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Roy Hersh's ESTG Zinfandel tasting
Tasted March 10, 2003 by Eric with 605 views
Flight 1 - ZINFANDEL (12 notes)
Red
1999 Bradford Mountain Zinfandel Grist Vineyard
89 points
Some alcohol at first, but not too bad. Pleasing, complex nose. Excellent finish. Very balanced compared to the Turley.
Red
2000 Turley Zinfandel Dogtown Vineyard
89 points
I brought a bottle as my primary wine. The nose displays very forward aromae of blueberry, with vague hints of iron and some alcohol. On the palate this is lush with a very smooth mouth feel. Nice! Peppery elements and again more alcohol. The finish is long with peppery, spicy elements. Not a balanced enough effort to crack 90 points, but this was a fun fruit bomb and was appreciated by all at the tasting (mostly for the novelty of having a Turley).
Red
1998 Steele Wines Zinfandel Dupratt Vineyard
84 points
Thin, much more Syrah like. Tannic, young, some wood. Not much on the palate, bitter, watery, dilute.
Red
2001 Fife Zinfandel Mendocino Uplands
85 points
Strange nose of prune juice and green pepper. Very bizarre and off-putting. Blowing off a bit after time. Soft entry, lots of structure. Bitterness on the finish.
Red
1999 Dry Creek Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel
86 points
Lovely nose of blueberry with peppery hints. Everyone at the tasting loves the color. Drying tannins. Moderate to short finish.
Red
1999 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley
85 points
Hot nose. Smooth and spicy at first, but with searing heat and lots of structure. Clipped finish.
Red
1993 Eberle Zinfandel Paso Robles
88 points
Iodine? Something odd on the nose, but it blew off. Nice. Soft entry, nice structure, huge! Powerful finish, spicy.
Red
1997 Clos du Val Zinfandel Napa Valley
86 points
Deep color. Blueberries, jammy nose. Nice balance. Thin finish.
Red
1997 Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery Zinfandel Old Vines Domenici Vineyard
75 points
Vegetal. Vinegar. Spritz. Odd taste on the finish.
Red
1997 Villa Mt. Eden Zinfandel Grand Reserve Mead Ranch
85 points
Stunning color. A bit hot on the nose, nice varietal character. Long spicy finish but a bit too hot.
Red
Flight 2 - DESSERT (2 notes)
White - Sweet/Dessert
2001 Wegeler Geisenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Eiswein
90 points
I brought a bottle of this as a little treat. Very bright nose. Honeyed notes. On the palate this has massive residual sugar and defines "unctuous" as seen in various reviews! Only one out of 6 guessed this as a Riesling Eiswein. The wine didn't show much apparent acidity (although perhaps it is hiding behind huge mounds of sugar). Also, the wine wasn't as syrupy and cloying as most of the other tasters would associate with a young ice wine. This will be interesting to hold and see how it develops. I wouldn't open another one for 2-3 years and maybe longer if I can wait.