This may well have been the best Zinfandel I have ever tasted aside from some well preserved Swan and Ridge. Poured it at Dava and my wedding celebration in ‘14.
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This is a significant factor for aging. Not that 100% zins may not age well, but inclusion of petite sirah et al increases the odds significantly.
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Finally able to come up for air and contribute to this great thread! Totally late to the party and not much else to add to all the great commentary (When Fred Scherrer posts on zin it’s pretty much a mic-drop!), but I’ll pile on. Zinfandel can most definitely age well, and while I’m (clearly) a big fan personally, I will say that the tricky part with older zin is that it can be much more variable than other grapes. As in, sometimes they turn claret-like (this happens fairly often I would say), other times they can retain the fruit/freshness but with the addition of secondary characteristics…and sometimes they just completely fall apart. I enjoy/appreciate both, and while it’s harder to predict what an older bottle of zinfandel will turn into, producer/region/vintage, in my experience, play a huge role. Possibly even more so than other varieties.
If the OP is looking for a good example, while there is definitely no ‘sure thing’, I would say that Ridge is the closest thing to it. It’s almost always a treat to pop one - both regular zins and late harvest/picked. And while the prices have gone up significantly over the past 5 to 10 years, you can still find deals if you look hard enough. Case in point:
1973 Ridge Geyserville
My other favorites (many have already been mentioned) for older zins include:
-Carneros Creek Winery (this is actually my favorite next to Ridge)
-Mayacamas (1968 Late Harvest is a top 3 wine for me, but it is almost impossible to find now. I have 2 left but not sure when I’ll open them since this wine will live forever).
-Swan
-Louis Martini (60’s and 70’s…MAYBE through mid 80’s)
-Fetzer (single vineyards from the 70’s can be amazing!)
-Sutter Home (1974 Special Select is FIRE!! Have one 3-liter left!)
And last but not least…the best part about aged zinfandel is that it surprise you in the best ways possible. Here is, arguably, the greatest older zin that I’ve ever had…from a producer that nobody knows really anything about, even the great @TomHill
1980 Nevada City Cellar Zinfandel, Amador County
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Opened this one tonight. I bought three at release intending to see how they would age.
Despite a disastrous cork, this was a good wine. Dark berry fruit that does show a hint of porty character now, underbrush, light spice, high acids. Amazingly listed at 16.5% but no heat or fumes at all. I would have guessed 14.8%.
I wouldn’t say claret — maybe might pass for a Super Tuscan or modern Douro at middle age with the purple fruit and high acids.
Not awesome, but a good wine, nice pairing with Flannery rib eye and some college basketball.
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Looks like I got a few Late Harvest Zins at WineBid. I don’t recall being terribly impressed with any I’ve tried. I’ll have to try again.
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We buy a lot of Ridge, Carlisle and Rafanelli Zinfandel, and used to buy some of the Ravenswood Single Vineyards back in the day. IMO, all of these age quite well, especially the Ridge Geyserville and the older Ravenswood’s from the 80’s and early 90’s. The real question for the OP is whether they are looking for the abundance of fruit in the young wines or the complexity that a few years of bottle age can bring. Buy a few, drink some and age some.
On a bit of a side note, I think you can throw a dart at a 2021 Zin and you will find a wonderful wine to drink. I don’t know how they will age, but every one I have tried has been excellent.
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I had that 02 Pagani six years ago and it was solid, and much more youthful at the time compared to the other two Ridge LH’s next to it (which makes sense because the other two were physically older, ha!).
Brief Notes - part of a larger blind tasting. In a Ridge late harvest/picked flight with a 95 Pagani, and 77 Geyserville, this was the groups WOTF, although I preferred the 77. Showing the most youthful of the 3, with deep blackberry notes, a nice mellow sweetness, and a long finish. Alcohol and oak well integrated and drinking nicely.
Ahhhh, love this!! What a score with that cellar you procured - im super jealous for sure!
How was the 94 Hartford? Im a huge fan but have not tried one that old.
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It was tired. Not from the same cellar. The other 3 were respectable showings. The Swan was 
as most well handled ones are.
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What is the hit and miss ratio for Zins that are 20 years and older? How producer dependent is it? For example, I just bought some 1999 Turley Old Vine, but it has not yet arrived. Am I playing the odds and is it a coin flip whether I’ll be pleased or disappointed?
Eric Dinnocenzo
I believe I’ve had Cali zin from the 70s via winebid that drank nicely (with the understanding it was 50yo).
Nothing new to add here but will just share my own experience. I think Zin is extremely ageworthy, though I have a pretty low tolerance for bad aged Zin and find that lesser examples can dry out and become thin and acidic with age. I think this is true even for less age worthy bottlings from better producers. Which is which can be hard to tell without trying. Fortunately, most of these wines are very affordable.
Producers that have had bottling a from the 90s show well in the last couple years:
- Swan
- Hartford
- Seghesio
- Ridge
- Turley
- Rafanelli
- Ravenswood
I can also add to Blake’s comment about Burt-era Williams Selyem zins: the more recent zins are also aging well. I’ve had examples from the early 2000s to early 2010s that were all showing nice trajectories. That said, I think Jeff’s zins are so riveting when young that it’s a shame to let them mellow out too much. 4-8 years is my sweet spot for those.
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The big unknown is provenance. Many more misses than hits in the secondary market because people usually put their old bottles up for bids when they open one and find it’s no longer enjoyable. Not because that particular bottle doesn’t age well but because it wasn’t always stored well. Be picky where you source them so use someone you trust. Some sources guarantee provenance while others don’t. It’s caveat emptor. Fine wine retailers will sometimes get offered cellars when the owner passes away and the heirs don’t want the wine. Let the retailers know you are interested in these kinds of purchases and you’ll sometimes get dibs before they go out to a full mailing list.
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So do you think many wines sold at auctions are duds? That is, wines that someone thinks are no longer good and so they try to dump them ?
Eric Dinnocenzo
I wouldn’t say that but I know your hit and miss rate on auction wines will vary. Sometimes bottles are perfect, and sometimes they go down the drain.
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I am in the great minority here -
Yes, California Zinfandels from the right producers do age. But how much do they improve? I’ve had 30 year old Ridge Zinfandels that were superb, big time rustic for sure, and they were beautiful wines with age. I just don’t know if they were that much better than upon release though.
I just love that gushy, primary fruit California Zinfandels have upon release, and really am not a big fan of the ‘claret’ style so many turn into with age. Hell, if I want aged Claret, I will drink an aged Claret.
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Great to see some Zin talk. I think, mainly, that the style of Zin in the last couple of decades is what might have gotten them a reputation for not aging. But this is true for almost all wines made in the same style - 15.5-16% Pinots or Cabs don’t age that well either, in my opinion. That said, I agree with @Thomas_Keim that I love them nervy and youthful - they just have a great vibrance there.
For me, what’s been surprising as I’ve ramped up my own Zin vineyard takings, is just how delicate and nuanced the grape is. Like Joel Peterson once said: “Zin is much more like Pinot than anything else - and much harder to do well”. I think he has a point. It needs a deft hand and a balanced approach.
The ones I’ve had in that vain have been absolutely stellar, perhaps with the Bedrock Sky ones being my favorite right now. The best Zin I’ve ever had is the Precedent Kirschenmann in Magnum - that wine was absolutely magical a few years back. Claire Hill has made some wonderful ones recently too and @J_Patrick_Lynch sent me a great one from Santa Cruz Mountains Winery about a year ago. Scherrers are waiting in the wing. And I really have to give props to Cappiello’s Monte Rio’s whole cluster Zins he makes from Lodi - they are dollar for dollar amazing. It inspired me to go 100% whole stem inclusion last year for one Zin yard and the results are tasting amazing in barrel.
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Agree 100%. The great fruit in young zins is what makes them unique. Had a Ravenswood Old Hill with 12 years or so on it and did not like it.
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