Eye-opener TN: 1991 Nalle Dry Creek Zinfandel

I was served this blind tonight. So fresh, great reddish fruit, with lots of acidity. No one was quite sure what it was. I thought perhaps a nebbiolo from a very ripe year in someplace other than the Langhe, it had that much structure and such a light garnet hue.

Who would have guessed a zin could be this crunchy, lively and tart at this age. A lovely surprise!

One of the most interesting wines I’ve had was a 91 Rafanelli Zin that I bought on release, and drank about 10 years ago. Both made in a similar style I believe.

And if you checked the alcohol it would have been under 14%. True claret style Zin that hardly ever gets noticed. I remember discovering Nalle with the inaugural 1984 vintage. A piure explosion of strawberry fruit that was absolutely fantastic. I bought it for as long as it was available then had to wait until I was at Astor to convince another distributor to carry it for the NY market again.

Last time I had a 1991 it was still quite noticeably oaky, though it may have been a 1994, but fresh and indistinct enough to confound all at the table as well, though guesses were concentrated in the Pinot world if memory serves correctly! I brought it to Piedmont and served it with some producers so unfamiliarity with the variety had some role to play there.

It is a very long time since I have seen Nalle in my market, and it is missed. Thank you for the reminder!

I had a ‘91 a couple years ago and remember it pushing the age envelope just a bit but was packed with raspberry and persimmon. The label was cool as well with a personals ad on the side of a full bodied Zin looking for a STR, non-smoking, no drugs, pets ok.

I opened an '86 in January and really liked it:

Dried strawberries, mint, clove, cinnamon, very sweet and incredibly spicy. No shortage of acidity or tannin here, and seems very low alcohol. Well preserved but nowhere else to go. Intensity is certainly there but I’d add a few points for more complexity

Winebid recently.

There was a slight, slight hint of cooked strawberry on the nose and a trace of sweetness at the back that suggested some age, but no one imagined this was as old as it was. It was vibrant and the fruit was very fresh. No oak in attendance.

The side label is by Bob Johnson:
Nalle 2.jpg

Yup. Forgot to mention that. 13.5%.

Remember that the next time someone says they can’t achieve phenolic ripeness at less than 15%.
Nalle 1.jpg

Interesting notes indeed. And as we all know, the alcohol levels back then were accurate, right? I would venture to guess not, but I’m sure they weren’t over 16%!

I really enjoy reading notes about sged Zinfandel. In general, unless they are really really ripe to start with, they tend to take on Claret like qualities rather than Telltale Zin qualities. Interesting indeed.

Agreed. I remember that producer but it’s been years since I’ve seen it around. Don’t think I ever had the 91 but we drank a number from the mid-90s. Good find John .

Judging alcohol accurately by taste is impossible, but this doesn’t taste like it ever had elevated alcohol. For one thing, the acid is quite conspicuous.

At the end of the evening last night, I took the wine from the decanter and combined it with the dregs in the bottle, after filtering them, and refrigerated that. There was about a quarter bottle left. Retasted tonight, it’s still in good shape – remarkable for decanting, then repouring a 28-year-old zin back into the bottle, then repouring 24 hours later.

My guess when I tasted this blind – an aged nebbiolo from somewhere other than the Langhe – is still a good description tonight. There’s a lot of generic dried and stewed red fruit on the nose, and some sweetness toward the back that’s not unlike a very sound nebbiolo from, say, the 70s, though without quite the complexity. And a lot of acid. The flavors are not claret-like, in the way old Ridges can be.

A very, very nice surprise.

I remember how lovely some of those Rafanellis were with age. Are they still making them the same way? I haven’t had one in years.

A funny Raffenelli story: I dated someone 20 years go who had bought a couple of cases of Rafanelli zin (early 90s, as I recall), which were in the trunk of her car when it was stolen. She went back to the winery and pleaded with them to sell her some more, which they, kindly, did. Well, a few months later, the cops found her car and the zin was still in the trunk. She hit the jackpot and had a boatload of wonderful, aged zin that she enjoyed sharing with friends.

These days, Shelly (Rashell) Rafanelli is making the wines…back in the 80s & 90s (and earlier? I’m not sure) Dave Rafanelli (Shelly’s father) was making the wine. Dave made the wines in the 13.7-14.1% alc range, depending on the vintage…Shelly bumped the alcohol up a bit to 14.7-14.9%, or in that rough range. Both good, but Shelly’s is more ripe. Dave’s need a bit of time post release before it drank well…but were quite good of course.

Shelly makes a fantastic Merlot tho…It’s been a long time since I’ve had one, but the ones I’ve had have all been excellent. Dave was really against Shelly planting Merlot. The problem with this was Dave’s father, Americo, the founder of Rafanelli, was dead set against Dave planting Cabernet when Dave took over the reins. Dave insisted, and got his way…so Dave had no choice but to allow Shelly to have her way. Good thing.

The zin in the trunk of the stolen car wasn’t stranded so long that the wine was damaged I assume/hope? Well, must have been if she aged/shared them.

I had a fair amount of aged Rafanelli at one point. I miscalculated what I had towards the end, and drank my last bottle without realizing it was my last. Dang, I would have spread the last few out more. Still enjoyed them tho!

A sidenote: I make a Zin now, in a high 13% alc claret style…it’s more of an Italian Claret, Bolgheri-ish style, as opposed to, for example, Ridge’s Bordeaux style Zins.