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.

 
1. New Zinfandels
   Tasted a few new Zins this week:
   Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Paso Robles Obermeyer Vineyard (13.5% alc) '94: Light cherry-dusty some berry/oaked nose; tart astringent some smokey/tarry oaked metallic light cherry flavor; med.long metallic tarry dusty light cherry fruit finish w/ some tannins; nose becomes very Burgundy-like w/ air; interesting if rather atypical Zin.
   Navarro Mendocino Zinfandel (13.8%) '93: Light black cherry/blackberry spicy dusty/ earthy/Mendocino Zin nose; tart very spicy light raspberry/blackberry oaked bit simple flavor; med.long light spicy raspberry/blackberry Mendocino Zin finish w/ light tannins; a bit light but interesting/spicy Zin.
   BV Signet Collection Napa Vlly Zinfandel (13.0%) '94: Slight volatile light perfumey/chocolaty raspberry/licorice perfumed talc nose; soft smooth light licorice spicy very buttery light raspberry flavor; med.long very butt very buttery light licorice/raspberry/spicy light oaked finish w/ light tannins; very nicely made interesting elegant style of Zin. Good value @ $13.00.
   Franus Napa Valley Zinfandel (13.7%) '94: Attractive ripe spicy raspberry nose; soft light dusty rather spicy/raspberry light oaked flavor; med.long pleasant raspberry/spicy dusty finish w/ light tannins; light for Franus but pleasant spicy/raspberry Zin.
   Franus Napa Valley Hendry Vineyard Zinfandel (14.2%) '94: Very attractive oaked dusty blackberry/spicy oaked nose; soft ripe very spicy blackberrybit dusty flavor; med.long bit lactic/oaked spicy/blackberry finish w/ some tannins; needs yr or two of age; bit simpler than the Brandlin.
   Franus Napa Valley Mt.Veeder/Brandlin Ranch Zinfandel (14.4%) '94: Deep dusty spicy blackberry licorice nose; rich tart more pungent/licorice dusty Mtn.Zin some blackberry flavor; long bit tannic blackberry/dusty/licorice very spicy finish; more Mtn.Zin/dusty spicy character.
   Villa Mt. Eden Sonoma Valley Monte Rosso Vineyard Grand Reserve Zinfandel (15.4%) '94: Deep ripe raspberry/blackberry some menthol/oaked nose; tart/ bit hard ripe raspberry some pencilly/oaked flavor; long very raspberry bit hot very buttery some oaked finish w/ some tannins; no raisened or pruney character; doesn't seem hot or overripe. Great price @ $15.
   Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cuvee Mysterieuses Zinfandel (13.0%) '94: Strong tarry/pungent/oaked/smokey/chocolaty/classic HM dusty bit closed nose; big rich tannic pungent smokey tarry dusty/earthy some blackberry flavor; long pungent/smokey/tarry/oaked licorice/blackberry very dusty/HM finish; needs 3-6 yrs; a classic big HM Zin much like the Ridge HM from the days of yore.
   Rabbit Ridge Dry Creek Valley Olson Vineyard Zinfandel (13.7%) '94: Very strong perfumed talc blackberry dusty old vines oaked nose; tart spicy very buttery dusty lush blackberry/raspberry/Zinberry flavor; very long raspberry very spicy/ dusty rather oaked finish w/ nice tannins; a classic DCV Zin but rather overpriced @ $22.
   Cosentino THE ZIN (14.9%) '94: Interesting perfumed talc/fragrant/very spicy cinammon&cloves blackberry nose; soft rich pungent cloves rosemary very spicy oaked blackberry flavor; long bit tannic very spicy cloves Fr.oaked blacl- berry rosemarry complex finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a very interesting complex Zin w/ lots of the Jed Steele aromatics.
   Renwood Amador County Nebbiolo (13.9%) '94: Black color; intense pungent smokey oaked licorice Shenandoah briary nose; hard tannic spicy licorice pungent smokey ripe Amador briary flavor; long tannic pungent smokey oaked licorice dusty Amador briary finish; needs 2-6 yrs. $24
   Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel (14.2%) '94: Attractive very spicy/briary Amador/blackberry Zin nose; soft lush Amador briary/blackberry light oaked flavor; med.long spicy Amador/briary blackberry finish w/ light tannins; nice Amador Zin for current drinking.
   Renwood Amador County Zinfandel Grandmere (15.2%) '94: Very much like the OldVines but a bit more lushness & intensity w/ a bit alcoholic character; rather underwhelming for $23.00.
   Renwood Amador County Zinfandel Grandpere Vineyard (15.2%) '94: Intense blackberry dusty old vines boysenberry very lush chocolaty nose; soft very rich dusty old vines bit tannic lush boysenberry/blackberry Zin flavor; very long loads of intense blackberry dusty old vines finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; seems more tannic & structured than the last few GrandPeres.
   Renwood Amador County Barbera Reserve Linsteadt Vineyard (14.4%) '94: Black color; beautiful very spicy Barbera aromatic cloves/thyme/sausage nose; tart rich mouthfilling very spicy sausage/Barbera lush light oaked flavor; very long tart very spicy Barbera light oaked finish w/ fair tannins; needs 3-7 yrs; one of the best Barberas in the world; this is how Angelo Gaja would make Barbera if'n he new J-S about making wine!! :-)
   Renwood Fiddletown Eschen Vineyard Zinfandel (14.9%) '94: Black color; intense black cherry/licorice dusty old vines perfumy light blackberry nose; hard tannic dusty old vines some blackberr/black cherry/oaked flavor; very long hard tannic black cherry spicy dusty finish; needs 4-8 yrs; a classic Eschen but not quite the richness & lushness the '93 had.
   
   Musings.
   The standout was the Cornerstone Zin. It has that classic hard dusty earthy mountain Zin character that those wines have at their best. Very reminiscent of old Ridge Howell Mtn Zins and Beuhler Zins, back when they were worth gettig excited about. They don't have the richness & lushness that most Zins have & often seem rather closed when young, but they seem to mature better than most Calif Zins. Recently had a Buehler '79 (made by Philip Togni) that was a killer.... and still a few yrs to go.
   Mendocino County..... what a disappointment! Some great old vine Zin vnyds, but a real underachiever when it comes to GREAT Mendocino Zin like Jed Steele used to make at Edmeades. I was expecting a lot from the Navarro since they make a lot of very good wines. It was good but not a killer.
   The Renwoods..... I was prepared to not like these wines since Scott Harvey is no longer there & the prices have escalated dramatically. But they were quite good & still the best wines be made in Amador Cnty (but the Sobons are awfully good these days & the Easton's are the ones to watch). Gordon Binz has done a good job in sheepherding these to completion. It will be interesting to watch these wines as Gordon imposes more of his style upon them. The Nebbiolo was one of the best Calif Nebbiolos ever made (the '93 was a bit better) but atypical of Nebbiolo, the Amador/Shenandoah Vlly character was stamped all over that wine. The Grandmere Zin was a bit disappointing, just a small step above the Old Vines. And again the Reserve Barbera was a killer.
   TomHill (still waiting for the bleating flock to bolt ZAP & join SAP)
   
   
   
   
   
   
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