I just opened a bottle of the 2013. Not crazy about it. Hard to describe this wine. Almost tastes like some Nebbiolo from the Italian alps. Minimal fruit and some decent structure and minerality but I just canāt pinpoint how to describe the fruit. Tart cherry with a funky finish that has some acidity to it. I can see how John Gillman likes this as heās into funky things (which I greatly appreciate).
It opens up with some air. You might try saving half of the bottle and revisiting tomorrow.
Thatās the plan Greg. But itās been an hour now with no change. Iāll keep an open mind. At $20 It was well worth the risk. A very lean style with tons of acidity that is no longer made. Must be the altitude and maybe this is the āHalcon styleā for Zin?
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Different strokes. Personally, I love the wine. Also, I think you are using funky to mean odd or unusual rather than funky aromas.
-Al
Poor Todd, he loaded up!
![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
Iāll trade him a couple of bottles his wife and mine like for his 6 pack and Iāll give him 50 cents on the dollar!
Ok guys. Second try here. Wine sat out overnight.
Itās certainly more open and showing more fruit, but this is still lean and mean. Probably great with the right food. I suppose if you know and understand the style this is a great wine, but itās certainly not typical to bedrock, Carlisle or the other darling vintners of this board. Served blind Iām willing to bet most people on this board would think this is something from a different continent. I previously mentioned high altitude Nebbiolo. Donāt get me wrong, I do like it, but it was not expected. Curious to see what this evolves to in 5+ years
Thanks for the honesty. I appreciate this note. I also appreciate the reference point of Italy given that this is Primitivo. Have you tried the Bedrock version of Sky Vineyard? I think you will like it. Itās not as lean as Sky, but itās 180 degrees different than Carlisle. And nothing like Ridge with its pungent American oak. This is a pretty authentic, transparent expression. I love it. Had a second bottle on back-to-back nights, just finished the last glass. It is lean and mean comparatively but itās not actually an overly-lean wine in its own right. I found it very juicy and ripe just lifted by some tangy fruits, bramble and crisp acid. Like you, I found both bottles better on the second night. This wine will age.
My impression is like Robertās, not especially lean and mean except in comparison to a fruit driven, riper, California Zinfandel. I agree that it reflects the mountain fruit aspect of the vineyard location. Both of those qualities are part of what I love about it.
-Al
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2013 Sky Vineyards Zinfandel Mt. Veeder - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder (1/22/2021)
Flowers and tree sap on the nose. Savory, crunchy red fruit. Medium/high acid, medium/high drying tannins, medium/full body despite a low (for zin) ABV. Despite the lovely nose, and acid/tannin structure that will certainly allow this to keep, its somewhat absent in fruit and guess it will only become more austere with time.
It reminds me a bit of Broc zins, which flirt with the AFWE.
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This is a great wine to serve blind. Nobody would guess it.
I have a lone bottle of the 2013 Halfān and have no idea of when to open it. Iām assuming it could go a while longer no problem since itās 50/50 Zin and Syrah. Also Iām assuming itās a fairly structured Syrah component.
Interesting, as I wouldnāt peg it as ālean and meanā at all, just something that tastes like wine with acid and structure instead of a big, sweet, alcoholic beverage that many people are used to from Napa. I donāt think anyone said it was like Bedrock nor Carlisle? It doesnāt have the flavor profile of Nebbiolo for sure, and while it may have acid and tannin like a Chianti Riserva IMO, the fruit is still definitely Zin.
Marshall, just pointing out that when most people think of Zinfandel, they think of a relatively large scaled high alcohol wine with a massive fruit component. This is the opposite of all of these things. I was expecting something a bit more refined and toned down, but wasnāt expecting this. Itās actually remarkable to me that a Zin could have these characteristics. And definitely thatās not a bad thing, just a very unique wine.
I finished the bottle tonight (night 2), and got distinct Willy Wonky Runts. To me it tastes a lot like borderline ripe stemmy-ness. Zinfandel tends to ripen very unevenly, which is why I presume most producers wait for longer hang time which results in higher overall ripeness and ABV. Maybe skirting the ripeness makes for a more intellectual wine, but its not what I think of when I think āzinā, nor is it what I think the vast majority of people would.
Itās kind of the point that this is a singular wine, an outlier. Itās been a long time since Iāve had one, but I remember a couple '90s version showing a little pyrazine. I brought them up, for some reason or other, chatting with Steve Edmunds, and he lit up. Iāll have to pop one soon to see how it compares to back then, but they were rustic, special wines, which I suppose could be ācontroversialā.
I really loved my first bottle. Great acidity, bright fruit, and a lovely nose. Served it blind to a friend and he was puzzled ā structure of a nebbiolo but without the right fruit and aromatics. End up guessing a high quality dolcetto if memory serves.
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Before I dig into my Charles Heidsieck 2012 Brut Millesime for celebrating an incredible BerserkerDay, I have been itching to try this wine.
Frankly, I adore it. I find it brambly, with that bright and energetic blue mountain fruit I love so much, in all red mountain varietals. Itās got great structure, itās rich but light on the palate. A steal at $25, truly. I wonder if Brent had a bad bottle, as thereās nothing ālean and meanā or thin about this wine. Brent, do you have any more??
Cool, glad you liked it Todd.