Last night my value tasting group met to taste Zinfandels. The rules require the wines to be $20 to $40 and available on our local shelves. This was a good tasting and all the wines showed well. Some I liked better than the others but would certainly drink any of them. This is a very good price point for Zins. The wines were served blind in one flight and consumed over three hours with breads and cheeses.
Our host Trent started us off with a white:
2006 Alberto Logo Le Fosette
100% Falanghine from Puglia. Deep golden in color, clear and bright. The nose has a bit of oxidation to it with a mineral quality. On the palate, this has a biter lemon rind note. Bitter almonds at the finish. Blind I thought a Pinot Grigio. I think this bottle was tired and probably would have been better a year ago. I was told this is around $18 Ohio and not worth half that. OTOH, this was interesting to try as I have had very few, if any, Apulia whites before. 50+2+11+15+4=82
The Zins:
2006 Earthquake (Michael and David Philips) Zinfandel Lodi
15.5% Alc. Ruby/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is nice, big and bold. Bramble and black raspberry. An earthiness comes out with air. On the palate, this is served a bit warm which brought out the alcohol. Raisiny. Port-like. The group liked this more than I (the group’s #2). 50+3+12+16+6=87
2004 Norman Zinfandel Mephistopheles Paso Robles
15.9% Alc. Purple/ruby in color, shimmering bright. The nose is dusty with slight black raspberry notes. On the palate, this is clean red fruit. Easy to drink. Slightly sweet. Some tannins and a bit of anise on the finish. 50+4+11+15+5=85
2006 Selby Zinfandel Old Vines Sonoma
15.5% Alc. Purple/ruby in color, shimmering bright. The nose has a dusty bramble quality with some black raspberries. On the palate, this has sweet black raspberries. The sweetest wine of the night. Thin. Smooth to drink but a clipped finish. Not my favorite style, but this would be a great BBQ wine. 50+4+12+16+6=88
2003 Giravolta Tenuta Poxxopaco Primitivo di Manduria
14% Alc. There is one in every bunch. Primitivo is a sibling of Zinfandel (genetically speaking). Inky purple in color with a slight ruby hue. The nose has bramble and black cherries. Silkly texture. Seemed to need time as it had thick tannins and more structure. Some heat on the finish. I liked this more than the group which voted it as the 2nd last place wine. 50+4+12+17+6=89
2006 Rosenblum Zinfandel Alexander Valley Harris Kratka Vyd.
14.7% Alc. Purple/ruby in color. The nose has dusty bramble, and black raspberries. Great texture. Black raspberries on the palate. The finish is smooth with nice fruit. This was mine, and the groups WOTN, and a really nice wine. Really stood above the others. 50+4+13+17+7=91
2005 Old Ghost Zinfandel Old Vines
15.5% Ruby/purple in color. The nose has iodine, bramble and raspberries. On the palate, it is more of a black raspberry quality. Thin on the finish. This was $40 Ohio and way over priced. 50+4+12+17+6=89
2006 Davis Family Zinfandel RRV Old Vines
14.5% Alc. Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose has black raspberries. Sweeter black raspberries on the palate. A very simple wine lacking any dimension. That said, it was juicy and easy to drink. 50+4+12+16+6=88
2006 Ravenswood Zinfandel Belloni
15.2% Alc. How the mighty have fallen. Ruby/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose black raspberries and sweet anise. The palate has sweet black raspberries and red raspberries. Mild tannins and some heat on the finish. 50+4+11+16+5=86
2006 Green & Red Zinfandel Chiles Canyon Vyd.
14.8% Alc. Ruby in color with some purple swirls, mostly clear and bright. The nose has black raspberries and slight anise notes. On the palate black raspberries turning more to black cherries on the finish. Mild tannins. I liked this a bit more than the group. 50+4+12+17+7=90
2006 Bogle Old Vine Zin
14.8% Alc. I put this wine in as an extra bottle. It sells for $12 Ohio and is always a go to recommendation for party wines. It was the groups last place wine which I found interesting. I liked it slightly more. Still, for the money, I think it remains a great party wine. Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose has a dusty black raspberry quality. On the palate, more black raspberries. Some anise, some heat on the finish. 50+4+12+16+5=87
2007 Brown Estate Zinfandel
15.4% purple/ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose has black raspberries. On the palate, this has some complexity to it. Tight layering suggesting it needs more time. This is sweeter on the finish. I wonder if this gets better in a year. The group liked this more than I. 50+4+12+16+6=88
Trent later opened another bottle non-blind:
2005 Earthquake (Michael and David Philips) Zinfandel Lodi
Purple in color with some ruby swirls. The nose has coffee, raspberries and prunes. On the palate, this is a bit pruney with black cherries. Port-like especially on the finish. 50+4+12+16+6=88