I see an occasional tasting note on aged Zinfandels. I tend to use mine as early drinkers while I age the rest of my wines. I usually consume them within 2 or 3 years of release. Do you age yours?
Steve for me it depends on who made the wine. Typically I consume within 2-5 years. That said I have aged a few. Amphora’s 2002 Mounts Laloma Block we let go for a while and it’s taken on some fantastic tertiary qualities. Talty’s Estate Vineyard I like with 5-8 years as they are a bit tannic for me until then.
We had the Ridge 2003 Del Carlo 2 nights ago, in a very good spot now.
I drink most zins within 2 or 3 years of release. Carlisle, however, is the exception for me.
I still have Mike’s zins back to 2007.
I got on the Carlisle list a few years ago and I’ve held off opening any 2012’s and 2013’s. I also age some of my Turley’s (Hayne, Moore).
Some like Geyserville (a Zin blend) age spectacularly for years and years. Lyttons age very well. Scherrer OMVs age well. I tend to drink Carlisle at 3-6 years, but have had examples at 10+ that aged beautifully. I drink most Turley’s within about 3-5 years, but hold Ueberroth’s and Hayne longer. I’ve tasted Ravenswood Old Hills at 20 years plus that were spectacular.
I’d guess I’d say it depends. Zinfandel is absolutely capable of developing beautiful secondary and tertiary flavors. And is often spectacular young.
I tend to age them all, with rare exceptions of course, at least two years before diving in. A few go much longer but in general they change but don’t improve much past the initial year or three where I see oak integration, tannin softening, and a gentle moderating of the impact of the fruit that makes for a much more appealing drink in my opinion. There are always surprises from the cellar, but when you’re impressed with a wine because it retains so much of its youthful character perhaps it’s best to enjoy them for that youthful character, which for me means after two years rest but before their 10th birthday. It’s also worth noting that field blends definitely develop more interesting character with age as opposed to varietal Zins.
I just buy Scherrer Zins already aged. Saves time.
3 to 5 years on the rack seem to help with most. I haven’t seen one improve all that much with more age so it doesn’t seem worth it to lay them down any longer - but maybe I haven’t tried a producer who made one worth aging 10+ years.
I generally like my Zins with about 3-7 years of bottle age on them. But have had numerous surprisingly wonderful experiences with ones that were up to 15-20 years old! In just the past year, the following proved to still be drinking wonderfully: 2000 Rosenblum Eagle Point and Carla’s, 2000 DeLoach Pelletti, and 2002 Outpost.
The ability of Zins to age gracefully has been way understated IMHO.
(Will await Tom Hill to pipe in and back me up on this…)
http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1858924#p1858924
Ed Selyem knows how to do it. Ridge Geezers usually aren’t ready for 10 years. Joel Peterson nailed it. I believe Morgan Twain Peterson is showing age-able Zins are possible. Limerick Lane is experiencing a revival that may show they same results.
Zinfandel in California is like Pinot Noir in California. Too many people making uninteresting wines that are flabby and lifeless. But as Ed showed 32 years ago, it’s possible to make Zins that age gracefully into their 40’s.
Mr Dildine said whatever I would have liked to have stated.
I have enjoyed aged Zins with amazing secondary/tertiary flavors
Ridge Zin’s age amazingly well…I’ve had 30 year old Geyserville’s that were stellar.
I had a 2009 Carlisle Zin a few weeks ago that was fantastic. I like Carlisle Zins with a minimum of 5 years on them.
What Greg DP said. Some can age, most don’t.
And if they’re good young, they rarely become better with age, which is the only reason to age wine intentionally. You don’t age a wine so you can say, “Man, this is as good as it was twenty years ago.” Or even worse, “This is almost as good as it was twenty years ago.”
Same for lots of other wines too. I bought a lot of Zin in the 1990s so have a few cases of Ridge Lytton and Geyserville from 92, 94 and 95 and those are fine, although I do like them younger. Consequently I bought more in 2001 and 2002 and never drank those either so now have a bunch of those too. Turleys from the 1990s haven’t fared so well. And surprisingly, a few from Fife and Teldeschi have aged really well. Had a 2003 from Australia recently that was pretty decent, but not better than it was earlier.
Generally the fruit fades and you get some qualities of a mature wine and with luck some interest, so you’re not PO’d at yourself, but you rarely get enough to justify the loss of the primary enjoyment. Didn’t intend to age any of them, we just never got around to drinking them. These days I drink them fast.
I also agree that zins can age quite well. I really enjoyed a 2005 Marietta Angeli Cuvee I had last year and have two more than I’m in no rush to drink. I feel like Scott Harvey’s vineyard 1869 zins can also age for quite a while.
Depends on the producer but heck yeah
I have a 2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard I received as a gift and I’m wondering when to drink it. CT window listed as 2014-2023, which would suggest holding for a bit, but the windows are often wrong IMHO.
I do not drink that much Zinfandel but do love a good one on occasion. As a result of the above, by far most of my Zin buying is of Ridge Geyserville and Ridge Lytton Springs. These benefit from aging so I age them.
I buy Carlisle and Bedrock zinfandels with the idea of aging the single vineyard zins about 5-7 years and drinking the others a bit younger, maybe 2-3 years from purchase. I notice that I find myself reaching for these wines quite frequently and am continually amazed by how good they are, particularly for the price.
I love Scherrer zins with age on them - absolutely wonderful.
Typically, No.
That said, I buy very few Zins, so take my tact with a grain of salt.