2010 Keating Sonoma Valley Zinfandel, Montecillo Vineyard - 11/27 virtual tasting

WINE TALK
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LAST ONE! These tastings have been a lot of fun. I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have. [cheers.gif]

This is the official thread for the online tasting of the 2010 Keating Sonoma Valley Zinfandel. I will be on this evening at 6:00PM PST to participate with whomever is around. Please know that if you are unable to taste tonight, I will be checking in here frequently to answer all questions.

My recommendation – Decant this one if you can, 2-3 hours should be fine. Mountain fruit, good tannins for a zin. This one is the highest ABV% wine I have made at 15.9%, bunches were the most beautiful I’ve seen for a Zin right before pick. It’s not always a high alcohol Zin. 2009 was 14.8% and 2011 was 14.5%. Big fruit and spice, reminding me of a Carlisle-style Zin.

REPLACEMENT BOTTLE PROCEDURE – If you participate in one of these threads before the month ends, I will replace the bottle you tried at 50% off retail + $5 shipping per bottle. Do not order replacement bottles online… please email me at ekeating@keatingwines.com. I will recognize your name, see that you have tasted, and with your permission will charge the card you used on original purchase. Easy! All wines will ship in early December when all the tastings are done. And remember, you are obviously not limited to buying the one bottle; you just get the 50% off on the first bottle.

If you missed the Winery of the Month program, here is the link to the original thread with details of the offering – Winery Feature for November - Keating Wines (virtual tasting note party) - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

Detailed Wine Information:
Vintage: 2010
Appellation: Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County
Variety: 100% Zinfandel
Barrels: 50% New Oak (75% French, 25% American)
Bottling date: December 8, 2011
Time in barrels: 13 months
Alcohol: 15.9%
Cases produced: 175
Cellaring potential: 2014 - 2020
Retail price: $28

Gold Medal, 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Gold Medal, 2012 Sonoma County Harvest Fair

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I was at work during the entirety of the first zin tasting, so I opened both for what made for an interesting side-by-side tasting tonight. ('ll post the Montecillo zin note in its thread as well.) I may have to do a 2010 zin vs cab Montecillo Vineyard tasting with my replacement bottles with a couple more years of age :slight_smile:

Thanks again Eric for the chance to do this, and your generous offer for both the original and replacement bottles. I did very much enjoy the wines.

  • 2010 Keating Zinfandel Buchignani Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (11/27/2012)
    Enjoyable, complex nose of blackberry, black cherry, briar, tea leaf, even a hint of coffee grounds. A very balanced palate starts with dark fruit, moves to black pepper/coffee, then a hint of vanilla/oak on the finish. The finish is long, with a great acid/tannin mix. This is already nice but I’m looking forward to trying it again with 2-3 years of additional age. (92 pts.)
  • 2010 Keating Zinfandel Montecillo Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (11/27/2012)
    Aromas of red/dark fruit, roses, and a hint of earth/herbs. The palate is rich with blackberries, black cherries, red licorice and rose petals. Full-bodied with a pleasant mid-palate; the 15.9% abv is balanced by nice acidity. If there’s a flaw to be found it’s a somewhat short finish, though I anticipate things will round out even more with a bit more age. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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2010 Keating Monticello Zinfandel
Decanted for 3 hours before drinking. Wine has a dark garnet hue. Nice dark berry, floral, and some licorice notes. The acids don’t overpower the fruit and it has a nice silky feel on the palate. Very good and will continue to improve with age.

Looks like my notes mirrored David’s.

Eric thanks again for your generous offer and participation on here!

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I had both zins side by side last week. But I found them to be quite different from what others describe [scratch.gif] Saved some for next day but without much change.

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Curious in what way? Any notes?

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Peter - please do share as I was planning to order a bottle of the Buchignani to see what all the fuss is about.

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Very hard to get past the oak for me, both aromatically and especially on the palate. So I felt I couldn’t really taste it at all. Presumably this could integrate with time in bottle.

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Realized I never posted this from my tasting after the Virtual Tasting…

2010 Keating Zinfandel Montecillo Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (12/21/2012)
Wow, such an intoxicating nose on this wine. Big, black fruit, leather, slight smokiness and earth. Ripe fruit, vanilla, leather, spice on the palate. Good acid and smooth tannins. Medium finish.

This was a really nice Zin at a really great Wine Berserker price. Definitely strong oak presence but it doesn’t overpower the fruit. Also, 15.9% abv is high but ther isn’t an extraordinary amount of heat. Possibly the oak softens that? (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker