TN: Four DeLoach Zins '94...(short/boring)

Started work on a case of DeLoach Zins '94 last night. Went a miserable 1 for 4:

  1. DeLoach Zin PellettiRanch/RRV (EB; 14.1%; 10 acres planted by AlcidePelletti in 1928) 1994: Med.light color w/ some browning; tired cedary/pencilly wet wool/wet dog fur no fruit nose; tart/metallic/tangy some cedary/pencilly/oldZin tired flavor w/ dreadful wet dog fur finish; pretty much dead & gone.

  1. DeLoach Zin GambogiRanch/RRV (EB; 15.2%; 10 acres plntd by AnnchiseGambogi in 1909) 1994: Med.color w/ some browning; slight raspberry/Zin/fruit rather cedary/pencilly/oldZin fairly tired nose; very tangy/metallic bit cedary/pencilly/oldZin rather tired flavor w/ no fruit; pretty much dead & gone.

  1. DeLoach Zin BarbieriRanch/RRV (EB; 13.5%; 22 acres plntd by ItaloBarbieri in 1905) 1994: Pale red/washed out fairly bricked color; dreadful wet dog fur/oxidized slight raspberry/cranberry slight cedary/pencilly/oldZin nose; very tangy/metallic/grapefruity slight cedary/pencilly/oldZin flavor w/ dreadful/oxidized/wet dog fur finish; DNPIP; totally dead & gone.

  1. DeLoach Zin PaperaRanch/RRV (EB; 13.5%; 18 acres plntd by CharleyPapera in 1934) 1994: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; some ripe/raspberry/blackberry/Zin fruit bit dudty/OV some smokey/cedary/pencilly/oldZin some spicy/cinammon/cardamon fairly fragrant pleasant/mature complex nose; soft light metallic/tangy some raspberry/blackberry/spicy Zin rather oldZin/cedary/pencilly bit complex flavor w/ light metallic/drying tannins; med.long some tangy/metallic/grapefruity light oldZin/pencilly/cedary slight raspberry/Zin finish w/ light astringent/drying tannins; a rather interesting oldZin nose but drying out somewhat on the palate; still some fruit and clinging on for dear life.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. These were not from my famous orphan stash in the garage. They were, however, all stored standing upright for almost 20 yrs. The corks were all sound and came out w/ some effort w/ my Ah-So.

  1. Not sure how many of these legendary vnyds still exist. Pelletti went on to fame & fortune as the CarlisleVnyd. Mike still makes great Zin from Papera. Don’t know about Gambogi or Barbieri. Anyone? For some reason I didn’t find the SaitoneVnyd in this box. Still have the OFS and the Estate to crack.

  1. I, of course, followed Cecil & Christine DeLoach from the very start. Cecil was late to the wine biz when he retired from the Oakland Fire Dept and started making wine from his property in the late '70’s. He went, big time, after Ridge, in making these four vnyd-designate Zins in the early '80’s. He raised a lot of hackles because he came along and trademarked these vnyd names so no one else could label their Zins w/ that vnyd designation. Hence Pelletti was renamed the CarlisleVnyd and went on to achieve much more fame & fortune (it is a cash-cow isn’t it, Mike??) than it would have as Pelletti.
    This was pretty much my last hurrah for buying DeLoach Zins. It was clear to me from visiting w/ Cecil that he was bored by the wine biz and the quality of his wines were declining. Not sure how his Hook&Ladder wines are doing. Under BrianMaloney, I think the DeLoach wines are pretty solid these days, though I don’t follow them very closely. Believe they are now part of the Boisset Collection.
    Tom

Hey Tom,

Always interesting to read a retrospective like this. From my experiences with the 90’s DeLoach Zins, the vintages that have held up the best are the 95s and 98s (although you run in to some Bretty bottles from time to time with the 98s).

As far as the vineyards go Barbieri was torn out about 10 years ago and replanted to Pinot noir, but the other 4 are still around. Hook and Ladder still works with Gambogi, and we (DeLoach Vineyards) started getting the Saitone again in 2012 after a several year hiatus. The line up of the five of them was always a fascinating tasting as each of those vineyards had a distinct personality to show.

The alcohol level on the Pelletti is actually a bit of a surprise to me, while the Papera and Barbieri have typically been the more restrained in style, I always found the Pelletti and Gambogi to be usually the ripest and (highest alcohol) in terms of style.

Thanks for posting the notes, even if they didn’t hold up well, I wonder if the OFS with all its oak held up any better.
Regards,

Brian Maloney
DeLoach Vineyards (part of Boisset Collection)

Hey Tom,

If memory serves, Hook and Ladder is still making Zin from Gambogi. Haven’t tasted it though.

Love these retrospectives, Tom! Thanks, again.

I am heartbroken to hear that none of the Zins from this Icon made a good showing. There was a big stink raised when Barbieri was changed to Pinot. I think it broke some hearts.

I only had a chance to taste non-Zins from Hook & Ladder, and none were exciting (2004-6-ish?). I do still like the DeLoach Zins, but fear that the price range will creep too high for me.

Thanks for chiming in, Brian. I was hoping that you’d see this. Glad to hear you’re getting Saitone. I’ll have to try one.
Tom

Tom, I remember the 94 deloach chard being rather tasty. Wonder if you still have any laying around?

I doubt that I have any of Cecil’s Chards lying around. But I did like his Chards quite a bit…back then, anyway.
Tom

I forget the specific vintages, but the Deloach designated Zins I was buying from that era were very attractive wines.

I realize there are some storied vineyards here but I was never a fan of the Deloach wines.

I remember Rue Vineyard zins that I liked from DeLoach way back when. Recently I tried a 2012 Saitone Vineyard zin from them that was outstandingly good. They had it reserved for their mailing list, but I did manage to talk my way into a couple of bottles for a zin tasting, and it was wonderful.

Just reviewed Wine & Spirits magazine’s “Winter, 2004 Annual Buying Guide”:

DeLoach Zins: notes provided by winemaker Dan Cedarquist:

*All sandy loam soils, all around 100ft elevation, on shoulder of flood plain for Russian River

  • Barbieri - planted 1905, again in 1927, emphasis on fruity, berry character; sort of blackberry bramble

  • Gambogi - planted 1909, most broad-shouldered or full-bodied; can tend to be more sweet/Port-like

  • Papera - planted 1934, more pepper notes, white pepper and tobacco character

  • Saitone - more true spices, cinnamon especially, but also a touch of nutmeg

  • Peletti - planted 1928, according to DeLoach, “… probably the most balanced. But everyone has their favorite.”

  • OFS - usually combo of Gambogi, Peletti, & Saitone (sometimes others are included)

What I found interesting was that Cedarquist and DeLoach took cuttings from each Vineyard and planted them together, and attributed the strong differences to old clonal selections in the original source vineyards. I guess they didn’t realize how many different varieties were interplanted in these venerable fields…