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 Zinfandels:
Sutter Home Pertico Calif Zinfandel (Raspberry natural fruit flavor; 9%) '97: Very light ruby near WhiteZin color; strong fragrant artificial raspberry soda pop very perfumy no Zinfandel fruit nose; sweet strong artificial raspberry soda pop no Zinfandel-wine flavor whatsoever; short soda pop finish; this is soda pop, not wine; no Zinfandel character whatsoever. Price around $4.19.
Ridge Calif Zinfandel Coast Range (75% Zinfandel, 10% PS, 7% Carignane, 4% Alicante Bouchet; 13.3%) '96: Med. color, pleasant Am.oaked simple Zinberry/ raspberry nose; soft slightly sour/bitter light pleasant raspberry Zinfandel light buttery Am.oaked flavor; med. short buttery/Am.oaked simple spicy Zinberry finish w/ little tannins; definitely Ridge in style; a light simple pleasant Zinfandel at a fair price.
Sutton Cellars Dry Creek Valley Carignane (Saini Vnyd; 13.5%; 60 cs) '96: Dark color; earthy black-cherry some oaked bit volatile/EA pleasant/dusty nose; tart lean rustic/black-cherry/Am.oaked some dusty bit bitter/hot some spicy tannic flavor; med.long rough rustic black-cherry Am.oaked some bitter/tannic finish; needs a yr or two; some interesting things in this wine but it seems a bit on the rustic/amateurish side.
Bonny Doon Contra Costa County Carignane Calif RW (OldVine; 13.5%) '97: Dark color; very strong black cherry/plummy/cough syrup lush ripe dusty nose; soft lush very fruity plummy/black cherry/cough syrup bit earthy/dusty very ripe flavor; med.long soft fat very lush up-front fruit strong black cherry/cough syrup/plummy/CCCnty/licorice finish w/ little tannins; a soft fat rich lush very grapey red much like the first ('95) Cardinal Zinfandel made for immediate drinking.
DEWN Bonny Doon Contra Costa County Zinfandel Ehler Vnyd (15.5%) '96: Dark color; intense boysenberry/blackberry/plummy/licorice very ripe lush bit hot/ alcoholic nose; very ripe boysenberry/blackberry/plummy some hot rather overripe loads of fruit flavor; long very lush lots of fruit boysenberry blackberry/licorice/plummy very ripe finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; loads of intense lush fruit and good structure.
Kaz Vineyards & Winery Sonoma Valley Lenoir (13.9%) '96: Black color; very perfumed oaked deep dusky/dusty/earthy bit plummy very interesting nose; very rich hard tannic rustic dusty/earthy rather Fr.oaked some plummy interesting/ complex flavor; long rough/tannic dusty/earthy oaked finish; needs some 2-6 yrs of age; a big rough rustic wine some like Duoro Vlly reds or Portugese Dao wines I've had; very little hybrid no-plastic character and perhaps the best hybrid red I've ever had.
Favarito Sonoma County Zinfandel Cuvee Americano (14%) Najiola-Spencer Vintners '96: Med.light color; light raspberry bit dusty light Am.oaked perfumed talc bit simple nose; tart light spicy raspberry some Am.oaked simple flavor; bit lean/thin bright raspberry/spicy some buttery/Am.oaked finish w/ light tannins; an interesting lightweight Zinfandel sort of in a Chianti style.
Rombauer Napa Valley Zinfandel (14.2%) '96: Med.color; some raspberry/blackberry very spicy rather charred/toasty/Fr.oaked/pungent nose; tart light very spicy raspberry/blackberry rather buttery/toasty/Fr.oaked lush flavors; long very spicy very buttery/toasty/pungent/bit charred/Fr.oaked very spicy/raspberry finish w/ light tannins; very nice tasty lightweight rather oaked Zinfandel; much like the Biale '95's in style.
Sutton Cellars Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (carignane&Barbera; 96 cs; 13.5%) '96: Med.color; med.strong Am.oaked/milky some raspberry/dusty bit rustic nose; tart bright spicy/raspberry/Zinfandel some dusty rather milky/Am.oaked rustic flavor; med.long spicy/raspberry dusty strong Am.oaked pleasant finish w/ light tannins; a bit rustic but somewhat interesting.
Michael-Scott Dry Creek Valley Old Vines Zinfandel (85% Zinfandel, 15% mixed black varieties; 70 cs; 14.5%) '96: Med.dark murky/cloudy color; strong minty/ menthol/oaked some spicy/raspberry pungent/smokey nose; strong minty/ menthol/dill/oaked some raspberry/spicy dusty interesting flavor; long tart/citric rather raspberry/Zinberry/spicy very minty/menthol/pungent/ oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs yr or two; most disliked this wine intensely; I found it on the eccentric side but sorta liked it.
Kunde Century Vines Shaw Vnyd Zinfandel (13.9%) '96: Med.color; attractive ripe raspberry/blackberry/Zinberry spicy straightforward nose; tart bright blackberry/raspberry/spicy bit light slight oaked bit thin flavor; med. spicy/raspberry/Zinberry some buttery/oak finish w/ light tannins; a rather bright Zinfandel but little old vine character and pretty light compared to previous ones; disappointing.
Hidden Cellars Mendocino Heritage Medicino Zinfandel Eagle Point Ranch (16%) '96: Med.dark color; slight herbal deep blackberry/dusty/licorice/boysen- berry very spicy bit earthy nose; soft rich very lush blackberry/boysen- berry/licorice dusty some pungent/oak flavor; long rich chocolaty/lush/ blackberry/boysenberry/licorice some oaked finish w/ light tannins; needs several yrs; best HiddenCllrs Zinfandel I've ever had and one of the few really good Mendocino Zins of late; bit pricey at $25.00
Marietta Alexander Valley RW Angeli Cuvee (Zinfandel, PS, Carignane; 14.5%) '95: Very dark color; very strong complex dusty/old vines rich lush black- cherry/blackberry/boysenberry very spicy/fragrant complex some oaked nose; rich spicy very lush complex blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry/ Dr.Pepper complex very spicy some oaked dusty/old vine flavor; very long lingering oaked very spicy lush black-cherry/blackberry/boysenberry oaked dusty/old vines finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; a rich & sleek & complex & racy & spicy red; killer stuff at a good price, $19.69
Howell Mountain Vnyds Howell Mountain Zinfandel Beatty Ranch (15.5%) '96: Very dark color; strong dusty/HM pungent some toasty/oaked deep brooding nose w/ not a lot of fruit; hard tannic closed dusty/earthy/HMZin some blackberry some oaked pretty tannic flavor; long hard tannic closed dusty/earthy/HMZin low blackberry fruit big extracted finish; needs 3-8 yrs; a classic HM Zinfandel that needs age badly.
Topolos Russian River Vnyds Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Old Vines (13.2%; 270 cs) '96: Med.light bit browning color; some volatile/EA light spicy/ blackberry nose; light some hot/volatile light simple raspberry light dusty flavor; med.long bright raspberry light some hot/volatile finish w/ light tannins; best of the Topolos '96's I've had but appallingly light & weak w/ no Pagani character I can see. Disappointing.
Eric-Ross Russian River Valley Old Vine Zinfandel Occidental Vnyd (14.1%) '96: Dark color; intense dusty/old vines blackberry/boysenberry earthy some stemmy/oaked fairly complex nose; rich tart tannic rather lean some pungent/blackberry/boysenberry dusty/old vine big hard flavor; long dusty/old vine rich blackberry/boysenberry some lean/tight finish w/ ample tannins; needs 3-8 yrs of age; lots of old vine character but pretty hard & lean on the palate.

Gadzooks!! Not another bloody pulpit:
The Sutter Home Portico raspberry-flavored Zinfandel is designed to attract the youth market (maybe they need a Joe Camel??) that is transitioning from Coka/Pepsi to wine (which is WHAT I thought WhiteZin was supposed to do). This is sooo much like Nehi raspberry soda pop that I don't see how that transition will happen. Lotsaluck. They also have a Kiwi-flavored and Mango/Peach-flavored White Zinfandel that I eschewed buying..... afterall, one has some bottom line standards below which one cannot sink! Besides, can you imagine the scandal that would erupt if somebody saw TomHill buying a WhiteZin and posted that fact to the 'Net??? My reputation (such as it is) would be in shambles!!
The Ridge Coast Range is very similar in quality/style to what Ridge used to do w/ that wine. The last time I bought Ridge CoastRange Zinfandel (in '74, of the '73 vintage) I hauled some 60 cases of the stuff down in a U-Haul from LiquorMart in Boulder, where we got it for $3.99/btl. Now they release another CoastRange Zinfandel w/ a 200% price hike!! Oh well!
Lenoir: This is a hybrid grape variety also known as Black Spanish and predominately grown on Madeira as Jacquet. It is a tenturier (red juice) designed to give color to their Madeiras and fairly widely used. With Portugal's entry into the EEC, it's use was then forbidden in their wines. But it was highly regarded for the dark colered wines it produced. There is also a small planting in Texas. Who knows what it is doing up in Sonoma. It strikes me as probably a variety that would make a pretty good Port, except for the notorious lack of color stability w/ aging of tenturiers.
All these Zins, save the BonnyDoons, came from the Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa; an extraordinary store w/ a very large selection at great prices. Walking into this store and seeing all these Zins w/ labels I didn't recognize was like.... a kid in a candy store!! A great wine shop with great people.
Marietta Cllrs: The folks make some awfully good wines at very good prices. Their OldVineRed has always been one of my favorites. The first Angeli Cuvee '92 was a very impressive wine. The '93 and '94 versions seemed a bit weaker and not quite as good. This '95 is easily the best one yet; an absolutely killer Zinfandel and one of the best Zins I've had this year. Dynamite.
Howell Mountain Zins: This Howell Mountain Beatty Ranch reminded me a lot of some of the early Ridge Zins from that vnyd. They were never particularly attractive in their youth, ratherr closed, lots of dusty/HM character. But they evolved into some pretty complex interesting wines w/ age. When the Beatty Ranch was started to be replanted in the early-mid '70's Paul Draper lost interest in that fruit & quit making Howell Mountain Zinfandel. This wine is a classic Howell Mountain Zinfandel.... not particularly attractive now in its youth, but should develop w/ age into something awfully good.
Topolos wines: In the past, I've had some absolutely stunning Zins from this winery; Ultimo and Rossi Ranch Zins in particular. The '91 Topolos RossiRanch '91 was one of the best of that vintage. And also some pretty incredible Alicante Bouchets.
I've not found the more recent Topolos reds nearly as good; lots of bretty/barnyardy character and signs of sloppy/unclean winemaking. Several weeks ago, I stopped by their tasting room to sample thru the wines. I found all the reds to have appallingly high levels of volatility loaded w/ EA and that hot/prickly/pickle juice character that volatile wines have on the palate. But they were not tasting the Pagani then. This '96 Pagani did not have the raging volatility those in the tasting room showed, but it was very very light for PaganiVnyd Zinfandel, quite simple, and showed none of that PaganiRanch character that the Ridge shows so well and that you can even see thru the heavy-handed Am.oak overlay of the St.Francis.
It's all really sad because Michael Topolos clearly knows how to make great Zinfandel and has access to some of the very best vnyds in Sonoma. It all seems like such a waste. Anybody know what's going on up there at this winery??