A Zinfanatic's Look at 1997: Some Great Wines, Some Stupid Prices
The year 1997 was primarily the release of the 1995 Zins, with a smattering of late- released 1994's and a few of the early released 1996's. This article summarizes my impressions of the Zinfandels I tasted over the year. And there were a lot of good ones.
The '95 vintage was described by many of the vintners I visited with as another very good vintage; excellent weather during the year, excellent consistent ripening. It's been quite a remarkable string of excellent to outstanding vintages since the 1990 one. Parker, in his Zin review, characterized it as a very difficult Zinfandel year. I sure did not see this reflected in the '95's that I tasted. As always, a few producers will stub their toes even in the best of years. But there were no wholesale signs, to me, of blunders in the winemaking of these wines.
Ridge Vineyards' Paul Draper did describe the vintage as one that he had to be a bit more interventionist with, unlike a vintage like 1990 when the wines almost make themselves. When the first of the Zin grapes from Healdsburg (Lytton Springs/Geyserville vineyards) started to come in; he felt that the they did not quite taste physiologically ripe, even though the numbers were where they normally should have been. So he delayed their harvest a bit, allowing the alcohol to go beyond what he normally would have liked, until he felt the grapes tasted right. Draper also felt he had to do a bit more tannin management of the Zin in the winery to get the kind of softer tannins that he prefers in his wines. Presumably, other competent Zin makers were making many of those same decisions.
Surprise.... Prices Going UP
Of course, the most distressing news over the last year was the escalation in prices. Good drinking Zins in the $10 price range are becoming as scarce as a long-tailed cat at a rocking chair contest. You can still find some pretty good Zins in the mid-teen's; but most of the good Zins are now in the low - mid $20's, with some of the more trophy Zins in the low - mid $30's. And you could even find some real over-achievers for as much as $45-$48/btl!! But many of the highly-sought-after Zins took jumps in price of a few dollars to as much as $15 or more.
And for a lot of those wines; the quality delivered was simply not there! At least in comparison to many of the alternatives. I found myself being much more restrained in my purchases of Zins this year, probably reducing my purchases by almost 50%, as I went big-time into the purchase of California Syrahs and Rhone blends. It doesn't seem too bright to buy a $30 bottle Zin, whose ageability may be an iffy proposition, when you can buy an equally priced, or cheaper, California Syrah that is of world-class stature and has, in my opinion, a greater probability of delivering the goods 10-15 years down the road.
But as long as the wine press continues to annoint Zinfandel as the "hot" new item among California afficianados, their prices are likely to continue to increase rapidly. It's not likely this year, but probably the year after, that we'll see the first $50 Zin. Ohhhh for the glorius days of yesteryear, when men were men, and the Ridge Geyserville '73 was $6.00/btl!!
Nonetheless, there appears to be some resistance to these price jumps. There are some small production wineries now appearing in the boonies (like New Mexico) that a year or two ago, would have sold their entire release in a month's time. And some of the wines that would vanish from the shelves in a week's time are hanging around for a month or two. I fully expect the Cline Jacuzzi Zin, at $45/btl, to still be on one retailer's shelf this next year.
Some wineries, mindful of the fickleness of consumers and their memories of what goes around-comes around, have been modest in their price increases. Some that come to mind are Ridge, Sobon Estate, Dry Creek Vnyds, David Coffaro, and Eberle. I always enjoy receiving the April newsletter from Lee and Doug Nalle, apologizing profusely for having to raise their price $1/btl to pay for the grapes. You're tempted to send them your first-born son (hey.... he's not a teenager anymore!) or a CARE package!! But, as long as the Zinfandel supply remains short, and old-vine vineyards continue to be sought after, it's hard to forsee to bottom falling out of the Zin market; one can only hope for a softening in the price increases. And start looking more at the alternatives.... and there are lots to be found out there.
Single Vineyard Zinfandels
One of the trends that has picked up speed in the last few years is various monikers on the label: Old Vines, Old Clones, Heritage Clones, Gnarly Vines, Old Vines Old Clones, Ancient Vines, Cantankerous Cranky Vines, Crabby Old Vines....and so on. To me, many of the Old Vine wines have a distinct character to them that I describe as dusty.... a kind of an earthy/mushroomy flavor. To me, the DeLoach Zins and the Ridge Pagani and the Ravenswood Old Hill typify that haracter more than any other Zins. But the actual terms have no official or legal definition. And there are a fair number of OV Zins out there, from vineyards that are certifiably old, that don't display much of that dusty Old Vine character.
Same story on the single vinyard designate Zinfandels. Clearly, there are a bunch of vineyards... Geyserville/Trentadue, Old Hill Ranch, Samsel Vnyd, Eschen Ranch, Dusi Ranch, Sauret Vnyd, Jimsomare Vineard, GrandPere/Downing Vinyard.... that have a long and obvious track record of producing superior wines. But too often, it seems to me, that winemakers are using the single vineyard designation as an excuse to charge more for these wines. To me, all of the Ridge vineyard designates have an identifiable character to them that clearly justifies their designations. But in many cases, I simply can't find anything unique in many of these single vineyard designates that justifies their existence. The five DeLoach vineyard designates are, to me, a good example. When you taste them all side-by-side, it is obvious that the wines are different. But I, and I expect most other people, other than Cecil himself, cannot find something in the Saitone that shouts this wine is distinct from the Gamboggi. In the DeLoach case, the vineyards are often separated by nothing more than a road.
Ageability and Alcohol Levels in Zin
It takes no genuis to observe that the alcohol levels over the last few years have been breaking the 15% barrier with increasing regularity. This same thing happened back in the early '70's, when late-picked and late-harvest wines became very much in vogue. And the wine writers jumped all over them for that..... "monster Zins with shabby table manners" (recall that one, Charlie??) and such. As the wine writers, lemming-like, jumped on the bandwagon; the winemakers listened. And what did we get?? White Zinfandel and the anemic, emasculated "food wines" of the late '70's. Small wonder the bottom fell out of the Zin market.
Is the same phenomonon going to happen again??? I think not. Certainly it's not because of the increased intelligence and perscapacity of the present-day wine writers!! To me, many of the current crop of 15% plus Zins are much more balanced, less overripe- and raisened-tasting than those of yesteryear. Better winemaking, perhaps? Perhaps my taste buds have been seared from lo these many years of Zin drinking that I don't notice the alcohol as much. But as I taste these 15%-16% Zins, the hotness and the alcohol burn just doesn't appear to be there.
To be sure, one does read in the wine press from time to time some complaints about these alcohol levels. But I've also seen one Zin, labeled at 14.8% alcohol, praised for it's balance & restraint, when, in fact, it's around 16% alcohol. So much for the credentials of current wine writers!!
It was rather interesting, to me, to read a recent Wine Advocate heaping effusive praise and florid prose upon the Turley Zins and defending their high alcohols as essential for their ageability. That's one I've never seen in print and a claim I'd be loath to defend.
But the question of ageability of California Zin crops up from time to time in the wine press and on the 'Net BB's. Mostly, it is somebody questioning that Zins are worth aging, claiming that they should all be drunk in the first few years before the fruit is all gone. If one's expectation of Zinfandel is that it must taste like loads of ripe jammy blackberry/raspberry fruit, then this claim is probably correct.... for that person. But to make a blanket statement statement that Zins don't age is absolute nonsense; there are just too many examples out there of wonderful old bones. And to also state that high-alcohol Zins don't age is patently false. Same story here.
I would agree, however, that Zins are much more variable in the way they age than, say, Cabernet or Syrah. And one's expectation of an aged Zin plays an important part. I can serve an old Ridge Zin, blind, to the ohs and ahs of what a wonderful old tobaccoy/cedary Cabernet it is. It's Zin???? ..... but where's the fruit??? is the standard reply..... it's lost all its fruit!!!
California Zinfandel Producing Regions
Clearly, the most spectacular of the Zins are coming from the Sonoma area (Dry Creek Benchlands/Russian River/Valley of the Moon). Understandable, since that's where most of the old/head pruned/dry farmed vineyards are located. And that's where the greatest will continue to come from. Most exciting, to me, has been the number of truly great Zins coming from the Napa Valley over the last 3-4 yrs. In the late '80's, there were only a few noteworthy Zins from here; the focus was mostly on Chard and Cab where the big $$$'s were. Perhaps now that Zin has, once again, been declared fashionable, producers are starting to see that profits can be had making Zin. But there's sure a lot more than there was 10 years ago.
Amador County (primarily the Shenandoah Valley and Fiddletown) made some great Zins in the mid-late '70's, often by winemakers located elsewhere. Then the area sorta vanished about 1980, for whatever reason, with some frankly abysmal wines being made (Amateur County it was often called). Since the start of the '90's, once again, some very exciting wines are coming from this area. Alas & alack, the great Deaver Vineyard, with which Charlie Myers & Bob Trinchero first brought fame to the area, is not the source of any of them!!
Just to the North, in El Dorado County, there's been a quiet ratcheting up in the quality of Zins from here. The recent Sierra Vista 5* Reserve Zin '95 is probably the best Zin ever made there. Since the land prices are much more modest here than elsewhere, I fully expect more outstanding Zins to appear. It's an area I should become more familar with.
Mendocino County has long been a real under-achiever in the Zin boom. Back in the '70's, there were some stunning Zins made here by Barney Fetzer and Jed Steele (then Edmeades Winery) and Milano, from some great, old vineyards (DuPratt, Zeni, Ciapusci, Recetti, LaLonis, Anzilotti). Since then, those great grapes seemed to have vanished into some vast vinous wasteland. Once again, we're starting to see the first glimpses of potentially great Zin from this area. One can believe the trend must continue.
Not to be overlooked is the Paso Robles area. Much like the Shenandoah Valley, the wines from this area have a very distinctive jammy/raspberry/blackberry character to them. Some great, old vineyards producing some truly great wines.
The Contra Costa/Antioch/Sacramento Delta sandy soils have some very old vineyards located here. Ten years ago, the wines from here seemed to be very soft, fat, and flabby with lots of dusty/earthy/mushroomy character. The last few years, particularly led by Cline Vineyards, the wines have showed much more bright fruit and much more balance then those early Contra Costas. And as other outstanding winemakers seek available fruit, this trend should also continue.
And, long dismissed as Central Valley plonk, there are even some very interesting wines coming from the Lodi area; not great, but certainly interesting and worth checking out. Back in the mid-'70's, Ridge made some very likable wines from these grapes. And some of the Angelo Papagni ones were not bad. This trend, too, should continue as good winemakers try their hand with these vineyards.
Doesn't leave much else but the Santa Cruz Moutains and Lake County. Outstanding Zins will continue coming from the Ridge home turf, but so few grapes that the amounts are tiny. But it is a source of great Zinfandel. Nothing approaching great Zin yet from Lake County, but it may happen someday, who knows??
The Top Producers
And, so, it's time to name names.... who scored big in 1997 and who didn't. So, the envelope please. Tah Dah.... the Tom Hill List of Top 100 Zins in 1997, ........ in a pig's eye...... I don't do those stupid lists, leaving that to the WS and others of that ilk. You'll have to wade thru a lot of tedious prose to get to the goods!! :-) Without further ado, a very personalized run-through of the Zins in 1997:
Alright, a list of sorts: My favorite producers, based on past successes and their devotion to the variety of Zinfandel and just being really neat people, are Doug Nalle, Kent Rosenblum, Joel Peterson of Ravenswood, and, of course, Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards. How'd they all do in 1997?? Very well, thank you!
Nalle Zins have, to me, always epitomized the bright forward vibrant raspberry/Zinberry fruit style of Zin, always with impeccable balance and lovely drinking from the git-go. Although Doug prefers the '94 to the '95, I thought his '95 was one of his best yet, showing more richness and the dark blackberry part of the Zinfandel spectrum than any of his more recent ones. When I want a Zin to drink for just pure hedonistic pleasure, not one to contemplate or pontificate deeply over, it's almost always the Nalle I go for.
The '95 stable of Kent Rosenblum Zins all displayed the lush ripe forward fruit that characterize his wines. Although each of his Zinfandels are very much unique and speak of their origins, that Rosenblum style is very much overlain on his wines. His '95's didn't quite have, to me, the depth and extract that his previous '92-'93-and '94 vintages had, they all showed plenty of that bright lush fruit I look for in his wines. The Contra Costa and Paso Robles/Sauret Vineyard were both bright vibrant forward easy-drinking Zins for the short term. The Sonoma/ Old Vines '95 didn't seem to have the richness or extract that previous ones have shown. The Contra Costa/Continente Vineyard/Old Old Vine '95 and the Contra Costa Reserve Pato Vineyard Zins were two of the best Contra Costa Zins I've had; loads of bright raspberry fruit, yet plenty of that Contra Costa plummy/dusty/earthy character. Kent's Samsel Vineyard/Maggie's Reserve was an absolute killer Zin; classic rich pungent blackberry/boysenberry/dusty old vine Zin; one of his best yet. The Brandlin Ranch/Mt.Veeder, usually my second most favorite of the Rosenblums, seemed a bit on the tart/narrow/lean side from previous versions. Probably my second favorite of Kent's '95's was the Napa Valley/George Hendry Reserve; lots of fragrant/perfumey/pencilly bright lush character. But even the best winemakers can have a bad hair day; the Vintner's Cuvee XV was a clunker w/ a strange artifical raspberry Jell-O character to me. And then there were a few other very nicely-made distinctive Zins (Harris/Kratka; Cullinane Vnyd, and the Rhodes Vnyd/Annette's Reserve). All-in-all, a most successful portfolio for Dr. Rosenblum.
Ravenswood's Joel Peterson, who honed his Zinfandel skills under the late Joe Swan in the early '70's, has been making great/distinctive single vineyard Zins since the '76 vintage. However, first out of the Ravenswood gate were the regular Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley Zins '95. Both of these were absolute gems, showing much more richness and depth and intensity than any of these two have shown for quite a few years when the single vineyard wines were no longer being sourced into them. And they were both very good bargins in the $12-$14 price range. For me, the '94 Ravenswood vineyard designate wines seemed rather lean and hard and austere, lacking the usual Ravenswood richness and lushness of the previous vintages. Although they are, finally, seemingly shedding some of that backwardness and austerity; the '95 Ravenswoods were back to the classic Ravenswood rich/lush/extracted style of the previous few years. The Cooke '95 and the Old Hill Ranch '95 were two of the greatest Zins produced in that vintage; both loaded with rich frambois/ boysenberry/blackberry dusty/old vines character w/ plenty of pungent/toasty oak; absolutely killer Zins. And, once again, the Napa Valley/Dickerson seemed the least of the Ravenswood ensemble. When Joel first started making Dickerson Vineyard Zin; I loved those wines. They had a bright/vibrant raspberry fruit to them w/ a distinctive minty/menthol character; a Heitz Martha's Vineyard of Zin. The last few vintages of Dickerson have not seemed to me to have the richness and depth of earlier vintages. Relatively new to the Ravenswood linup is the Monte Rosso Vineyard Zin. All the Zins I've had from this vinyard thus far have been rather disappointing; plenty of bright raspberry fruit, but a lean/mean/narrow character on the palate. The Ravenswood Monte Rosso '95 was the first Zin from this Martini-owned vineyard that indicated, perhaps, great Zin can come from these grapes.
Finally, the Ridges. Hard to believe that Paul Draper has been making great Zins for some 25 yrs now, about as long as anybody. And some of these Zins, like the Occidental '70 and the Geyserville '73, were legendary wines. I did not find the '95 Ridges to be particularly compelling wines at the ZAP tasting in January; they seemed a bit akward and closed at the time. But once officially released and out on the shelves.... I should have known better than to harbor doubts as to their quality. The '95 Sonoma Station is a perfectly delicious, servicable, clearly Ridge-style wine at a fair price. The Paso Robles/Dusi Ranch had plenty of ripe/jammy/ Paso Robles blackberry character; but not quite the richness on the palate of earlier ones. The Lytton Springs '95 seemed to go towards the bright/vibrant fruit/aromatic/spicy Nalle part of the Zinfandel spectrum, without the deeper/blackberry overtones; but, nonetheless, a great drinking Zin.
But it was the Ridge Geyserville '95 that blew me away. I thought it was probably one of the best Geyservilles ever made. Quintessential Geyserville; deep dark pungent slight funky very spicy dusty/old vines with a great balance and complexity that will probably carry the wine thru 15-20 yrs of age. I've been whining to Paul Draper for years to make another '73 Geyserville. Nature, plus the continued tweaking Draper does to his winemaking techniques, may just have done that with the '95. There were bigger, there were riper, there were more extracted Zins made by other folks in the '95 vintage, but I can't think of a more complete/total experience Zin made than this Geyserville '95.
And the Pagani Ranch Late Picked '95 weren't too shabby a wine in its own right either. Loads of American oak, loads of deep dark dusty/earthy blackberry fruit; it carries its 15.2% alcohol very well indeed. Many prefer the Pagani to the Geyserville for it bigness and greater extract; it's a huge wine.
And there were a few ATP releases that stood out. The Alegria Late Picked, at 15.7% alcohol and 0.16% r.s was a classic of that genre. The Monte Rosso '94 was a nicely done Zin; but showing that lean/hard/narrow character that many of them seem to have.
So, it seems that it was quite a stunning year for Mr. Ridge. I've been following pretty faithfully the Ridge wines from my earliest years in wine, starting with the '70 vintage. There were some problems with brett in the late '70's and early '80's, not unique to Ridge, that resulted in some rather funky, though always interesting, wines. Surprisingly, those wines have come out of that, with age, in remarkably good condition, much better than I ever expected. But those problems have been well-solved up atop The Ridge and, I feel, that Paul Draper is making, these days, the best wines, and not just Zins, of his entire career. And it ain't luck. Probably no one continues to learn, continues to tweak and refine, continues to ask questions, of his craft more than Draper does.
The Second Tier Producers
In this category, I place some of the producers that don't have the long track record of the above, or specialize in varieties other than Zin; but nonetheless have been making some great ones or are equally passionate about the variety. But second-rate producers they definitely are not. Here we can start picking nits and arguing how many angels pirouet on the head of a pin. In this category I would place Turley, Robert Biale, Cline, Rabbit Ridge, Joseph Swan, Renwood, Peachy Canyon, and David Coffaro.
The Turley's..... always a source of controversy among Zinfanatics. It almost seems that those that can get them (i.e. high on the mailing list) love them, and those that can't, don't. Winemaker Ehren Jordan carries on very well the style of these wines begun by Helen Turley: huge ripe extracted Zins, high in alcohol and tannins, with lots of toasty French oak. The '95's were no exception, ranging from 15.2% to a whopping 17.3%. New to the Turley lineup this year were the Duarte Vineyard and the Grist Mill Vnyd. The Duarte, the "lighest" of the '95's, showed classic Contra Costa plummy/dusty/mushroomy character but a balance that belied it's 15.2% alcohol. On the other end of the spectrum, the Dry Creek Vlly/Grist Mill at 17.3% and 1% r.s. was loaded with very ripe blackberry/boysenberry fruit, a bit on the fumey/hot/alcoholic side but none of the pruney/raisend character one expects of this genre and one of the better Late Harvests of the '95 vintage. The remaining Turleys (Aida. Black-Sears, Hayne, Whitney-Tenessee, and Moore-Earthquake) seemed a bit softer & lusher & less tannic than their '94 counterparts; with the Aida being the lightest (but hardly what one would call a lightweight) and the Moore-Earthquake, at 16.8%, a huge extracted tannic Zin, loaded w/ pungent toasty oak. And their Hoot-Smalley White Zin was a classic.
Many of the complaints about the Turleys center on their huge scale; the alcohol, the tannins, the oak. But they also have huge amounts of fruit. And, unlike the Late Harvests of the early '70's, they seem to have more balance (albiet at a very high level) and much less of that raisened/ pruney/overripe/jammy character those forebearers displayed. To be sure, the wines are alcoholic; I just don't find any hotness/harshness of these alcohol levels particularly noticible.
There is the question of agibility; if these massive wines will evolve into something really attractive to drink like a Ridge Geyserville or a Nalle. One reads on the 'Net from time to time a tasting note for a '93 or a '94, claiming the wine is turning to nothing but tannins & alcohol (the sky is falling... the sky is falling ... on the Turleys, proclaimed Chicken Little!!). Perhaps these are merely going thru a phase. I don't know. But I have a gut feeling that the wines will last the long haul.
Finally, there is the question of the use of the wines, other than to start conflagrations. Because of their massive scale, these wines always show well in tastings, blowing away their much lighter brethern. It does take a bit more creativity and imagination to pair these with foods so that the Turley doesn't overwhelm the food. However, because of their scaricity, I expect the primary use of these Zins will merely be in tastings. And that, I maintain, is a perfectly legimate, though perhaps atypical, use of them. Just like the David Bruce Late Harvests of the early '70's, it will be immense fun to watch these wines evolve over time, prompting hours and hours of idle prattle on the InterNet for years to come on if the Moore/Earthquake will ever come around. And, if it is not yet evident, these Turley Zins are ones that I like a whole lot; wines that sort of leave me in awe as to the extraction, but yet, balance, Ehren is able to achieve from his grapes.
The Robert Biale Zins, in 1995, seemed much less extracted and intense than the previous editions, leading some people on the 'Net to proclaim that the Biale wines are going downhill. I view it more as an evolution of the Biale style towards more elegant, more complex style of wines that Bob Biale states he is seeking. I liked the entire lineup of their '95's (Monte Rosse, Two Vineyards, Old Crane Ranch, and Falleri); elegant, forward, drinkable, well-made, light; but all showed that old vine/dusty character I expect in Zins from these vnyds. The Monte Rosso was typical MR; lots of bright raspberry fruit, but one of the bigger & more structured of their quartet. The Falleri was a soft lush ripe blackberry dusty/old vine wine closest to the previous Biales. I expect these wines will evolve better than many people expect.
Cline Vineyards (now located in Sonoma) manages a sizeable amount of vineyards, many very old, down in the sandy bottomlands of Contra Costa Cnty, near Antioch, of the Sacramento River Delta. These grapes produce Zins of a very distinctive character: dusty/plummy/mushroomy/truffly/earthy often a bit on the clunky side. When Cline first started releasing Contra Costa Zins, I found them to be rather on the fat/flabby/mushy on the palate side; very much the clunky/coarse side of Contra Costa Zin. For the last 2-3 yrs, however, Cline Vineyards, with several single vineyard releases, has really been on a roll: the wines have shown much more balance, more acidity, more brightness, more fruit than their early ones, yet without emasculating the wine and still keeping that unique dark/sorta clunky Contra Costa profile. Across the board, there has been a quantuum leap in the winemaking quality from Cline over the last few yrs in all their wines. Despite a sizeable jump in prices of their '95's, the wines are still fairly priced.... just no longer the great bargins they once were. Their complete line of '95's (Ancient Vines, Live Oak, Big Break, BridgeHead) were all big wines (though labelled only 14%) that show much ContraCosta terrior and should age well for a number of yrs. The Cline Jacuzzi Zin '94 (a family forebearer invented the Jacuzzi bath), with lots of minty/menthol French oak, was one of the best Contra Costa Zins I've tasted, though rather overpriced at $45/btl.
Back in the early '70's, Joseph Swan, a legend in his time, made some truly ... legendary ... Zins, many of which are still very much alive to this day. Though his passion was Pinot Noir, he lavished the same care and attention on his Zins, too. When seeking higher & higher alcohols was then in vogue; Joe continued to make bigger than life Zins, yet never crossed (to my knowledge) that 15% line. Towards the middle '80's, using more whole cluster fermentations, the style of his Zins evolved to a more elegant, drinkable, Pinot-like wine. At his death in the late '80's, son-in- law Rod Bergland took over the winery and more-or-less contined that style. Since that time, though, Rod has started making Zins more in his own style, a big extracted ripe style not unlike the early Swans. In the last 3-4 yrs, the Swan Zins have been some of the best coming out of the Russian River area. The Frati Ranch Zin has always been, to my taste, the best of Rod's lineup. Often the Ziegler and Stellwagen have seemed a bit on the overripe/late harvesty side. In '95, his Zins were, perhaps, his best yet. Both Ziegler and Stellwagen and (new this year) Lone Redwood Ranch showed lots of bright lush very spicy raspberry/blackberry dusty/old vines character. And the big (15.6%) rich powerful extracted boysenberry/ cassis Frati Ranch was one of my very favorite Zins of this vintage, an absolutely awesome wine that will live many years.
David Coffaro has been a grower in the Dry Creek Valley for a number of years, selling to, among others, Doug Nalle who thinks his grapes are some of the best he gets. David is..... well, not exactly mainstream! A few years ago, during the Russian River Valley Wine Tour, when his premier '93 vintage was already sold out and he had nothing to sell, he decided, what-the-hell, I'll sell some real futures-futures, before the grapes have even appeared on the vines. So he offered his '95 futures for a song & a dance. And he has continued that unusual marketing scam since then; so that if you have real confidence in Dave's winemaking skills (and I do) and an inside on the coming Fall growing conditions (and I don't), you can get his wines at a great price. Many of his other wines (Carignane, Petite Sirah, Estate Cuvee) have Zinfandel blended into them. But his '96 Zin (75% Zin, w/ Cabernet, PS, and Carignane therein) was a classic Coffaro-style wine: bright raspberry/ cherry/blackberry fruit with an attractive pencilly/oak veneer; not unlike the Nalle style at all. And at $10/btl, on his weird futures program, an absolute steal.
Since the '90 vintage, when winemaker Scott Harvey elected to return to a more traditional Amador-style of wine, getting more extract, letting the alcohol level cross the 15% threshold, etc; the Renwood (formerly Santino) Zins have been some of my very favorites from the Sheanadoah Valley in Amador County. In late '96, Scott departed Renwood/Santino and Gordon Binz was hired away from Ridge Vineyards. Thus, last year's '95 Renwoods were made by Scott and finished by Gordon; wines probably reflecting a stylistic transition. Both the Amador/Old Vine and the Grandmere Zins showed a bit of a funky/bretty/hot character that I didn't much like. But the debut of the Jack Rabbit Flat/Fox Creek Vnyd Zin '95 was impressive. The wine (15.8%) showed a bright raspberry/blackberry/ very spicy/bright character that actually spoke more of Dry Creek Valley than Shenandoah Valley; a very interesting, though atypical, Amador Zin. And the flagship Grand Pere Zin '95 was probably the best GP since the '91; classic dusty/old vines Amador briary/blackberry Zin but more tannins and structure than the previous two vintages.
Dating to the late-'80's, winemaker Erich Russell has been quietly vinting very well-made, very well-priced, very good-drinking Zins. In the last two years, with the release of several vineyard-designate wines, he has sort of jumped out of the pack as a producer of top-flight Sonoma Zins. Alas, there has also been a pretty sizable jump of his prices into the upper $20's range. The simple Sonoma County Zin is always a nicely done Zin, on the light/simple side, but still a good value. I thought the Estate Reserve/Rabbit Ridge Ranch '95 and the Grand Reserve '95 the best of his '97 releases; lots of fragrant blackberry/ old vines/pencilly oaked character; very balanced & complex; but not long agers and overpriced at $28/btl. The OVZ Reserve (formerly San Lorenzo) received lots of good reviews, but my bottle seemed hot/alcoholic and rather bretty/funky on the palate. Erich makes a pretty broad range of varietals and blends and they are always very interesting to taste.
Finally, Doug Beckett crafts a number of Zins at Peachy Canyon that, to me, are the benchmarks for the ripe/blackberry jammy style of Paso Robles Zin. At the Rosenblum/ZAP tasting last January, his '95's showed particularly impressive; big ripe very lush classic PR Zin. When finally tasted in September, they seemed to be on the fat/soft side and not quite the tannins/ structure of the previous two vintages. The East Side (vineyards on the east side of Hwy 101) and West Side both seemed on the simple/jammy side. But the Dusi Ranch and the Old Bailey Ranch were very delicious, packed w/ lush/jammy/ blackberry fruit. The Leona's Vineyard/ Second Crop was loaded w/ bright blackberry fruit but a sort of hollowness/leaness on the palate that seems typical of second crop Zin.
And Some Others
And that, then, covers what I describe as my second-tier of Zin producers, many of whom produced some very noteworthy Zins, as good as any of the top-flight producers. The following summarizes some of my favorite Zins last year from other, certainly not lesser, producers, on a region-by-region basis, even if their grapes came from other areas.
Sierra Foothills (Amador/ElDorado)
For the last 4-5 yrs, Lee & Shirley Sobon have been making some wonderful vineyard-designate Zins in the Shenandoah Valley, and at very reasonable prices, probably the best priced (high QPR the geeks call it!) Zin for the $ in all of California. Under the Sobon Estate label (also they have Shenandoah Vineyards), they make a Couger Hill Vineyard, Rocky Top Vineyard, and Lubenko Vineyard. They tend to be less overripe/less jammy/less alcoholic than most of the other Amador Zins, yet still display much of that Amador blackberry/ briary character. The '95 editions of all the wines struck me as softer, rounder, less structured than the previous few vintages. The Lubenko, made from Fiddletown grapes just over the ridge behind the Sobon property, and pretty atypical of Amador Zin, has always been my favorite. The '95 Lubenko, with a lot of pungent licorice earthy smokey dusty/old vines character, was a classic Lubenko. Both the Rocky Top and Couger Hill '95's had lots of that Amador briary/blackberry character with a distinct cinammon/cloves/very spicy undertone. Bill Easton (Easton Vineyards/Domaine de la Terre Rouge) has been producing some stunning Rhone-style wines in Amador for the last few yrs. He also includes Zinfandel, under his Easton label, that I've liked in the past quite a lot. His '95 Shenandoah and Fiddletown/Eschen Ranch were a real puzzle for me. They both had attractive fragrant cherry/ black cherry/ blackberry noses but a very lean/hard/ acid/tannic (you always get that in Eschen Zin)/austere character on the palate that made them kind of hurtey and, as if, they needed another several degrees of alcohol. It'll be interesting to watch them age. Ben & Katie Zeitman of Amador Foothill Winery also make some of my favorite Amador Zins. They ferment at rather cool temperatures which give their Zins a very fragrant/ perfumey/ aromatic quality, though a leanness and hardness on the palate the really requires some age to soften. Consequently, they release their wines about a year later than anyone else. The '94 were again classic Amador Foothill zins; with the Eschen again my favorite; with that classic Eschen cherry/perfume (and those classic Eschen hard tannins). Finally, from just to the north in El Dorado County, come some of California's most distinctive Zins. They often show a dusty/ earthy/truffly/mushroomy/ light blackberry character, somewhat like Contra Costa, but much more acidity and brightness on the palate. At ZAP, John & Barbara MacCready's 5* Reserve '95 barrel sample showed a bit of oxidation and wet dog fur on the palate that I found off-putting. But upon its recent release..... the wine was terrific. More blackberry fruit than most El Dorado Zins show, that typical dusty/ truffly/mushroomy flavor, and lots of pencilly French oak, good structure and tannins for aging; it is probably the best El Dorado Zin I've ever had and, certainly, the best of a very good string from Sierra Vista Wnry. With John & Barbara's daughter taking over winemaking duties here, it will be very interesting to watch the evolution in style.
Paso Robles
With a number of quite old Zin vineyards in the area, Paso Robles has a long history of producing some big ripe blackberry jammy style of Zins. Probably the best this year was Gary Eberle's Sauret Vnyd '95. At 14.8%, it was loaded w/ blackberry very spicy/cloves oaked character but a tannic structure & acidity that's rare for PR Zin. It struck me as probably the best Zin Gary has ever produced. Eberle's former winemaker, Dan Pannico, has gone off to do his own thing under the Dover Canyon label. His debut Zin '95 was a dandy; classic ripe blackberry jammy fruit w/ a light touch of oak. Dan is a very competent winemaker and this is definitely a winery to watch in the future. Tobin James Shumrick made some classic PR Zins over the years, first at Eberle and then at Peachy Canyon. His Deep Purple '95 was classic soft blackberry jammy PR Zin. But his '95 James Gang Reserve showed lots of very ripe chocolaty/ blackberry character but acidity & tannins to carry it for a numberr of years; one of the best Zins Toby as yet made I thought.
Napa Valley
Probably the best Zin to come out of the Napa Valley this vintage was the Saddleback '95. It is typical Nils Venge Zin; very black ripe dusty/blackberry fruit overlain w/ loads of smokey/toasty/pungent/charred oak & tannins to carry it for the long haul. They are reminiscent of the Togni style. Truchard Vineyards has made some very nice drinking rather soft lush Zin over the past few years. Their '95 seemed a change in style, but their best one yet; big & lush & ripe but a more pungent/smokey slightly funky character than they've shown in the past. Back in the later '70's & early '80's, Buehler Vineyards crafted some terrific Zins under the hand of winemaker Philip Togni. With his departure, their Zins lightened up quite a bit and became very uninteresting, though very reasonably priced. The good news is that Buehler Vineyards is back. Their Estate Zin '95 was superb. Not in the old Togni style, but loads of bright raspberry/blackberry spicy fruit overlain w/ a very spicy/minty/menthol French oak. And wearing his Neyers Vineyard hat, Ehren Jordan also made an excellent Zin '95 from Pato Vineyard grapes down in Contra Costa County; lots of bright cranberry/blackberry fruit, none of the Contra Costa clunkiness, and loaded w/ pencilly French oak. Finally, Bill Nuttle, formerly of Saintsbury, now of Chalk Hill, released two very well-made, polished, '95 Zins; a Napa Valley and a Dry Creek Valley. The DCV showed a bit more richness and dusty/old vines character than the Napa; but both reflected that elegant, almost Pinot-like style all his wines show.
Sonoma County
This is, of course, the home turf for most of California's greatest Zin; and there were a lot of them. The '96 vintage marks the third string in a row of outstanding Zins from Cecil DeLoach. All the single vineyard designates were big rich blackberry dusty/ old vine wines. The OFS at 15.5%, was a huge chocolaty/ truffly/ boysenberry kind of Zin. With this '96 vintage, the simple Estate Zin is very nearly as good as the single vineyard designates, maybe the best Estate Zin he has produced perhaps ever. Most of these DeLoaches were slightly below 15% alcohol and all displayed a refreshing tartness that should carry them a fair number of years, probably 10 yrs and beyond. The Rafanelli '95 was fairly typical of theirs, lots of ripe blackberry dusty fruit, not the typical overwhelming horsecollar/brett they displayed in the late '80's; but seemed a bit less intense and extracted than the last few years. The Gary Farrell Russian River Valley '95 was another winner for him; lots a very very spicy aromatic cranberry/raspberry fruit with pencilly French oak, very much in the style of his Pinots. The St. Francis, with their very recalcitrant plastic corks, both the Sonoma Old Vines and the Pagani, showed their typical soft fat lush very intense blackberry/boysenberry fruit, overlain with loads of milky American oak; a bit too much oak for my tastes. The '95 Limmerick Lane/ Collins Vnyd was another in a string of successes from them; loaded with very lush rich boysenberry/black cherry cough syrup type of fruit. In a similar style was the Scherrer Old & Mature Vines '95 with a bit more toasty oak & a bit softer and fatter in structure. The Wellington Casa Santinamaria '95 was probably their best one yet; lots of lush jammy blackberry plummy fruit but a bit more structured and tannic than previous ones. The Dry Creek Old Vines Zin '95 was typically nicely made, spicy raspberry fruit with lots of buttery American oak, for current drinking. But Dave Stare's Reserve Zin '94 was pretty serious Dry Creek Zin, showing more richness and structure than any since the '91; perhaps one of his best ones yet. And one should not overlook the Gallo Chiotti '95 and Frei Ranch '95; both very well- made Zins at a fair price and showing much more character and funkiness than you would expect of a Gallo product. I think those two kids are doing things right. One should also mention the Coturri Zins since Parker swears by them. These things are so absolutely weird.... most people really dislike them, and some are quite smitten by them. All organic grown and organic winemaking (no SO2) they display a rather stinky/ fecal/bretty /milk of magnesia character, often with a bit of residual sugar; but very very intense blackberry fruit and lots of very charred/toasty oak. Both the '95 Chauvet and the '95 Coturri Family Vineyard had this character, with the latter carrying 15.8% alcohol and a distinct sweetness. I find the wines very funky, very rustic, very interesting, and often show much better in a day or two in the bottle. Normally, wines this stinky but with this extract will turn out fine down the road with 10 yrs of bottle age.... but it's always a gamble with the Coturris. Finally, one should mention the Martinellis. I only tasted these at ZAP last January. The Jackass Vineyard '95 was a terrific big rich oaky Martinelli, loaded w/ rich raspberry fruit. But the Jackass Hill '95 was a badly flawed wine; loads of stinky mercaptan/H2S/skunky character with lots of very charred/burnt oak and a hard/tannic leaness on the palate. And then a quoted price of $45, a stupid price, so I made no effort to get this wine at all.
Mendocino County
Again, lots of great old Zin vineyards here, but the wines just don't seem to reflect the potential Mendocino has for making great Zin. One of the best to come from here was the Greenwood Ridge '95... except it was made from Sonoma County Scherrer Vineyard grapes. Navarro made a lovely '95 w/ lots of spicy berry/raspberry character, much in the style of their wonderful Pinots. The Rosenblum Rhodes Vineyard/Anette's Reserve, made from Redwood Vlly grapes, was done in his classic lush fruit style, but still showed some of that dusty/tomatoey Mendocino character. Probably the best of last year's Mendocino Zins was the Williams-Selyem '94; big ripe blackberry black cherry smokey French oak; very much in the W-S Pinot style. Finally, Jed Steele made a number of single vineyard Mendocino Zins at his winery down in Lake County. From the DuPratt, Ciapusci, and Recetti vineyards; they spoke more of the Steele winemaking style and less of their Mendocino origins. Nonetheless, they were very nicely crafted wines.
Old Bones from the Archives
As usual, I went back into my Zinfandel stash to pull out some older Zins to try. And, as is often the case, they are interesting intellectual experiences but seldom great sensual experiences. One focused on a set of the Ridge Zins from the '79-'81 vintages. My expectations were very low; this was a time when Ridge, and other California wineries, were all learning about brettanomyces. And many of the Ridges Zins from this period displayed a raging bretty/ horsecollar/ barnyardyness that made them rather unattractive on their release. Well, guess what ..., in all cases that uncleanness had aged away and was not at all that obvious. The Shenandoah/Esola Vineyard '79 was getting a bit shakey. But the '80 Shenandoah/ Esola Vineyard was in great shape w/ lots of dusty/pungent character and still had that Amador briary/blackberry fruit to it. The Fiddletown/Eschen Vineyard '81 had a lovely pungent/oaked/black cherry cola nose, but still that classic Eschen/hard as nails/ tannins and may never be a pleasure on the palate. The Geyserville '81 and '80 showed classic Geyserville funkiness, a bit of the horsecollar/brett still, and both fully mature if not getting a bit long of tooth. The Ridge Howell Mountain Zins, from the Park-Muscatine Vineyard, were never very attractive upon their release; showing lots of tannins, not a lot of fruit, and that classic Howell Mountain dusty/earthy character. But the three Howell Mtns, '81- '80- and '79 have aged into some of the finest mature Zins I've ever had from Ridge; with the '81 being fully mature and the '79 & '80 still being able to go another 3-5 yrs. They all showed an incredible fragrant/ truffly/smokey/ complex dusty/ some menthol oaked nose, almost a Monte Bello Cab character. Wonderful, wonderful wines. The Napa/York Creek Vnyd '81 had a gorgeous pungent/toasty nose but starting to dry out on the palate a bit. But the Napa/Stout Vineyard '81 and the Langtry Road '79 had beautiful complex perfumy pungent noses and an almost Rhone-like dusty/ pungent flavor on the palate. Clearly, Mr. Draper knows a bit about making Zins that age. All of the wines were at least 10 years beyond his recommended peak maturity on his label comments. And I fully expect his current '95 versions to do equally well, nay ... , even better, than these with bottle age. Zinfandels DO age.
The Edmeades Ciapusci '80 and '82, back when Jed Steele was making some pretty big Zins up in the Anderson Valley, were both beautiful aromatic mature wines, with the '82, at 14.8%, still needing a few more years. The Montevina '79 and '78 Zins were both getting pretty shakey, showing that tobaccoy/old Zin character and quite a bit of alcohol. But the Buehler '79 and '80, made by Philip Togni during his tenure there, were absolutely stunning; big rich tarry dusty pungent smokey licorice kind of Zins that will carry on another 5 yrs or more. And the Deer Park '79 was very similar, with a pungent tarry character not unlike a great Barolo. The Santino Fiddletown/Eschen Vineyard Special Selection '80 was a killer; showing classic Eschen cherry/black cherry perfumed complexity in the nose but with only a bit of that Eschen bite on the palate. And, finally, the Eberle Paso Robles '89, from the Richard Sauret Vineyard and Gary's debut Zin under his own label, was a wonderfully muture, ready to drink wine, still loaded with plenty of that fragrant raspberry/strawberry character that's makes his Zins atypical of Paso Robles.
So there it is, another great year with some extraordinary, fantastic Zins. It's tough work, but someone's gotta do it. Obviously, there were some others out there that I missed; ... I tried. And I obviously overlooked some that were favorites of others. But there's always next year, and I expect to find just as many exciting ones, maybe more, in 1998.
