Relatively neutral nose, predominantly smelling of freshly sanded wood. Slightly reductive (rubber). Grapefruit pith! Raw apricot.
m body, m+ acid, m+ alcohol
Strong and bright acid! Slight bitterness from wood. Hints of vanilla buttercream.

A bit charred (seems like oak influence). Some chocolate covered plum, but this isn’t screaming merlot to me. Low ripeness - the fruit tastes cool and there’s slight herbaceousness (olive).
m body, m+ alc (13.5%), m+acid, m tannins.
Fresh! A bit simple.

Inky, opaque purple. Slightly floral. Slight herbs. Green stemminess, underbrush, rosemary. Very clear fresh blackberry. The nose has a pronounced sharpness to it.
m+ body, m+ alcohol (13.4%), m+ acid, m+ tannins (chewy!)

This is beautiful! Aromatic and complex. Blackcurrant juice, candied jalapeño with mint.
m body, m+ alcohol (13.6%), elevated acid and medium tannins. Great concentration of flavor.
I wish they would bottle this!

Tight. Reticent blackcurrant with green olive herbaceousness.
Elevated acid and high tannin.

70% cab, 14% merlot, 9% pv, 7%cf
Bright acid. Blue fruit. Several different types of herbaceousness (from the PV, Merlot, Cab, and CF). Blackberry. Slight stewed bell pepper. Elevated tannins young and papery. Elevated acid. This is more than the sum of its parts! Great flavor concentration throughout the experience - nose, attack, midpalate, and finish. It seems like the different components fill in different parts of the palate. Cabernet gives structure and finish, CF gives aroma and attack, PV gives color, aroma, structure, and later mid-palate. Merlot gives a generous, more expansive mid-palate.

80c 8pv 7cf 5m
Wow! Stewed peppers. Blackcurrant. Range of fruits. Gingerbread and toasted coconut (amer oak). Elegant structure. Concentrated and structured but with elegant structure and balance.
M body, m alc, m+ acid, m+ tannins

75% cabernet
A bit simpler but still good with some herbaceousness. There’s a bit of a lack of flavor concentration on the midpalate. Nose is great!
m body, m alc, m+ acid, m tannins

Zin with carignan and a few other varieties
Tart cranberry and tart cherry. Faint ripe orange.
Med tannins. Elevated acid. Slightly elevated alcohol. 14.5% but holds it well.

Higher alcohol than the Geyserville - 15%. More overt oak - sawdust. Stewed fruit. Vanilla. Elevated acid. Diminished tannins. Bright and alcoholic and juicy.

Soft and developed. Mature stewed figgy fruit. Light and tired on the palate - not distinctively zin at this point.
m body, m acid, m+ alc, low tannins (very rounded and soft).
It’s old wine, but it doesn’t taste distinctively Zin. It sort of tastes like all old wine.

(not sure whether this is Pagani Ranch or Bridgehead).
Structured (m+ acid and m+ tannins, though developed). Stewed red fruits.

Overridden by brett - dog fur, manure, bitter aromas. Thin on the palate.

Very strange watery honey aroma - seems like botrytis!
Weird thin watery honey on the palate.
m body, m alcohol (12.3%), elevated acid, very soft.
It’s very developed, and not oxidized, but it doesn’t really show much character beyond the sweet honeyed note. “bottle sweetness” ?

@Tim’s, afterwards
Reticent nose with hints of almond, toast, and apple. Slight herbaceousness - stemmy? lime? I’m not sure. Saline on the palate, with high acid (strong tartaric). Slightly elevated alcohol - feels 13% (correct). Slight bitterness from oak.
Really nice!