ...I heard that if you say "Cheers" after any wine-diatribe, it makes for a more affable dialogue in the end! (ok, now that might have been borderline hyperbole)........ :)

• wilypod commented:

  4/15/18, 11:57 AM - I dare not throw the first stone. If one cannot wax wildly on a bottle of wine, what's become of this world!

• csimm commented:

  4/15/18, 3:26 PM - Indeed! Many thanks to those who allow me to wax away on this particular topic. I imagine my wine catharsis can often be quite trying for some. Take care!

• wilypod commented:

  4/15/18, 9:35 PM - Not at all trying. I'd much rather read a note like yours than a routine Wine Spectator encomium with 93 points. For one thing you swallow your wine. And, cheers!

• csimm commented:

  4/15/18, 10:05 PM - Ha! I’m sure I swallow more wine than I should. All in the name of science... and fodder for palate pontification of course...

• Mark1npt commented:

  5/4/18, 8:00 PM - csimm....thanks for the note....my bottle back in Jan was a very weird experience, yet because of the wonderful finish, I gave it a 92. The front end was flat with some sour fruit as you noted, the middle a little flabby but the ending salvaged it for me. Perhaps I just haven't grown the stones to call a spade a spade? I've also never experienced this with a bottle before, all over the place. I'm reserving judgement on my last bottle and going to give it a year but rest assured if it's not much better, people will know it....I like Mike Officer but a mediocre/bad wine is a mediocre/bad wine.

• csimm commented:

  5/5/18, 8:11 AM - Hi Mark. True enough, this is a “young” wine, so I’m sure some improvements might crawl out from underneath its current wonky display of flavor...at least I hope so for folks who made the investment and are holding bottles.
  
  I think Mike Officer is a super nice guy (though I can only assume he probably doesn’t think the same of me at this point); but as you mentioned, a wine that isn’t up to par “is what it is.” I know a lot of nice winemakers and proprietors who make wines that aren’t so nice. As a lowly consumer, I’m looking to acquire great wines, not invest in some mystical relationship with a quasi-celebrity local winemaker. Wine-Searcher is my preferred app; not Tinder. I don’t need more good friends...I need more good wine.... :)
  
  Hopefully the next cork you pull ends up more seamless and satisfying. I’ll be crossing my fingers for you!!

• Mark1npt commented:

  5/5/18, 10:00 AM - I couldn't improve on your response one bit. Exactly my m/o too. Thanks csimm!

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