So… lacking typicity? Interestingly enough, a nineteen sixty-something Lytton Springs (pre-Ridge) drunk at about 30 years of age was probably my favorite Zin ever, but it too smelled and tasted nothing like I expected from Zin. An aged Burg is a pretty reasonable approximation. Attempts to age more recent versions did not produce the same results.
Can any Zin be 100 points? This goes to the “how do you define 100 points” question, discussed more extensively here:
https://www.wineberserkers.com/t/what-does-100-point-score-mean
https://www.wineberserkers.com/t/how-rare-are-should-100-pt-wines-be
Was that 30 year old Lytton Springs 100 points? I didn’t score it at the time, but maybe. I still remember it, which says something. I’m in the camp that believes in multiple different ways a wine can be 100 points… it’s not limited to a mythical “perfect” wine.
I drank a lot of Zin in my early days while waiting for ageable stuff to mature. Went through a phase where bigger, boozier, oakier was the thing, and drank a fair number of the RP 97-point darlings (1994 Hayne, Martinelli Jackass Hill, etc.). Once I started drinking the old world stuff, the 16% ABV Zins started to taste like rocket fuel, and I turned my back on them. That era passed a while ago, but I’ve only recently started to drink them again.
I’ve had a few contemporary Zins worthy of scores in the low to mid 90s, but haven’t yet encountered anything that has approached 100 points. I just don’t think the style pushes my personal 100-point buttons, which usually get set off by aged complexity. Maybe with 20-30 years of age they might. I don’t think they’re built for that, but I’m too old to find out, so I enjoy them young.