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.

 

New Zinfandels
Tasted last night some New Zins
Ridge Calif Zinfandel Nervo Vineyard (88% Zinfandel; 8% PS; 4% Carignane; 14.3%) '96: Med.dark color; very attractive spicy/raspberry/some dusty/old vines light Am.oaked rather complex nose; tart bright raspberry/dusty/old vine bit pungent/Am.oaked flavor; very long dusty/old vines bright forward raspberry very spicy some oaked/pungent finish w/ some tannins; needs yr or two; not a big wine but extremely well made lots of interesting/spicy character; a bit like a light-style Pagani.
Dry Creek Vineyard Sonoma County Reserve Zinfandel (15.0%; 23% PS) '95: Med.dark color; strong toasty/Am.oaked spicy blackberry dusty/old vines nose; soft dusty/old vines rather pungent/toasty/oaked ripe blackberry flavor; very long strong toasty/oak ripe blackberry deep some dusty/old vine finish w/ light tannins; lots of pencilly/ toasty oak & more like RussianRiver Zinfandel than Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. One of the best DCV Zins yet.
August Briggs Napa Valley Zinfandel (13.5%) '96: Dark color; ripe blackberry dusty slight herbal/stemmy perfumed talc/oaked nose; bright ripe blackberry perfumed talc some oaked/dusty flavor; long floral/violets soft bright raspberry/blackberry some buttery/oak bit dusty finish w/ light tannins; very nicely done Zinfandel but fairly mainstream Napa Valley Zinfandel.
Lamborn Family Vineyard Napa Valley Howell Mtn (The French Connection; Not Filtered; 15.3%) '95: Dark color; strong dusty/mountain Zinfandel perfumed/complex very spicy bit smokey/pungent/charred nose; rich toasty/pungent/oak rather HowellMtn/dusty/ earthy/mushroomy very spicy flavor; long hard dusty/HM/earthy spicy blackberry some pungent/toasty/oak finish w/ fair tannins; rather closed & hard & needs some 3-6 yrs of age; fairly classic HowellMtn Zinfandel that should age very well.
Rosenblum Sonoma County Zinfandel St.Peters Church Vineyard (13.9%; 20% Carignane) '96: Dark color; beautiful blackberry/black cherry/cola dusty/old vines fragrant/perfumed some oaked nose; rich fairly tannic strong blackberry/black cherry/cola some floral/violets flavor; very long ripe tannic blackberry/black cherry floral/ violets finish; needs 2-5 yrs; bigger & more structured than recent Rosenblums; beautiful very well-made Zinfandel.
Rosenblum Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Cullinane Vineyard (13.8%) '96: Dark color; deep very dusty/ old vines fragrant blackberry/blueberry nose; rich bit softer ripe blackberry/ fairly dusty/old vines light oaked flavor; long bit hard/tannic fragrant black- berry ratherr dusty/old vines blueberry light oaked finish w/ fair tannins; needs 1-4 yrs; more classic lush Rosenblum style but bigger structure than recent ones.
Rosenblum Mt.Veeder Brandlin Ranch (14.3%) Zinfandel '96: Dark color; very fragrant/ floral blackberry/black cherry/cherry cola very spicy bit dusty nose; rich very spicy complex blackberry/black cherry/cola dusty/old vines some toasty/oak flavor; very long lush very fragrant floral blackberry/black cherry/cola dusty/old vines complex slight toasty/minty/menthol/oak finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; a big rich structured terrific Zinfandel.
Nalle Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (13.5%) '96: Dark color; deep blackberry/dusty/ very spicy some pencilly/oaked some complex nose; rich hard/closed some blackberry dusty/old vines menthol/pencilly/oaked flavor; med.long hard/tannic blackberry/ dusty menthol/pencilly/Fr.oaked finish; needs more age; seems rather big & hard and closed right now.
Windemere Paso Robles Zinfandel Benito Dusi Vineyard (13.8%) '95: Med.dark bit murky/cloudy color; very ripe/overripe some volatile bit vegetal rather raisened/pruney/ geraniums hot very weird nose; some hot/volatile very sour very overripe/raisened pruney bit oxidized flavor; long raisened/pruney some blackberry/jammy some hot/ volatile finish w/ light tannins. Really weird & unattractive Zinfandel. Although not alcoholic, it has a distinct hot/fumey/volatile character to it. Tastes very much of very overripe grapes; very unbalanced.
Piedra Creek Wnry Paso Robles Benito Dusi Vineyard (14.1%) '96: Dark color; strong pencilly/pungent/toasty/oak some blackberry/jammy nose; soft ripe blackberry/jammy bit dusty/old vines some pungent/oak licorice flavor; med.long ripe jammy/black- berry/PR Zinfandel some pungent/oak finish w/ some tannins; needs yr or two; a nicely done fairly interesting PR Zinfandel.
Dover Canyon Paso Robles Templeton Gap Reserve (14.8%; JanKris & Cobble Creek vnuds) '96: Med.dark color; intense blackberry/PR jammy slight herbal/volatile/ black cherry cough syrup some dusty/earthy nose; tart rather tannic strong blackberry/jammy bit herbal/dusty/funky cough syrup flavor; long ripe blackberry/ jammy/PR Zinfandel some pungent/charred/oak dusty bit herbal/vegetal finish w/ ample tannins; needs 3-6 yrs of age.
Rio Seco Paso Robles Cherry Vineyard (16.7%) Zinfandel '96: Dark color; very intense blackberry/PR jammy floral/violets/aromatic some toasty/oaked classic ripe/PR Zinfandel nose; tart intense blackberry/boysenberry/jammy/ripe some dusty toasty/oak flavor; long tart/citric very ripe blackberry/boysenberry/jammy/cough syrup some toasty/ oak finish w/ some tannins; big ripe lovely classic PR/jammy Zinfandel. Good value at $18.50.
Karly Amador Cnty Warrior Fires Zinfandel (15.1%) '95: Dark color; strong very ripe Amador/blackberry/briary/jammy some oaked bit earthy/stemmy nose; very ripe blackberry/Amador briary/chocolaty/licorice some pungent/oaked flavor; med.long hard/tannic very ripe Amador/blackberry/briary finish; needs several yrs; a bit on the overripe side but very good Amador Zinfandel.
Richard Sauret Sauret Vineyard Second Crop Zinfandel '96: Very dark color; complex blackberry/black cherry cola/jammy bit leafy/stemmy/Kansas feed store nose; soft lush blackberry/jammy/licorice/plummy dusty flavor; med.long dusty blackberry/ black cherry cola/licorice spicy finish w/ light tannins; not a lot of structure but a very tasty Zinfandel loaded w/ blackberry fruit. A steal at $0.00.
Dover Canyon Paso Robles Zinfandel Late Harvest Cobble Creek Vineyard (15.7%) '97: Very dark color; very intense blackberry/jammy/licorice/chocolaty bit volatile/ alcoholic nose; slightly sweet very intense blackberry/jammy/boysenberry/licorice very spicy/dusty bit hot/volatile flavor; long intense blackberry/jammy dusty some tannic finish; will age quite awhile; much like the Ridge Essence '91.
Ridge Geyserville Calif (64% Zinfandel, 18% PS, 18% Carignane; 13.9%) '90: Dark color; slight musty/stinky nose that clears to pungent/smokey/oaked very dusty/old vines complex bit blackberry nose; ripe complex pungent/smokey dusty/old vines/ sorta funky some old Zinfandel/cedary rather spicy/complex flavor; long lingering complex smokey/dusty/old vines spicy old Zinfandel/cedary/cigar box some raspberry finish w/ light tannins; holding quite well.

And the usual nebulous nuggets of nonsense & nowledge from the bloody pulpit:
I really liked the Ridge Nervo Zinfandel. Not a big or rich Zinfandel, but it seemed to have a distinctive spiciness in it that I loved. Good complexity for a young wine and good old vine character, a bit like a light-style Pagani Ranch. It struck me more as a contemplative or intelluctual than a sensual Zinfandel. Loved it.
These Rosenblums were all Kent's 20th Anniversary Special Bottlings (ain't gonna the labels off of these ones!) and they struck me as somewhat different in style than previous ones. Although packed w/ ripe blackberry fruit, they didn't seem to show the usual classic soft Rosenblum lushness to them. That is, it was less Rosenblum winemaking style and more the individual vnyd speaking thru these wines. They seemed more tannic, more structured, more long-term than his recent Zins. Thoughht they were dynamite Zins; extremely well made.
The Nalle '96: I've followed Doug Nalle's Zins from the very start and have always liked them a lot. The '90-'95 were all very similar in character, the Nalle style I call it. Loads of very fragrant high-toned DryCreek Zinberry/raspberry fruit w/ a fair amount of pencilly/Fr.oak. The '96 was distinctly different in style than the last 6 vintages. It had more of a deep blackberry. more a Russian River type of fruit, more subdued oak, harder & more tannic, rather closed & unyielding. It reminded me of his Zins from back around '86-'87. Most of the tasters were not particularly jazzed by it. I thought it simply needed more time to show its stuff and will eventually be a better Zinfandel than the '90-'95's in terms of being a serious wine. BTW: Doug also has a '96 GWT out that's reasonably priced and very tasty; not Alsatian, but it is dry and just great drinking.
I had Larry Roberts' (Dr.Fermento) Rio Seco Zinfandel out in Paso during the Raisin' Rhones Festival & was quite impressed with it. Usually at a 16+ alcohol level you get a lot of overripe/raisened/pruney flavors. Not at all in this one. Just lots of ripe blackberry/PR jammy character. Some tasters thought the wine smelled/ tasted alcoholic, but I did not find that fumey/hot/volatile character that you find in many high-alcohol Zins. It carries the alcohol very well, I thought. It reminded me a bit of the Ridge Zinfandel Essence w/o the sweetness. Or some of the early Peachy Canyon Zins. An excellent first effort for Rio Seco. They also have a Monterey Cnty Pinot Blanc out that's very well-made & quity tasty.
I've been a big fan for yrs of Sauret vnyd Zinfandel, made by both Kent Rosenblum & Gary Eberle. Their '96 versions of Sauret Zinfandel are probably the best ones yet. Better yet, the Eberle Sauret '97 is killer stuff, probably the best one ever made from these grapes. I met Richard Sauret some 6-7 yrs ago at Gary Eberle's and really liked him from the git-go; the kind of honest, straightforward, no bull-sh*t type of people you find in Paso. At this yrs Raisin'Rhones in June, Richard went out and walked his two vnyds w/ me. It was obvious why he produces such good grapes that makes such great wines. The vnyd was immaculate, very well cared for. He treated those vines as we walked thru the vineyard like they were his children. Clearly an excellent example of how great wine is made in the vnyd. This Sauret Zinfandel was a gift from Richard. It is made from second crop Zinfandel, after Kent & Gary have already taken their first crop. He harvests the second crop himself, takes it over to Castoro Cllrs, where the wine is made for him. The few second crop Zins I've had tended to be rather strange (I would guess from very weird phenolics in 2nd crop grapes) and pretty soft and fat, no structure. This wine was not at all strange; just very good, tasty Paso Zinfandel.
I liked both of these Dover Canyon Zins quite a bit. A previous one from the JanKris vnyd was very strange sorta herbal/vegetal. These were delicious. The owner/winemaker is Dan Panico, formerly of Eberle. Keep your eye on the wnry.
This is the third time I've had the Geyserville '90. This one was doing great. A previous one was not very good, very funky. And the second one was sort of dumb, uninteresting. Seems like a lot of bottle variability. All three were from different sources/cellars.