Nice wine that's I've held back hoping it would get even better. Paired with the Thanksgiving meal and it did well. A little oak (but not too much), full of dark berry fruits.
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Excellent Zin - I liked it better this time around than when I had the first bottle. Great spice paired with wonderful dark fruit. Perfectly ready for drinking, though it would probably be ok for a couple more years if stored properly.
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Mouthwatering nose--tons of plum with some red cherries and some oak. Medium mouthfeel with a lengthy finish. Similar flavors on the palate as the nose. Not at all oaky with light tannins.
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A big nose of dark fruit and spice, dark purple in color. Still a big Zin for being five years old, black cherries, currants, chocolate, pepper and spice, smooth for such a full bodied red. This wine was a special project of the staff of The Wine Library and they did a great job in producing a very good wine.
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Even after being popped for a bit and decanted for ~1hr, I don't feel like I'm able to appreciate this wine. The tannins are big and masking the wine for me. I don't normally do a "day two" taste, but I returned 3/4 of the bottle back to the bottle from decanter and looking forward to re-tasting tomorrow night. If the tannin and alcohol calm down, I think I'll be in for a treat.
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Inky red. Jammy red fruit, bramble, leather and a whiff of barnyard on the nose. Blueberries and blackberries, pepper, drying tannins, and a long, plummy finish. Good high-end Zin for a medium price.
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Dark between ruby and crimson. Appreciable nose of fields of cherries and blackberry jam. I popped and poured this time, and found it a little bit unfocused. Nevertheless, you get a bang for your buck right from the entrance, with a muster of nice strawberry jam, then dark fruits, black currant and blackberry jam, then darker, some tar flavors towards the end, lots of black pepper on the finish. Great intensity of fruit, which is what I call "a bang for your buck", full bodied and velvety, but then, also alcoholic. That throws some of the flavors every which way. I'm not complaining.
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Excellent as per previous 11/26 note. Stuffed with flavorful blueberries and blackberries, along with pepper and earth. Crowd pleasing favorite and gone quickly. Wish I had more.
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Takes a good 30 minutes to open very nicely. It is a handsome little wine, with true character of Zin, and bright notes of cherries combined with a fair amount of spices, fair balance and structure. Quite pleasant indeed. My guests all praised it.
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Deep dark plum color. Needs at least 30 mins of air. Rich nose of blackberry, asian spices, some pepper and oak and at about 2 hours... cilantro. Deep black jammy fruits on entry with black pepper and vanillin in the middle. A bit of heat in the back, but this is still a nice Howell Mountain effort. Should get better with a little more time.
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I had high hopes for this wine, but the alcohol was a little off putting. Good dark fruit with a focus on black pepper that I like. With food the alcohol mellowed some, but still a just miss for me. Esp. when you can drink Neyers Zin. or some many others at almost the same price...AMM
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Nice color. Aromatic nose of blueberry, licorice and a touch of oak. Nice mouthfeel, some nice plum and blackberry up front, spice pepper and tannins on the back end.
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Aromas of red raspberry, blueberry and spice...more baking spice than pepper. Also getting some chocolate notes. This wine excels in the mouth...smooth, luscious, fruit. Nice integrated earthy notes and firm tannins and acidity. Well balanced with a lengthy finish. Paired perfectly with Asian-glazed baby back ribs.
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I guess I am a hard grader. The zin initially showed lots of jammy fruit. With 15-30 minutes open, it turned to more dark fruit, with some pepper. the wine was best with our flatbread with cliantro and jalapeno--the wine *LOVED* the cilantro--and pretty good with mac N cheese with grilled nathan's hot dogs. I just expected a little bit more, from a zin that originally retailed $28. Not a bad deal for the $19.50 sales price ... but we didn't buy any more :(
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{ST} Again impressed by the quality of concentrated dark mountain berries, the nuances of earth, dark chocolate, and this time, more pepper. Excellent tannic grip. The entry is more jammy than I remember, but perhaps that will only widen its overall appeal. The sale price currently under 20 now makes this an excellent buy.
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I liked this Zin - not great but like some of the old-time zins I got into wine with back 20+ years ago. Had good dark berry fruit on the nose, with spice and other earthy notes. Taste was dark berry and spice, with some leather. I think with more time this will improve.
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What a pleasant surprise. Dark fruit and spice on the nose. Taste is a great balance of dark fruit and white/black pepper. GREAT finish. A little hot, but not overly so. Love the balance of fruit and spice all the way through. I'm not normally a zin drinker, but this was terrific.
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Don't have formal notes on this bottle other than we drank it at Zach's. They hadn't had wine since Ami was pregnant. The bottle emptied quickly. The fruit was vibrant and the tannins were quite resolved. Smooth as silk.
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In-store taste from decanter. Deep dark color. Fairly intense blackberry, cassis, pepper and a little tar on the nose. Jammy dark fruits (but not candified) well churned with earth and dark chocolate on the palate. Medium heavy weight, medium acid, and a stocky but not daunting frame of tannin from midpalate onward. Finish is a good 15 seconds, ending with some pleasant bitters. Overall impression is this is well made with excellent quality fruit showing surprisingly well out of my little plastic cup. Perhaps worth the 27 tag but this puts it right next to numerous other excellent zins at similar price point, such as the '06 Neyers High Valley Zin.
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11/28/2014 - bccdavid wrote: 90 Points
Nice wine that's I've held back hoping it would get even better. Paired with the Thanksgiving meal and it did well. A little oak (but not too much), full of dark berry fruits.
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8/10/2012 - mgl wrote: 90 Points
a very good zin. Much better this time
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9/30/2011 - NickP wrote: 89 Points
Excellent Zin - I liked it better this time around than when I had the first bottle. Great spice paired with wonderful dark fruit. Perfectly ready for drinking, though it would probably be ok for a couple more years if stored properly.
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9/29/2011 - awinejourney wrote: 90 Points
Mouthwatering nose--tons of plum with some red cherries and some oak. Medium mouthfeel with a lengthy finish. Similar flavors on the palate as the nose. Not at all oaky with light tannins.
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8/1/2010 - TCKM wrote: 90 Points
Deep dark color. Beginning to integrate. Big mountain zin with no heat on the finish this time around. Very nice.
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5/31/2010 - corkscrews wrote: 91 Points
A big nose of dark fruit and spice, dark purple in color. Still a big Zin for being five years old, black cherries, currants, chocolate, pepper and spice, smooth for such a full bodied red. This wine was a special project of the staff of The Wine Library and they did a great job in producing a very good wine.
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4/20/2010 - wirelesswine wrote: 89 Points
Even after being popped for a bit and decanted for ~1hr, I don't feel like I'm able to appreciate this wine. The tannins are big and masking the wine for me. I don't normally do a "day two" taste, but I returned 3/4 of the bottle back to the bottle from decanter and looking forward to re-tasting tomorrow night. If the tannin and alcohol calm down, I think I'll be in for a treat.
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1/30/2010 - merryberry wrote: 88 Points
Inky red. Jammy red fruit, bramble, leather and a whiff of barnyard on the nose. Blueberries and blackberries, pepper, drying tannins, and a long, plummy finish. Good high-end Zin for a medium price.
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1/3/2010 - pjgo123 wrote: 89 Points
Enjoyed the wine with crown roast pork
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12/20/2009 - Capt M wrote: 87 Points
Dark between ruby and crimson. Appreciable nose of fields of cherries and blackberry jam. I popped and poured this time, and found it a little bit unfocused. Nevertheless, you get a bang for your buck right from the entrance, with a muster of nice strawberry jam, then dark fruits, black currant and blackberry jam, then darker, some tar flavors towards the end, lots of black pepper on the finish. Great intensity of fruit, which is what I call "a bang for your buck", full bodied and velvety, but then, also alcoholic. That throws some of the flavors every which way. I'm not complaining.
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8/15/2009 - luvcards wrote: 90 Points
Needs a bit more time in the bottle
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7/25/2009 - Vinacull wrote: 90 Points
Excellent as per previous 11/26 note. Stuffed with flavorful blueberries and blackberries, along with pepper and earth. Crowd pleasing favorite and gone quickly. Wish I had more.
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7/17/2009 - Capt M wrote: 88 Points
Takes a good 30 minutes to open very nicely. It is a handsome little wine, with true character of Zin, and bright notes of cherries combined with a fair amount of spices, fair balance and structure. Quite pleasant indeed. My guests all praised it.
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5/27/2009 - TashNYC wrote: 91 Points
To Chang's FPO party. Wine has really come into its own. Drinking great and very good with the grilled food. (BBQ)
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5/22/2009 - TCKM wrote: 90 Points
Deep dark plum color. Needs at least 30 mins of air. Rich nose of blackberry, asian spices, some pepper and oak and at about 2 hours... cilantro. Deep black jammy fruits on entry with black pepper and vanillin in the middle. A bit of heat in the back, but this is still a nice Howell Mountain effort. Should get better with a little more time.
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5/19/2009 - jjmabaseb wrote: flawed
Cork had soaked through. Bummer. Although the wine was not undrinkable, it was nowhere near what it was the previous time I had consumed it.
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5/11/2009 - AMM3RD wrote: 87 Points
I had high hopes for this wine, but the alcohol was a little off putting. Good dark fruit with a focus on black pepper that I like. With food the alcohol mellowed some, but still a just miss for me. Esp. when you can drink Neyers Zin. or some many others at almost the same price...AMM
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3/29/2009 - JohnBlueLabel wrote: 89 Points
Nice color. Aromatic nose of blueberry, licorice and a touch of oak. Nice mouthfeel, some nice plum and blackberry up front, spice pepper and tannins on the back end.
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3/7/2009 - pete s. wrote: 90 Points
Consistent with prior notes. More intense black fruit this time around. Luscious in the mouth and well balanced. Classic zin and great for the price.
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2/7/2009 - jjmabaseb wrote: 90 Points
Raspberry, licorice, vanilla nose; spicy, peppery, fruity taste; great Zin; good, long finish; enough tannins to last a while I would suspect
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2/5/2009 - pkbackman wrote: 92 Points
Consistent notes. I think this wine is outstanding. It's a Zin lovers Zin. And for $19... winner!
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1/31/2009 - pete s. wrote: 89 Points
Aromas of red raspberry, blueberry and spice...more baking spice than pepper. Also getting some chocolate notes. This wine excels in the mouth...smooth, luscious, fruit. Nice integrated earthy notes and firm tannins and acidity. Well balanced with a lengthy finish. Paired perfectly with Asian-glazed baby back ribs.
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1/25/2009 - TashNYC wrote: 89 Points
I guess I am a hard grader. The zin initially showed lots of jammy fruit. With 15-30 minutes open, it turned to more dark fruit, with some pepper. the wine was best with our flatbread with cliantro and jalapeno--the wine *LOVED* the cilantro--and pretty good with mac N cheese with grilled nathan's hot dogs. I just expected a little bit more, from a zin that originally retailed $28. Not a bad deal for the $19.50 sales price ... but we didn't buy any more :(
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1/24/2009 - Vinacull wrote: 90 Points
{ST} Again impressed by the quality of concentrated dark mountain berries, the nuances of earth, dark chocolate, and this time, more pepper. Excellent tannic grip. The entry is more jammy than I remember, but perhaps that will only widen its overall appeal. The sale price currently under 20 now makes this an excellent buy.
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12/26/2008 - texaswino wrote: 92 Points
Really like this one. Big and chewy, especially the finish. Nice.
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12/21/2008 - pkbackman wrote: 92 Points
Wow, this was classic zin. Spicy fruit and smooooth. Started out hot but blew off very quickly. Delicious.
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12/14/2008 - btanz57 wrote: 92 Points
Great color, nice nose, real nice fruit.
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12/12/2008 - texaswino wrote: 91 Points
blackberry, bacon and pepper nose. Big peppery palate with more blackberry and spice. chewy finish that has pretty good traction.
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12/1/2008 - Nesto wrote: 92 Points
Bacon and pepper on the nose. Background of blackberries. Tastes of black fruit, pepper. Nice mouth feel, soft tannins. Really liked it.
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11/30/2008 - NickP wrote: 88 Points
I liked this Zin - not great but like some of the old-time zins I got into wine with back 20+ years ago. Had good dark berry fruit on the nose, with spice and other earthy notes. Taste was dark berry and spice, with some leather. I think with more time this will improve.
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11/28/2008 - DrewM wrote: 92 Points
What a pleasant surprise. Dark fruit and spice on the nose. Taste is a great balance of dark fruit and white/black pepper. GREAT finish. A little hot, but not overly so. Love the balance of fruit and spice all the way through. I'm not normally a zin drinker, but this was terrific.
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11/27/2008 - polimeri wrote: 91 Points
Don't have formal notes on this bottle other than we drank it at Zach's. They hadn't had wine since Ami was pregnant. The bottle emptied quickly. The fruit was vibrant and the tannins were quite resolved. Smooth as silk.
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11/26/2008 - Vinacull wrote: 90 Points
In-store taste from decanter. Deep dark color. Fairly intense blackberry, cassis, pepper and a little tar on the nose. Jammy dark fruits (but not candified) well churned with earth and dark chocolate on the palate. Medium heavy weight, medium acid, and a stocky but not daunting frame of tannin from midpalate onward. Finish is a good 15 seconds, ending with some pleasant bitters. Overall impression is this is well made with excellent quality fruit showing surprisingly well out of my little plastic cup. Perhaps worth the 27 tag but this puts it right next to numerous other excellent zins at similar price point, such as the '06 Neyers High Valley Zin.
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9/6/2008 - jeffreym123 wrote: 87 Points
seemed very hot - maybe still very young? thick tanins.
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