Hmmmm…surprised nobody mentioned Ridge.
Tom
Turley (yes Turley) Pesenti, especially the '09.
Geez I love those guys!
If anyone can make sub 12% work, they can
Less extraction and less phenolic ripeness than the norm for the varietal in California coupled with non-harsh tannins and good balancing acidity.
I like Ridge a lot, especially with age, but I don’t really think of them as elegant. Or if so, only in comparison to the really high octane versions.
I haven’t tried the Arnot-Roberts yet, they were in LA when I was out in the Bay Area.
The one that has blown my mind and changed the way I think about zinfandel has been the Hobo Branham Vineyard from the Rockpile AVA. Very cool (in both senses) area. Comes in at 13.2%, spontaneous fermentation, incredibly complex without a hint of jam. Lots of savory notes. Reminds me more of a Gonon or Texier wine than other zinfandels. This is my first case purchase of a CA wine since 1991 Montelena and Dalla Valle cabernets.
Kenny also makes an Dry Creek Valley zinfandel that is a blend of 5 vineyards and is also awesome.
Broc Vine Starr zinfandel is another, but it is more along the lines of the L’enfant Terrible that Mike makes, but more zinfandel-y, if that makes any sense.
I’m really excited by what is going on right now. I’m leaning towards the camp that zinfandel may be able to really show CA terroir.
There is great excitement in the Zin world right now and Hobo and Broc are both operations to follow.
Me either. I had the '08 Dickerson a few months ago and found it surprisingly hard and tannic - definitely not what I think of when I think of elegance.
I think Dashe is a good suggestion - their '09 Dry Creek bottling reminded me more of Bordeaux than zinfandel.
I’ve usually found Ravenswood SVDs more driven by structure than fruit, the Big River being the exception. Those searching for zin fruit bombs, will walk away from the Ravenswood tasting room a little dismayed.
Ravenswood Old Hill Vineyard, preferably with at least 10 years of age on it.
Yes - and this also leads back to Tom Hill’s Ridge suggestion about Ridge. Those Geyserville’s can be extremely elegant (Lyttons and Jimsomare’s can too), but they need time to show it.
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WesMar. Unfortunately they no longer make Zin. Tragic because the 2007 really hit a sweet spot with me as being on the lighter side and not a bruiser in the least bit.
They are actually too elegant for my palate as they are more pinot like than zin like.
I don’t know if you;d consider them elegant but I very much enjoy Williams-Selyem Zinfandel
BTW, I am confused.
I consider the bigger Zinfandels to be quite typical of Calif Zins for many decades.
Is there a desire here or atypical Zinfandels ?
Pat
Frog’s Leap
This is correct
I desire atypical zinfandels and it seems other people in this thread do too
I was drinking this on release and thought it was badass, but by today’s standards it may well qualify for elegant.
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Is it creepy to label a wine after a paraphelia marked by the desire to have sex with human corpses?
Mark, have you tasted the examples mentioned above?
There are enough producers making Zinfandel in a more restrained, more (comparatively) elegant style that I wouldn’t call it atypical. Some have been doing it for decades. It used to be called “claret style.”
Dry Creek Valley is, in my experience, happy hunting grounds for the style you seek.