1993 Lytton Springs Winery Zinfandel - Still purple without much bricking at all. Intense, big Zinberry fruit still even though the flesh is about gone. Shows some of it’s 15.2% around the back of the palate. Very light tannic feel around the edges. The fruit is a bit fat in the middle, asking for more acidity to clean it up. But this is about the power of the fruit and that’s basically how they describe what it is on the label. The label says it’s made from several vineyards in the area as well as the old vine Lytton stock. They also say there is some Carignan and Alicante in the mix but no Petit Sirah. This drinks like many age worthy Zins drink at 7-10 years. Yum.
Nice work setting this up. Was planning to bust out a bottle of the Under the Wire sparkling zin but sadly left on the other coast.
So, the Bedrock 2016 Weill-a-way Mixed Blacks instead!
Classic zinberry nose - bright and lifted. While young and tannic, I’m appreciating the freshness - medium bodied, crunchy red and purple fruits, a bit of licorice, pine and ash. Something more exotic like curry leaf lurking. Plenty of acid and no sense of heat or flabbiness that I’ve found in older Weill mixed blacks. Excellent length on the finish. (92)
Nice start everybody! Remember, every pic of your mug with the wine means another donation $5 on top of the note. 
I pulled a relic out last night to contribute to the cause here. This was purchased up at the Monte Bello tasting room (along with the '92 and '93) on the first trip I took with my (not yet at the time) wife down to California.
1994 Ridge Lytton Estate (ATP bottling)
Color still pretty intact but thinned out quite a bit. There was not a tremendous amount of sediment, so I left the wine in the bottle after the cork came out in pristine condition. Initial aromas show dusty red fruits. With time some vanilla and currant notes emerge. This shows the darker fruit character from the petite sirah in the blend (I think) on the palate with a rustic gritty tannin underlayer that frames dirt, red fruit, tobacco, plum, and pepper notes. This carries into a medium finish. I can see this as an interesting old artifact in another 10 years (or more), but it’s past its prime years of drinking for most. I enjoyed these old Lytton Estate bottlings when they were in regular ATP rotation.
Cheers,
fred
![[welldone.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/fc9709a841aa9379fd892a9cf0b535b05f473b86.gif "[welldone.gif]"){kind=small}
2014 Turley Zinfandel Kirschenmann Vineyard - USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi (11/30/2018)
Served with pulled pork this was rich, deeply fruity and showing a distinct spicy note that had nothing to do with the sauce for the pork! As thankfully common with Tegan’s Turley wines, the alcohol stayed in the background, allowing the fruit and spice center stage. Lots of fun to drink now, this should be good for short to mid term cellaring.
Posted from CellarTracker
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2014 Black Sears Zinfandel Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (11/30/2018)
This was true infanticide. Spicy pepper and sharp red fruit, but way too young and harsh. We popped and poured, which is not the best strategy, and it calmed down a bit with air, but not calm enough. Let the rest of these sit for a few years. This is a great wine, we know it is a great wine, but it is in a dumb phase, or at least not its best phase.
Posted from CellarTracker
2017 Turley Old Vines Zinfandel - Baby killing but that’s why I buy a case of this every vintage. Abundant raspberry/blackberry fruit, brambly goodness. Long and pleasing with great depth. Tegan holds the reins back on this and lets the old vines do the talking. A no brainer purchase year in and year out.
Sticking with the relics theme, I popped this beauty tonight. 1976 Carneros Creek Winery, Late Picked Zinfandel, Esola Vineyard, Amador County.
Another huge winner from Carneros Creek Winery. Ive snagged quite a few at auction from the 70’s - early 80’s (zin, PS, and cabs) and honestly, I don’t think I’ve had a bad bottle from them yet. This is still dark as night in the glass with VERY little bricking/browning at all. Nice restrained zin-fruit on the nose without really any of the mustiness that sometimes plagues older zinfandels. Fully integrated smokey, ripe purple fruits in the mouth in more of a medium plus bodied frame with ample acidity. Must have been a bruiser back in the day as its still pretty youthful and only just now starting to fully settle in. Super enjoyable…and even more so knowing that Brian will be opening his wallet again for a very good cause 
[media] 1976 Carneros Creek Winery, Late Picked Zinfandel, Amador County - Album on Imgur [/media]
[media] 1976 Carneros Creek Winery, Late Picked Zinfandel, Amador County - Album on Imgur [/media]
Remember it well. Maybe with Augie Hug? Also the first Falltacualar. I wonder how many people know where that name came from. And your first avatar was a Kings logo. Oh how the mighty have fallen. ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
Here is a fairly old pic with maybe the first Chardonnay that Brian Loring labeled. And Alcina!! ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
Jason
Wife is out of town, so you’ll all have to suffer through my terrible selfie skills.
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2014 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Wine Papera Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (12/1/2018)
Day 1, this was very tight and the nose muted - certainly needs more time in the cellar. Tannins were grippy and a little drying.
Left open for 24 hours and has come out of its shell a bit, although nose still mainly closed. On the palate, constantly dancing - raspberry, blackberry and black olive. While predominately Zin, I find it mostly reminds me of a restrained CA Syrah. Tannins have folded in nicely and I love the jolt of acidity that keeps this fresh. It honestly is really hard to describe these heritage wines as there is so much going on, and that is why I find them so intriguing. (92 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Dude, nice. I remember that shot from my backyard, all those bottles. I have all the original Falltacular photos from 2005. When I get the next chance to get at some of them, I’ll jam up here another oldie of you, pal. Glad to see everyone rallying for you.
I am just now seeing this! Wow, what a cool treasure! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I notice that the label has something appended to it with Emilio Guglielmo’s name on it.
What’s the back story on this bottle???
‘15 Carlisle Sonoma County Zin
PnP: good acidic structure. Fruit is a awkward. Kind of all over the place. Plush, but also kind of thin on the palate.
I’ll leave it to hang out for the 1.5 hours it’ll take for dinner to cook.
Few hours later: the nose on this is alcohol and a weird, chemical note. The palate is still thin and way off-balance. I either caught this on a bad night for my palate or this is an off-bottle.
Sorry, Drew, there is no bottle attached to this label. Did not mean to imply otherwise, but just to make a reference to what was probably the first Zin we tasted more than 40 years ago. There is a backstory to why I have this label. During the winter of '75/'76 my wife and I were snowed in for a few weeks during winter break as grad students at UMASS Amherst. To keep myself sane (a short term success, but a long term failure)I tried to stay busy with a few “projects”, including re-covering a lamp base in wine labels. We were in our mid-twenties and about a year or so into our wine drinking adventures. I used to hot-water off the labels of most of the wines we drank to keep as souvenirs. The Italian Swiss Colony Zin was one of the labels that made it onto the lamp. My avatar shows a couple of others. The “Emilio Guglielmo” is part of an adjacent label for a California “Chablis”. We still have that lamp. Nostalgia.
Thanks for the story, Jim! That’s even cooler!!!
2016 Kreck Old Vine Zinfandel Teldeschi Vineyard
Teldeschi Vineyard is located in the Dry Creek Valley and dates back to the 1890’s. Teldeschi is a also a fruit source for Ravenswood and Once & Future.
Crimson in color. 15.7% ABV. Super nose of red fruits, cocoa powder and pepper. Medium body with perfect acidity. Bright and refreshing. Claret style Zinfandel. Raspberry, black cherry, vanilla and baking spices on the palate. The finish is long and spicy. Delicious Zinfandel and certainly an impressive debut. Best over the next 3-5 years. $42 at the winery.
My rating: 93 points.
Tom
2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard - PnP. What a full mouthful. Crisp, pure fruit primarily blueberry with hints of red fruit engulfed by a huge punch of spice which integrates with some time in the glass.
This was a great wine.
J. Lohr Bramblewood Old Vines Zinfandel, Lodi, CA 1998
Ironically smells brambly with dried blackberry and raspberry. Leather, dried fruits and flowers and soft tannins dominate the palate. Not a great old Zinfandel, but a good old Zinfandel at 20 years.
Thanks for the tasting note, Tom!!
I have been curious about the Kreck “Del Barba Vineyard” Contra Costa Zinfandel, but ↑this one↑ really seems like a beauty!