Zin suggestions?

I seem to have trouble with this grape. I can’t find what I like at price I’d like. I’m not looking for the $10 drinkers, but I also don’t want to spend $50. One of my favorite Zins is WesMar, but they stopped making it in 2007. What would you guys/gals recommend in the $20ish range. I have Carlisle, which I do enjoy. But would love some other suggestions that maybe I haven’t heard much about.

Joseph Swan

$20 a bottle on futures; the zeigler bottling is my favorite

Depending on your market and timing, you may be able to find Ridge Lytton Springs at the $25 level on sale

Scherrer. Also Scherrer. And then there’s Scherrer.

Also, being less silly, Easton, Cedarville and Dashe.

Scherrer is awesome. Probably the best I have had since the early mid 90s.

It is worth mentioning Scherrer too.

And you haven’t checked out the wines Fred Scherrer is making, you should do that.

BTW I loved the WesMar Zin. Probably a little more full throttle than the Scherrer but similar in balance.

Brown, Rafanelli, Outpost, Black Sears, Turley, Williams- Selyem are all some favorites. Awaiting a shipment of Dehlinger Zin that I expect will be pretty delicious as well.

Tom
Twitter: @NWTomLee

Ahhh, yes. Meant to add Scherrer in there. I missed the boat on the futures, but the the letter came out last week. Zinfindoodle looks worth a try.

For that price range, Napa’s Neal Family Vineyards makes a really good Zin for low 20’s and for only about $18 for a case or more. Also in that range, I highly recommend Adam Lee’s Novy Zins which are wonderful and sourced from great vineyards.
Cheers

Four Vine

Agreed, WesMar’s zin was fantastic (like all of of their wines).

Scherrer is a rock star; my favorite is the Old & Mature Vine zin.

Porter Creek makes a killer zin as does Radio Coteau, but it’s pricey ($40ish.

I also like Nalle and Renwood (Jack Rabbit) and Seghesio. These are $30ish.

I really like Carlisle, Cedarville, Rafanelli, Ridge (Lytton Springs, Geyserville, Three Valleys), Bedrock Stellwegen, Mauritson, Sandler and Turley(Old Vines and Duarte). Also,I do like the Joseph Swan wines but they don’t ship to NY so I don’t get to drink them that often…

Novy and Neal (as Chris suggested). I would also try Barlow.

Zin can be a minefield and there’s a lot of plonk out there, especially in the sub-$20 range, which I find frustrating because one of the great things about zin for me, besides its approachability, is its affordability.

At that $20 price point, I think there’s not much that touches the appellation blends from Carlisle & Bedrock.

Past that, there are a lot of great SVD zins & field blends in the $25-$50 range. Check out:
… of course the aforementioned Bedrock & Carlisle.
Biale
Outpost
Turley
Bucklin
Dashe
…and don’t forget the classics:
Swan
Ridge
Ravenswood

You’ll also find some good old vine zins in the Sierra Foothills from:
Easton
Dillian
Deaver
Sobon Estates
C.G. Di Arie
Cedarville

In the “cheap” range (I define <$15) There’s a zin/ps blend from Nine North called “10 Mile” that’s pretty damn good and can probably be found <$10.

Also Bogle Phantom can be decent but the '07 is showing an over-abuse of American oak that I’m not sure will integrate.

For slightly off the beaten path, I’d second the vote for Easton and C.G. DiArie. Also would add Adelaida (Paso) and Graziano (Mendocino/Anderson Valley)

Among the large production and very easy to find zins, the Seghesio Sonoma County sells for around $20 and is a big overachiever year after year. Stylistically, it occupies in a pretty nice middle ground between the superrich ones and the really brambly ones. The wine ages very nicely as well, at least into the middle term, possibly longer.

There are multiple styles of Zin and I’m not familiar with WesMar. No offense, but some of the ones listed here are waaaayyy expensive–seriously overpriced for Zinfandel IMO.

Most of the less expensive ones I’ve had fall into the “non-fruit-bomb” category.

I love Pedroncelli and their prices. Also, Edmeades, Cline, Rancho Zabaco (Gallo), and Dry Creek Vyds Heritage Zin. And check out some Amador County and Lodi Zins, if they’re your style, as there are many in the $20, or less, range.

Ooh . . . Pedroncelli. That Mother Clone wine for $10-12 when discounted is some yummy stuff.

+1 on Neal, Novy, and Carlisle

Sineann
Robert Biale
Turley (though you won’t get in the price range unless on the mailing list)
Ridge