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by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

Some New Zins - March 19, 2014

We tried tonight (3/19/14) Some (mostly) New Zins:

  1. Ridge Zin CarmichaelVnyd/SonomaCnty (8% Carignane/8% PS/2% AlicanteBouschet; 14.8%; 40 brls; Bttld: 2/13; Drk: 12/12-12/18-12/20: EB) 2011: Med.color; rather vanilla/Am.oak pretty Zinberry/raspberry/spicy bit simple nose; fairly tart strong vanilla/Am.oak bright/pretty/Zinberry/raspberry light earthy flavor w/ light tannins; med.long strong Am.oak/vanilla bright/Zinberry/raspberry/Zin finish w/ light tannins; a pretty Zin but just that; somewhat better than the 3Vllys but not a lot; on the simple side. $30.00 (ATP)
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  2. Ridge Zin EastBench/DCV/SonomaCnty (100% Zin; 14.9%; Bttld: Jan 2014; Drk: 11/13-11/17-11/18: JO) 2012: Med. dark color; deeper more blackberry/raspberry/Zin/spicy light oak/vanilla slight earthy/licorice/smokey nose; rather spicy blackberry/raspberry/Zin light smokey/oak flavor w/ modest tannins; med.long bright raspberry/Zin/blackberry some smokey/vanilla/oak finish w/ light tannins; a pleasant/pretty Ridge Zin that will probably improve a lot. $25.20 (Z-List)/$28.00
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  3. Ridge Geyserville SonomaCnty (71%Zin/19% Carignane/7% PS/2% Mataro/1% AlicanteBouschet; 14.4%; Bttld: Jan 2014; Drk: 11/13-11/23-11/28: EB) 2012: Dark color; strong blackberry/ Zin/raspberry/black cherry bit earthy/licorice/pungent light smokey/toasty/oak/vanilla/DraperPerfume some dusty/OV bit complex nose; some tart fairly structured very spicy/blackberry/Zin/black cherry some dusty/OV quite spicy slight smokey/vanilla/oak flavor w/ some smooth tannins; very long/lingering quite spicy blackberry/black cherry/Zin some vanilla/smokey/oak some dusty/OV quite balanced/structured finish; quite a nice Geyserville but nothing strikingly profound about; Eric predicts this to be a 15 yr Zin, but I don't see it at this point in time; sometime you just gotta believe. $34.20 (Z-List)/$38.00
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  4. Ridge Zin PasoRobles BenitoDusiRanch/SLOCnty (100% Zin; 14.8%; Bttld: Nov 2013; 90 yr old vnyd; Drk: 9/13-9/18-9/19: EB; 1.3% water addition) 2012: Med.dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/very spicy/slight PR jammy slight herbal/chocolaty slight alcoholic nose; soft very rich/lush intense blackberry/boysenberry/very spicy/blackberry cola slight herbal/rosemary bit alcoholic very light toasty/oak flavor w/modest/soft/round tannins; very long/lingering ripe/very spicy/blackberry/ boysenberry/PR Zin light toasty/oak finish w/ modest/smooth tannins; lost of ripe PR Zin fruit w/o straying into the Smuckers jam territority; one of the better PR Zins of late I think. $27.00 (Z-List)/$30.00
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  5. DryCreekVnyds Zin HeritageVines/SonomaCnty (14.5%; Vine age: 20 yrs; 16% PS) 2011: Med.dark color; strong bright/spicy/raspberry/Zinberry light toasty/oak bit dusty very attractive nose; bit tart bright/Zinberry/raspberry/blackberry/spicy light vanilla/oak flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; med.long bright/Zinberry/raspberry/blackberry/some spicy light vanilla/oak finish w/ light tannins; not the depth or intensity of the other DCV Zins but a very pretty/delicious drinking Zin at a great price, classic DryCreek Zin. $nc (BS)/$19.00
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  6. DryCreekVnyds Zin OldVine/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (14.5%; Vine age: 90+ yrs; 17% PS) 2011: Very dark color; rather strong toasty/toasted coconut/vanilla/Am.oak deeper blackberry/boysenberry/Zin some dusty/OV very spicy lovely nose; lightly tart bigger/richer/deeper blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/very spicy balanced some toasty/toasted coconut/oak some dusty/OV flavor w/ some smooth tannins; very long bit alcoholic balanced/rich/lush strong/ blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/very spicy some dusty/OV rather toasty/oak complex finish w/ some smooth tannins; not the intensity of fruit of the SV Zins but more complex/balanced/polished; needs 2-6 yrs yet. $nc (BS)/$30.00
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  7. DryCreekVnyd Zin BeesonRanch/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (14.5%; 463 cs) 2007: Dark color w/ slight bricking; slight funky/mouse nest/hantavirus slight bright/Zinberry/raspberry/licorice light toasty/oak somewhat older/tired nose; soft bit funky/overly mature light blackberry/raspberry/Zin light toasty/oak flavor w/ light/tired tannins; med. light blackberry/raspberry/boysenberry/Zin light toasty/oak bit funky/ mousey finish w/ light dried-out tannins; a bit on the funky side and seems old before its time. $30.00 (VSC)
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  8. DryCreekVnyd Zin BeesonRanch/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (14.2%; Planted in 1890's; 401 cs) 2010: Med.dark color; strong very spicy/blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cola/Zin light toasty/oak some dusty/OV complex nose; fairly tart very spicy/Zinberry/blackberry/RCCola light toasty/oak bit dusty/OV lovely flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; very long/lingering bit tart rich/very spicy/blackberry/ Zin/ RCCola light toasty/oak some dusty/OV finish w/ some smooth/graceful tannins; a beautiful Beeson w/ good OV character and very balanced; can useanother 2-5 yrs. $38.00 (VSC)
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  9. DryCreekVnyd Zin SomersRanch/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (14.9%; 469 cs) 2007: Med.dark color w/ light bricking; strong blackberry/Zin/boysenberry/menthol light toasty/oak slighht overripe/late harvesty some mature/pencilly/old Zin complex nose; soft bit late harvesty/ripe/raisened strong blackberry/Zin/ menthol light toasty/oak some pencilly/mature flavor w/ light tannins; med.long bit overripe/late harvesty strong blackberry/Zin/spicy light toasty/smokey/oak finish w/ light/ripe tannins; not as overly mature as the Beeson but probably as good as it'll get; a bit on the overripe side but quite nice mature Zin. $30.00 (VSC)
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  10. DryCreekVnyd Zin SomersRanch/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (14.5%; 399 cs) 2010: Very dark color; slight stemmy/herbal/whole-cluster/mineral/graphite/ozone/pungent very strong blackberry/boysenberry/ very spicy some dusty/OV complex nose; very tart/tangy/grapefruity slight stemmy/mineral/pungent very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/licorice/RCCola light toasty/oak flavor w/ some tannins;very long/lingering bit stemmy/pungent/graphite very strong blackberry/boysenberry/RCCola light toasty/oak bit dusty/OV finish w/ some tannins; one of the most unusual/complex young Somers I can recall; loads of classic DCV Zin fruit; needs a few yrs. $34.00 (VSC)
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  11. OjaiVnyd PinotNoir SBC (13.5%) 2012: Med.light color; very pretty bright/cherry/PN/very spicy light toasty/oak really lovely nose; fairly tart very bright/zippy/cherry/PN/cherry pie light toasty/oak very spicy/cola light earthy flavor w/ light tannins; very long quite bright/spicy/cherry/cherry pie/cherry cola light toasty/oak slight earthy finish w/ light/brisk tannins; just a very spicy/bright/pretty Pinot at a good price.
    $30.00 (vBS)
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  12. OjaiVnyd 50% Syrah/Grenache JohnSebastianoVnyd/SBC (14.5%; no added SO2) 2012: Very dark color; bit dusty/earthy strong spicy/blackberry/Syrah/strawberry light toasty/oak very fragrant/perfumey nose; fairly tart very bright/spicy strong blackberry/Syrah bit strawberry/Grenache light toasty/oak flavor w/ some modest/ripe tannins; very long bright/blackberry/Syrah bit strawberry/Grenache light toasty/oak slight earthy finish w/ modest/smooth tannins; can't tell what the no-SO2 does for this wine, buut it's a pretty/bright/clean Syrah at a great price. $29.75


More bloviations from TheBloodyPulpit:

1. Ridge Zins: Overall, of this new Z-List release, the Paso was the only one that really excited me. I thought the Geyserville was a nice wine, but it didn't knock my socks off. However, Eric predicts it to be a 15 yr Zin, so I would trust him on that. I am confident that, like many of the Ridge Zins, they have this uncanny knack of putting on weight and rising up & biting you on the a$$ by how good they are.
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2. Dry Creek Vnyd: And interesting batch of DCV Zins here. Their Heritage Zin is, yr-in,yr-out, about the best sub-$20 Zin you can find; ridiculously good for the price. Of their high-end Zins, the OldVines has always been my least favorite because of the oak level. This new '11 seems not as oaked and strikes me as the best OV Zin I can recall.

Of the two SV Zins, Beeson & Somers, the Beeson has usually been my favorite. Those two Zins are classic DryCreekVlly Zins w/ lots of dusty/OV character and as good as any DryCreekVlly Zins you can find. I thought the DCV Zins took a jump in quality when BillKnuttle took over winemaking duties. Though Bill still consults at DCV, TimBell has been the primary winemaker there since 2011. Thus far, it appears he is building on Bill's success. Not only is Tim a good winemaker...but he also used to fence epee..which counts for a lot in my book.

Probably because the DCV CheninBlanc and FumeBlanc are ubiquitous in TraderJoe's, I don't think DCV gets the recognition they deserve for the quality of their wines. And very reasonably priced to boot. I have, of course, followed them from the very start.

TomHill

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