Sixty-five Zins: my notes from ZAP
Wow, it's hard to taste 65 wines in a row. Even more so when you're drinking Zinfandel. At least with Pinot Noir, you'll get some variation in style, terroir and extraction; but California Zin is all so big and bold, it gets hard to differentiate between them.
Still, I had a fantastic time at ZAP and I'll definitely try and finagle some more trade tickets for next year.
Given the size of ZAP, and the alphabetical order of participating wineries, I was unable to follow my initial plan of only focusing on a few regions. Instead, I walked around with Sasha and we took turns pointing to various wineries that caught one of our eyes.
So here are all my tasting notes. For the sake of maintaining consistency in the wine-blog-rating community, I'll be using Alder's Vinography scale, which I feel works pretty well, although I'll note two exceptions and one caveat:
- I'm going to order mine by winery, so that notes on two or more wines can reference each other;
- I'm going to rate each wine I tried (so if one wasn't rated, it means I didn't try it);
- With such a large tasting, I tend to gravitate towards the bigger, lusher wines. Therefore, some zins may get an unfair bias that isn't representative of what I might otherwise want in a less frenzied setting.
The Wines:
2003 Heritage Vines, RRV, $32 — Boozy nose, but pulls together in the mouth with good balance. 9.0 2004 Heritage Vines barrel Sample, RRV, $32 — Molasses/creme brule sweetness that I didn't much like, but it's quite full and lush which was nice. 8.5
Benson Ferry Vineyards, Lodi
2003 Old Vine, Lodi, $12 — Thin and fairly one-dimensional, but cheap. 7.5
Robert Biale Vineyards, Napa
2004 Black Chicken, Napa Valley, $NA — VERY lush. Delicious. 9.5/10
2004 Old Crane Ranch, St. Helena, $NA — Lots of pepper, still lush, but not as nice as the Black Chicken. 9.0
Brown Estate Vineyards, St Helena, Napa
2004 Chiles Valley, $TBD — Ripe and lush, with nice fruit but an odd raisin aftertaste. 8.5/9.0
Calstar Cellars, Santa Rosa Sonoma
2003 Za Za Zin, Lodi, $12 — Fruity nose with notes of anise; full mouthfeel and good balance. Great for the price. 8.5/9.0
2004 Alta Zin, El Dorado, $18 — a bit of a funky nose on this one, but it's fairly smooth and ultimately pretty drinkable. 8.0/8.5
Camellia Cellars, Healdsburg Sonoma
2003 Lencioni Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, $26 — Almost too smooth and full for me, this needs some more grip. 8.0
Carlisle Winery, Santa Rosa Sonoma
2003 Carlisle Vineyard, RRV, $38 — Lush & full, but a tad weak on the finish. 8.5/9.0
2003 Pietro's ranch, RRV, $36 — Great nose of bright berries, with some great acidity on the finish. 9.5
Cedarville Vineyard, Fairplay, Sierra Foothills
2003 Estate, El Dorado County, $22 — Noticeable oak and lively dark fruit, this is darker than when i tried it last year. 8.5/9.0
2004 Estate, El Dorado County, $22 — Rich nose, lush mouthfeel and great finish, this is a wonderfully balanced wine and two steps up on the 2003. 9.5/10
Charter Oak Winery, St. Helena, Napa Valley
2003 Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, $NA — NICE! Smooth and perfectly balanced. 10
2005 Monte Roso Vineyard, Sonoma Valley — More pepper than the 2003, but it's still fantastic. 10
Chase Family Cellars, St. Helena, Napa
2002 Hayne Vineyard, St. Helena. $NA — Thinner than the other two, pales in comparison 8.0/8.5
2003 Hayne Vineyard, St. Helena. $40 — Smooth and Easy drinking. I like it. 9.0
2003 Reserve, Hayne Vineyard, St. Helena. $75 — Bigger than the non-reserve, and will more spice. 9.5
DeLoach Vineyards, Santa Rosa, Sonoma
2002 RRV, $18 — Too sweet for me. 7.5
2003 OFS, $30 — Very nice compared with the '02 RRV: a slightly tart nose but great balance and rich mouthfeel. 9.0/9.5
2004 Forgotten Vines, Sonoma County, $30 — Also too sweet. 8.0
Deux Amis Winery, Healdsburg, Sonoma
2002 Sonoma County, $19 — A bit heavy, but a nice nose of currant. 8.5
2003 Sonoma County, $19 — An almost Concord grape nose. 8.5
Four Vines Winery, Paso Robles, Central Coast
2003 The Maverick, Amador County, $20 — Bursting nose and a nice clean finish. 9.0
2003 The Sophisticate, Sonoma County, $20 — Thinner than I like. 8.0
2003 Dusi Vineyard, Paso Robles, $30 — A little boozy, but nicely balanced in the mouth and a rich mouthfeel. 9.09.5
Handley Cellars, Philo, Mendocino
2003 Mendocino County, $NA — Big spice, but a little thin 8.0
Hartford Family Winery, Forestville, Sonoma
2004 Fanucchi-wood Road, RRV, $39 — Lots of oak on the nose, but a great mid-palate and ample pepper on the finish. 9.5
2004 Highwire Vineyard, RRV, $39 — Not as big as the Fanucchi-Wood Road, but it's well-balanced and almost as nice 9.0
Harvest Mood Winery, Santa rosa, Sonoma
2003 Pitts Home ranch, Estate, RRV, $22 — There's no petite syrah in this one; it's slightly sweet with a sharp finish and less mid-palate than I'd want. 8.5
2003 RRV, $20 — Fuller and richer than the Pitts Home with some nice light fruit. 8.5/9.0
Scott Harvey Wines, St. Helena, Napa
2003 Red Label, Mountain Selection, $15 — Lots of young fruit and slight sharp. 8.5
2003 White Label, Amador County, $25 — I really like this one, it's slightly tannic but well-balanced. 9.0/9.5
2005 Super Hero, Inzinerator, $15 — A lighter, easy-drinking zin. 8.5/9.0
Hendry, Napa
2003 Block 7, Napa — This was one of my favourites today: fantastic nose, lots of fresh fruit, great balance and rich mouthfeel. 10
2004 Block 28, Napa — More pepper and less fruit than the Block 7, but still excellent. 9.5
Jus Soli Winery, Kenwood, Sonoma
2004 Foppiano Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, $24 — lush but too much oak and not enough acid on the finish. 8.5
Karly Wines, Plymouth, Sierra Foothills
2003 Warrior Fires, Amador County, $24 — Anise on the nose, a big mid, and heavy peppercorn on the finish. 8.5/9.0
Nicheline Winery, St. Helena, Napa
2003 Joseph A. Nichelini Vineyard, Napa, $24 — There's a lot of black pepper in this one, but no Petite, interesting. 9.0
Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery, Rutherford, Napa
2003 Edizione Pennino, Rutherford Estate, Napa, $38 — Very smooth with a little chocolate. 9.0
Outpost Estate Wines, Angwin, Napa
2004 Howell Mountain, $42 — Yum, nice dark pit-fruit, quite rich, but smooth and balanced. 9.5
Perry Creek Vineyards Fair Play, Sierra Foothills
2003 Walker Vineyard, $26 — Nice and full, balanced. 9.0
2003 Bowman Vineyard, $26 — Lighter than the Walker, but still nicely balanced. 8.5/9.0
Roshambo Winery, Healdsburg, Sonoma
2002 The Reverend, Dry Creek Valley, $21 — A bit sharp, but nice. 8.5
2004 Taylor Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, $35 — Bright fruit, nicely balanced. 8.5/9.0
Jeff Runquist Wines, Ripon, Central Valley
2003 "R", $NA — Nice fullness and great integration. 9.0
2003 "Z", $NA — Anise on the nose, a big shaper than the R, but good. 8.5
Schrader Cellars, Calistoga, Napa
2004 Vieux OS, IRA Carter Vineyard, $35 — Celery on the nose, smooth but lacking. 8.5
2004 Trainwreck $NA — Lots of fruit and fairly lush, but lacks punch. 8.5
Storybook Mountain Vineyards, Calistoga, Napa
2003 Napa Estate, Mayacamas Range, $27 — Boozy on the nose, but pulls together nicely in the mouth. 9.0/9.5
The Terraces, Rutherford, Napa
2003 Napa Valley, $25 — Rich and full. The winemaker stirs lees until May, and uses 30% new oak. 9.5
Tin Barn Vineyards, Sonoma, Sonoma
2003 Gilsson Vineyard, RRV, $27 — A lighter nose, but full and lush in the mouth. 9.0
2003 Dalraddy Vineyard, Napa, $27 — Thinner and a bit sharp. 8.0
Tofanelli Family Vineyards, Calistoga, Napa
2003 Estate, Napa Valley, $34 — Loads of pepper and well-balanced. 9.5
2004 Estate (barrel sample), Napa Valley, $36 — A lush mid-palate, though falls away a bit at the back. 9.0
Turley Wine Cellars, Templeton, Central Coast
2004 Hayne Vineyard (barrel sample), Napa Valley, $75 — A massive and lush wine with roasted red pepper on the nose. Yum. 9.5/10
Vino Noceto, Plymouth, Sierra Foothills
2003 OGP, Amador County, $30 — Very smoky and nicely balanced. 9.5
2004 OGP (Barrel Sample), Amador County, $NA — Muted and with some funk on the nose. A nice mouthfeel, but little acid. 8.0
Volante Vineyards, Santa Rosa, Sonoma
2003 Late Harvest, Napa, $NA — Raisins and currant, yum! 9.0
2004 RRV, $NA — Almost a bit gamey, but quite pleasant and a great finish. 8.5/9.0
Wilson Winery, Healdsburg, Sonoma
2003 Carl's Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, $26 — Nice bright fruit. 8.5/9.0
2003 Reserve, Dry Creek Valley, $28 — A step up from the Carl's, this has more plum and is quite rich and full with nice acidity. 9.5
Woodenhead, Forestville, Sonoma
2003 Martinelli Road, Old Vine, RRV, $TBD — Very raspberry and bright. 8.5
2004 Braccialini Vineyard, Alexander Valley, $32 — Bright and well -balanced. 9.0/9.5
Other Reviews of this year's ZAP:
Vinography
Wine Cast
the Cellar Rat, part #1
the Cellar Rat, part #2
the Corkdown
Fermentation