April 11, 2020 - A big, fruit forward wine that’s still drinking beautifully. Rich, deep blackberry flavors dominate with enough tannins to stand up to hearty food. Only thing missing were the cracked white pepper notes that have always made this particular Hartford Zin so distinctive. Recommend drinking now
November 24, 2017 - Nice leathery nose, a bit of band-aid initially but opened up nicely with solid tannins.
September 2, 2017 - Very soft. Lost its power.
July 16, 2017 - W smoked briskett after 2 other hartfords (Fanucchi 2011). I thought this was better as it had more body. Worth the cellaring, as this has become more structured. Drinking these early you get a lot of juice and limited structure.
Drink now. Perfect combo with meal
May 14, 2015 - Hot and fruity. Dark purple to garnet, full bodied, heat from the 15.7% alcohol. Showed much more complexity on day 2 with orange peel, rhubarb, herbs, black pepper and nutmeg on the nose. Strawberry in the mouth. Tannins could use another year or two to soften.
November 9, 2014 - Very sweet. Pruny. Was hoping for more balance and finesse
September 1, 2013 - Very good to excellent wine took a little while to open up. Good color, dark crimson with long legs. On the nose deep notes of dark berries. On the palate raspberries, cherries that got sweeter as the wine sat. Another typical effort by Hartford.
June 21, 2013 - Deep claret color. Moderate body. Moderate to long duration. The predominant flavors are a pepper-citrus blend, mostly tangerine like in the fruit department.
April 11, 2013 - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. February 2012