Are there any good, lower alcohol Zinfindel producers out there?

WINE TALK
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Disclosure: the family of a friend owns it. (The winery, not my suggestion.)

1 Like
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Broc cellars 2018 Vine Star Zin, 12.5 ABV.

Martha Stoumen 2018 Venturi Vineyard Zin, 12.7 ABV.

Both are fresh and delicious, not heavy in body nor in oak.

Tom

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I would look for Scott Harvey Zins. They’re in the 13% range and as someone that is rarely interested in Zins…they’re really good wines. Joseph Swan is another producer that has produced some really elegant wines.

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+1 on Nalle.

Ed

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Check out Wilde Farm Bedrock zin … very good and in the 13’s.

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+1.

My note on the 2017:

Pax has done an awesome job with the beautiful Bedrock fruit. Elegant complex perfume that is quite beguiling. A bit wilde in character (pardon the pun) on the palate, sort of like if Zinfandel made in the style of Cornas. Stony minerals welded to a spine of acid up front, with some dried flowers and herbal leaf matter, with some red/black zin/mataro berry fruit lurking underneath, and a hint of a cheesy-umami funk. Puckerish tannins are there, but not chunky. It’s holding back right now and needs 3-5 years, but this is already very compelling. And at the berserker day price, kinda insane QPR… it’s a great QPR even at its normal price. 92+

Day 2, some of the wildness has receded, leaving an elegant core of chalky, salty mineral and wispy but pure berry fruit. 93+

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Cabot is worth trying, although I don’t know where you can find it other than Berserker Day.
It won’t be like Carlisle or Bedrock. I describe it as a Pinot lovers Zinfandel, which is even more of an oxymoron than low alcohol Zin.

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Hobo, Briceland, and Dashe all make terrific Zins at lower alcohol rates. Broc is also worth looking for.

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I’d 2nd all the suggestions Nate had earlier, Haarmeyer has multiple Zins in the 11-13 range, Broc is reliable year to year and the Zin that La Clarine made this year has been great. Dashe has been doing the light Zin longer than most.

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It’s actually surprising when you start to look deeply into the recommends how few are below, say, 14%. We’ve really gone far on the Zin spectrum here in CA. Broc Cellars is 12.5%. Can anyone else find a CA Zin in that range?

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Frogs Leap clocks in at low 14’s but it is made in a more classical side and it’s delish.
2018 is around $30-35 retail.

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Hobo varies but has been below 13% in prior vintages with recent vintages closer to the 13% level. Maybe not as low as Broc but in my opinion Hobo doesnt have the cranberry notes that I have noticed in the Brocs that I have tasted which to me come off as under ripe. Hobo isn’t strictly low alcohol and has gone over 14% but I believe the last vintage that high was 2012.

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It actually does not work that way. Ever wonder why you get hammered drinking a single or just a couple of glasses of 16% wine and feel horrible the next day but don’t feel as bad drinking a few bottles of 12% abv wine?

Our bodies have a much harder time processing high abv wine.

Maitre de Chai makes a beautiful Zin that comes in at just about 14% which I suspect is still low among Zin producers.

https://www.mdc.wine/store/detail?item=2018-stampede-zinfandel

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To a degree, yes. The unevenness of Zinfandel ripening generally requires overripe berries in the clusters while waiting for the remainders to come around.

Going lower alcohol is going to produce flavors that will not excite your palate if what you are used to are traditional Rich, purple, blue, layered Carlisle flavors. You’ll end up with more red fruited wines with a claret kind of profile. NTTAWWT, but it may not be in the OPs wheelhouse.

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Zin ripens unevenly and at high sugars. Its sibling Primitivo ripens at lower sugars and more evenly. That makes it easier to make flavorful Primitivo at lower alcohol degrees.

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Briceland makes an excellent Humboldt Zin as well. I think the alc is in the 13s.

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Totally get what you’re saying as I’m getting close to that age also. However my reaction would be to continue to drink the wine I enjoy, and I really do enjoy Carlisle, Bedrock et al, but would just drink less each evening. I would suggest drinking less of the bottle, corking and refrigerating the rest, starting with that the next evening and then opening another. Rinse and repeat. Alternatively you could do as suggested previously; take the Ridge approach who admit to “watering back” their Zinfandels. Add an ice cube or two to a warm glass of Zin. I’ve done this from time to time and prefer the experience to most lower ABV Zinfandel alternatives. Having said that Nalle, Buckin, Red and Green, Frogs Leap and Dashe are some great options.

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What i advised. Quality over quantity.

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Ladd and Mathiasson make good lower alcohol zins.