Was expecting the worst, but this wine was surprisingly fresh. Whatever tannins it had are now fully resolved, leaving a nice firm backbone for the weakening fruit. Acidity is a little soft, but it's enough. Nice little spice on the finish. Most enjoyable wine, but obviously, try to drink this a few years ago.
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Excellent deep garnet color with thin browning rims in glass. 14.5 % alcohol. Thick chocolatey fruit on palate with dusty tannins. Not too sweet or overripe. Slightly beyond peak but still nice. No sediment in empty bottle. 88/100.
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Slightly on the thin side and lacking of that zin hit of spice. Not seeing much room for improvement here so drink up. Got these for well under $20 so for the price a nice wine.
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Elegant yet a full bodied, torqued up Zin. Enjoyed tonight with stuffed poblano peppers and these two went wonderfully together. This rather short cork was uncorked to a nice dark cherry red stain on the cork with very little cork bleed. Cork was a tiny bit depressed in the bottleneck. The nose on the cork was all blueberry and chocolate. Poured a deep red into the glass. On the initial entry was more of a black cherry, incense, earthy, yet also quite soft and elegant. As the wine went towards the finish, it did get SLIGHTLY more earthy, but still maintained an elegance that was true from the pop and pour to the last drop. This is a full bodied wine without being overly torqued up. The spice in the poblano went very well. If you're going to enjoy a zin with a dish like this, the ancient vines zin is a great option as it can complement without competing. Nice wine, and I hope they still make it for years to come - hope new ownership keeps these wines just the way they are.
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Sad to see Sausal close, was one of my favorite little zin producers. This bottle disappoints and maybe the writing was on the wall. Nose, tons of alcohol, some fruit on ton but not much, short dry finish. Sad to see you go, will remember the good years,because this vintage was not to Sausal standards.
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Very disappointed- this was a 2008 and already GONE! The cork was not compromised, but the wine was. When Sausal is good, they are very, very good. They make Zins of great depth and complexity. We have had mixed results and they have not made good on wines we have bought at the winery that are compromised. Again, when their wines are good, they are SO good for the money. The other side of the coin is compromised/gone wines. This was one of those. I hope the second bottle is fine, I will open soon! (Editor's note: score as 74 but changing to FLAWED)
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This was a little corky upon opening, but it blew off and was a decent bottle. It wasn't up to their usual standards though. Tar dominated the red fruit and pepper.
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Serious disappointment. Sausal is generally a solid QPR zinfandel producer, but this was below sub-par. Bouquet indiscernible due to alcohol that never burned off, even after being open 4 hours, possibly a hint of red berry jam, but not much else. Body was more of the same, thin and alcohol-driven; finished bitter with waves of alcohol. I wrote the first bottle off as flawed, but not this time. Pass on this one, stick to the Estate series.
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Fruit forward with nose of cherry and candy. Palate with more cherry, but also has dark berries and some chocolate. Smooth texture with long finish. Not overpowering, but food friendly.
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1/5/2020 - robmatic wrote:
Was expecting the worst, but this wine was surprisingly fresh. Whatever tannins it had are now fully resolved, leaving a nice firm backbone for the weakening fruit. Acidity is a little soft, but it's enough. Nice little spice on the finish. Most enjoyable wine, but obviously, try to drink this a few years ago.
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6/22/2013 - 41hijinx Likes this wine: 88 Points
Excellent deep garnet color with thin browning rims in glass. 14.5 % alcohol. Thick chocolatey fruit on palate with dusty tannins. Not too sweet or overripe. Slightly beyond peak but still nice. No sediment in empty bottle. 88/100.
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4/11/2013 - mmoss wrote: 88 Points
Slightly on the thin side and lacking of that zin hit of spice. Not seeing much room for improvement here so drink up. Got these for well under $20 so for the price a nice wine.
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11/1/2012 - mflesh wrote: 91 Points
Elegant yet a full bodied, torqued up Zin. Enjoyed tonight with stuffed poblano peppers and these two went wonderfully together. This rather short cork was uncorked to a nice dark cherry red stain on the cork with very little cork bleed. Cork was a tiny bit depressed in the bottleneck. The nose on the cork was all blueberry and chocolate. Poured a deep red into the glass. On the initial entry was more of a black cherry, incense, earthy, yet also quite soft and elegant. As the wine went towards the finish, it did get SLIGHTLY more earthy, but still maintained an elegance that was true from the pop and pour to the last drop. This is a full bodied wine without being overly torqued up. The spice in the poblano went very well. If you're going to enjoy a zin with a dish like this, the ancient vines zin is a great option as it can complement without competing. Nice wine, and I hope they still make it for years to come - hope new ownership keeps these wines just the way they are.
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8/14/2012 - Turkbzerk wrote: 75 Points
Sad to see Sausal close, was one of my favorite little zin producers. This bottle disappoints and maybe the writing was on the wall. Nose, tons of alcohol, some fruit on ton but not much, short dry finish. Sad to see you go, will remember the good years,because this vintage was not to Sausal standards.
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8/9/2012 - kingboo wrote: 83 Points
Too ripe and jammy. Pass
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7/5/2012 - Z1nnfull wrote: flawed
Very disappointed- this was a 2008 and already GONE! The cork was not compromised, but the wine was. When Sausal is good, they are very, very good. They make Zins of great depth and complexity. We have had mixed results and they have not made good on wines we have bought at the winery that are compromised. Again, when their wines are good, they are SO good for the money. The other side of the coin is compromised/gone wines. This was one of those. I hope the second bottle is fine, I will open soon! (Editor's note: score as 74 but changing to FLAWED)
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6/1/2012 - vinoceros wrote: 85 Points
This was a little corky upon opening, but it blew off and was a decent bottle. It wasn't up to their usual standards though. Tar dominated the red fruit and pepper.
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5/15/2012 - Xfactor wrote: 70 Points
Serious disappointment. Sausal is generally a solid QPR zinfandel producer, but this was below sub-par. Bouquet indiscernible due to alcohol that never burned off, even after being open 4 hours, possibly a hint of red berry jam, but not much else. Body was more of the same, thin and alcohol-driven; finished bitter with waves of alcohol. I wrote the first bottle off as flawed, but not this time. Pass on this one, stick to the Estate series.
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11/18/2011 - jfarley3 wrote: 89 Points
Fruit forward with nose of cherry and candy. Palate with more cherry, but also has dark berries and some chocolate. Smooth texture with long finish. Not overpowering, but food friendly.
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