2017 Seghesio Family Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel- USA, California, Sonoma County (11/13/2021)
Day 1: Trying more of the great producers of Zinfandel from California. This wine is great and not over the top which I don’t like in any wine. Nice fruit featuring raspberries, boysenberries and unripe strawberries. Spice, menthol, stone and underbrush. A concentrated but balanced effort. This is delicious. 92 points
Day 2: Even a bit better. Nice fruit again and picks up some bramble on the finish. Very smooth wine overall without the harshness sometimes associated with Zinfandel. I also got no heat on this wine. 92.5 points
Recommendation: Bought this for $25.00 so hard to beat it at that price. Amazed at the 15.6% alcohol as it does not show. Good value. (92 pts.)
I don’t think Seghesio gets enough discussion around here.
If you’re looking for a quintessentially DCV zin, try their “purple cap” Cortina zin. It’s a little more elegant than the “red cap” Sonoma County old vine zin. The vines for the Cortina turn 50 years old in 2022 so they’re almost old vine now. Most Seghesio zins are fairly easy to find and often discounted. Excellent zins at reasonable prices. Like Carlisle zins, they don’t show much heat even when the alcohol is over 15%. In the past I believe they’ve gotten a knock for excessive oak, but I don’t think that’s the case any more.
The “blue cap” Sonoma County zin is consistently excellent and can often be found for a bit less than $20.
I’m looking forward to comparing a 2017 Seghesio Montafi with a 2017 Carlisle Montafi in a month or two.
I like it every bit as much as Ridge Zins and agree the blue cap is one of the better values out there and a benchmark for seeing if you like Zin without spending a lot.
