Holding up extremely well. If I didn't know this was 15 years old, I would have guessed it was half that, at most. Classic Zin brambly red/black berry fruit, with some spice and a bit of earth. Has enough fruit left and acidity to suggest it still has a few more years left.
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Fill into neck. Poured into glass and allowed to breathe 30 minutes before tasting. Clear deep blood-ruby-mahogany. Initially, the bouquet was meaty, not offering much fruit, with a dry, herbal, faintly bitter palate. The wine showed better the next day under vacuum stopper, now offering a few notes of blackberry jam and dark Asian spices. Well past prime.
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for whatever the reason, i have never been a big fan of zins made with grapes from the monte rosso vinyard [ravenswood, rancho zabaco, rosenblum, etc]. i find the fruit to be austere and lacking the jammy richness of zins from the same producers using grapes from other vinyards. biale's monte rosso zin was no exception and i may have compounded the problem by waiting too long to drink it as it was clearly starting to fade.
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11/4/2012 - europat55 wrote: 89 Points
Somewhat shy nose, but quite expressive peppery palate. Still doing quite well for a 16 years old Zin...
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8/27/2011 - stevenjstein Likes this wine: 90 Points
Holding up extremely well. If I didn't know this was 15 years old, I would have guessed it was half that, at most. Classic Zin brambly red/black berry fruit, with some spice and a bit of earth. Has enough fruit left and acidity to suggest it still has a few more years left.
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3/30/2011 - Javachip wrote: 80 Points
Fill into neck. Poured into glass and allowed to breathe 30 minutes before tasting. Clear deep blood-ruby-mahogany. Initially, the bouquet was meaty, not offering much fruit, with a dry, herbal, faintly bitter palate. The wine showed better the next day under vacuum stopper, now offering a few notes of blackberry jam and dark Asian spices. Well past prime.
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11/21/2009 - lousall wrote: 92 Points
Still youthful and fresh. Stunning. My WOTN in a library magnum tasting with Bob Biale in attendance.
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1/30/2008 - IAMVLAD wrote: 83 Points
for whatever the reason, i have never been a big fan of zins made with grapes from the monte rosso vinyard [ravenswood, rancho zabaco, rosenblum, etc]. i find the fruit to be austere and lacking the jammy richness of zins from the same producers using grapes from other vinyards. biale's monte rosso zin was no exception and i may have compounded the problem by waiting too long to drink it as it was clearly starting to fade.
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