1996 Sky Vineyards Zinfandel Mt. Veeder

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 89.7 points

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  3/1/2023 - NoahCap wrote:

  Fascinating wine! Pours a clear pale garnet with a surprisingly un-bricked rim. This looks kind of like a young Burgundy!
  
  But it doesn't smell like one. Lots of tertiary notes on the nose; leather, saddle soap, antique wood, soy sauce, decaying leaves. Just the tiniest hint of fruit in the distant background. The fruits are almost entirely gone, at least on the aroma.
  
  Well if it looks young, and smells old, it must taste middle-aged. And it does! Body is surprisingly light for a Zinfandel, acidity is medium, the small amount of tannins left are very fine. I taste soft red raspberries, stewed cherries, even some dried cranberries- overall a high toned "cooler" red fruit profile. And there are the expected tertiary flavors of leather, cedar, even a bit of graphite. The finish is long and surprisingly fruit-filled.
  
  I've heard that aged Zinfandel can be like Bordeaux, and that is kind of what this is like. The disconnect between the way it looks, smells, and tastes, is a bit confusing, but overall its red-leaning fruits, medium body, and tertiary flavor profile are very much like an aged traditional and refined style of Bordeaux. Honestly, I can't say whether I prefer these flavors to be coming from an old Zinfandel or a Bordeaux. The Zinfandel is certainly more unexpected and interesting. This may have had more typicality 10 years ago, but this is still a very nice drink. Take the CT drinking window of 1998-2004, and completely disregard.

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  4/5/2016 - nicking Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Fruit cuit, fruit sécher , notes genre pâtes d'amande , belle texture , un vin de 20 ans avec une belle fraîcheur et une belle aciditée

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  4/20/2006 - idrinkvino wrote: 89 Points

  Surprisinglly charming after all these years - a fine base of fruit, not syrup, not really sweet at all, but with hints of candy as an aftertaste. Really very nice.

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  3/2/2001 - buckeye76 wrote: 90 Points

  BLUEBERRIES, CHOCOLATE, AND CHERRIES IN THE NOSE WITH BLACK CHERRIES AND RASPBERRIES IN THE FLAVOR. MEDIUM LENGTH FINISH.

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