I was going to suggest this, too. I bought some of these when they had them a couple of months ago and finally had them shipped. This wine is delicious, old school, vibrant Zinfandel with some structure still showing. I see lots of people talk about Zin with pizza and to me most of them don’t have the acid to stand up to a good tomato sauce. This one does, and has the acid and tannin balance similar to a Chianti Riserva but with Zin flavor. If I go through mine fast enough I might actually buy more…it’s that good for $20.
Sold this wine for a full decade and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t the hardest hand-sell in Zin history. Like all others have said, it’s old-school Mountain Zin and it appealed to the exact same three people who were really into J Swan Zin.
The 2013 Sky Zinfandel is great, the current K&L price is crazy good and the shipping in California is probably pretty nominal in any civilized part of the state.
I have a father-in-law that tends to prefer Zinfandel over other varietals; I tend to value elegance over power in wine. Sky seems to be a good mid-point for each of us. It’s not a wine I want to drink often, but it is a wine I’m happy to drink.
Our neighbor Sky Vineyard was heavily damaged in the October 2017 Nuns Fire. This is the same fire that got us, but when the fire hit Sky, the wind conditions were much more extreme than when it reached our place a day later. Owner and winemaker Lore Olds lost his home and has been living in a trailer on the property ever since. Much of the vineyard was irreparably damaged. They are now rebuilding and replanting but it has been a long haul. They don’t have deep pockets and they could really use your support.
Thank you for relaying that, Carol. I am planning on ordering more, and will go directly from the winery rather than a retailer that I used before. He is selling the 2013 at the discounted price of $25, which is just a crazy value. He really ought keep the normal list price for it, the wine is that good. They also have the 2014 and 2015 on retail on the website as well.
The same three people…that’s choice, Jason! Of course I like a lot of the Swan Zins, too, although generally the ones that are under 14.5% or so. Above that they get a little boozy for me.