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We started with a pink zin, just to remove all sense of
pretension:
97 Vista Del Rey Vineyards Playa del Zin (Paso Robles)--Medium
violet pink color. Voluptuous nose of fresh strawberries, guava, spice.
Decent balance, good acid, no off flavors. Light fruitiness, hollow mid-palate.
OK, but short on the finish. [I guessed Santa Barbara Winery White Zin].
81 points.
We next had segregated two older zins to taste before the younger ones:
77 Cakebread Domingas Ranch--Dark Burgundy red. Smoky, leather,
black cherry, tar. Seductive, gamy nose. Somewhat bretty. Very concentrated,
full body, tannic. Tastes like there's some petit sirah blended in. Flavors
of tar, plum. Very tannic, dirt, petrol, some oak in finish. Could
use another 6-8 years! [I guessed this to be a Ridge Geyserville from the
late 80s]. 16.1%! 90+
83 Swan Sonoma--Lighter red with orange rim. Old spicy berry,
leather, boot polish. Light cherry, high acid, good bite and grip. Very
nice, elegant, older complex mid-palate. Some caramel. [I guessed Swan
82-84 vintage]. 89
Onto the young 'uns, in order tasted:
97 Bob Weldon Dusi Vineyard (Home Winemaker)--Dark red violet.
Fabulous nose of briary black raspberry, perfumey, floral. Spicy, bell
pepper, bit stemmy flavors, black fruit, roast meat. Bit flat in middle.
Rather odd, tarry flavor that could be off-putting to some, like band-aids/adhesive
tape, but I liked this. Could use another 2-3 years, as if this matters
for a wine no one out there is likely to have. 88
95 Rosenblum Sauret Vineyard--Medium ruby. Closed a bit, showing
some cloves, peach. Lighter texture, black cherry, somewhat medicinal,
tar, grippy tannins. Good acid. Finish has a bitter edge and a little
short. 1-2 years. 86
96 Rio Seco Cherry Vineyard San Luis Obispo County--Medium red
violet. Cherry, oak, some petrol on nose. Spicy, perky, red fruit, licorice.
Very concentrated. Bit hot finish. Very persistent, long. Very impressive.
1-2 years. 93+
96 Seghesio Sonoma--Medium red violet. Warm, horse blanket, fecal.
Very much like a bretty CdP in the nose. Sweet black fruit, somewhat tannic,
burnt rubber, some mid-palate comlexity. Decent finish. 86
96 Turley Duarte Contra Costa County--Dark red violet. Warm,
closed, meaty, toasty oak, black cherry, gunpowder. Very rich, lush, vanilla,
cocoa, plum, cherry. Bit briney, short on fruit, muddled flavors. Charcoal.
Balanced finish. [I knew from the bottle shape and lip that this
was Turley.] 90
95 Lava Cap El Dorado County--Medium red violet. Bretty, briary,
black berry, gamy, toasty oak. Sweet cherry, bit tannic, very long, grippy,
toasty oak. Needs 2-3 more years. [My contribution.] 92+
97 Green & Red--Medium red violet. Funky, bretty, gamy, dog
fur. Very lush, rich, almost late harvest intensity. Very Turleyesque,
over the top. Very chewy, tannic, plum, sweet cherry. Very long. Superb.
91
96 Frogs Leap Rutherford--Bigger nose than the G&R. Briary,
horseblanket, tuberose. Tar, black raspberry. Big tannins, long. Oaky.
[Guess Ravenswood]. 90
A few bloody comments from the pulpit...
This was quite a diverse selection and not many of the usual suspects.
The favorites of the group were: 1) Rio Seco (by a large margin),
2) Lava Cap, 3)Green & Red, 4)Frogs Leap
The Rio Seco was a mind-opener. It has the concentration to go head
to head with most Turley Zins. It isn't as structured, but it has intense
ripe fruit that makes an overwhelming not quite over the top statement.
I'm gonna get me some!
The older zins were a real treat. 77 Cakebread??? Who'da thunk? Such
intensity for an old zin. It had every indication of being a PS. Is it?
At 16.1% alcohol, it is old school zin that in this instance happened to
work. Yikes! If only Martinelli and Turley could get this kind of result
in 20 years! (Tom Hill: Help! Whatcha know
about the Domingas Ranch Vineyard? I vaguely recall it being an old vineyard.)
The 83 Swan was still hanging in there, though it is on its downhill
run now. For those who've had older zins, it was an obvious guess
based on it style and longevity. But I impressed the crowd by nailing it
within a year of the vintage. (Tom: Can you lend me your laurels?)
Though I brought the Lava Cap, I hadn't had it before. Based on its
reputation at release, I'm not surprised it did so well. I happened to
know which bottle it was (as with the Turley), so my notes for those wines
were not really blind, though I did not know which Turley we had. The Turley,
BTW, was not up to the level of the great 95 Duarte which had the structure
of a great Bordeaux.
Who's Bob Weldon? I haven't met him. The wine was contributed by Bob
Senn. This may be the second Weldon I've had. The first may have been a
zin, too.
Green & Red? Never would have bought it, but I'm glad to have tried
it. If I am ever in a restaurant and that's the best wine on the list,
I wouldn't mind getting a bottle. But it's not my first choice in Zin.
Rosenblum's Sauret was a step down from the excellent 94. Not bad, but
a tad disappointing. The Frog was pretty decent, but not particularly individual.
The Seghesio was not bad. Definitely for the budget-conscious.
From the Confessional...
What? You didn't really expect a bloody sermon on a #@&*% White
Zin, did you?! |
