Zinfandel

This is a great take on Zinfandel using mountain fruit which gives it a bit more concentration and less exuberance.  Purple in color.  The nose  has black raspberries, some blueberries, a bit of bramble and spice and slight black pepper.  On the palate, this has a great dense and lush texture.  Lots of black raspberry fruit.  This is still young and should broaden out over the next decade with cellaring.  That said, it presents a really powerful and enjoyable Zinfandel right now as well.  Works with hearty foods.

My favorite vineyard from my favorite Zinfandel producer!  Purple in color.  The nose is black raspberries, slight cedar, slight bramble, spice and pepper.  With air, some dark cherries emerge.  My favorite part of this wine is the texture which seems consistent over vintages.  It is rich and lush yet the wine glides down the palate.  Flavors of black raspberry and minerals and slight char and pepper.  Complex and deep.  Each sip leaves one wanting another sip.  Then the bottle is drained.  Works with a wider variety of food than imagined.  Long finish.  A spectacular wine.  

This is one of my staples in not too expensive wines.  $30.  This is outstanding from year to year.  Purple in color.  Great nose of black cherries, black raspberries and spice.  Nice texture.  Delicious.  Concentration.  Expands on the palate.  Black and red fruits.  Works well with food too.  

This is one of the most straight-forward, "classic styled" Zins that Mike Officer makes.  It is always outstanding although it might not be as individualistic as some other vineyards.Purple in color.  The nose has dark cherries, spice and bramble.  Very ripe fruit.  On the palate, the dark cherries continue along with some underlying plum and spice.  Smooth and no heat.  Very nice texture.  Long finish.  

This is made from a vineyard planted originally in 1880.  96.8% Zinfandel and 3.2% Mixed Blacks 9field blend).  It comes in at 14.5% Alc.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose is interesting.  Lanolin, and muted on opening.  With air, black raspberry fruit develops along with some dried floral notes.  Finally, black cherries and bramble emerge.  On the palate, there are medium tannins.  It presents a more feminine side to Zinfandel, at least on opening.  Red berries with slight earthiness.  With some air, it gets a bit wilder with some black cherries and more earthiness and spice coming out.  Sm

This is 100% Zinfandel from a vineyard first planted in 1893!  The vineyard is above the fog line and planted on volcanic and red clay soils.  15% Alcohol but not noticeable.  Beautiful color; a sort of magenta and ruby, clear and bright.  The nose is great.  Earthy and deep with black raspberries, black cherries, a bit of cinnamon and spice.  On the palate this is sweet black cherry fruit.  Some might call this jammy, but to me that implies a lack of precision which this wine has.  Earth and deep.  It has a complexity that is intriguing even at this young age.  Certainly the most complex o

This is 75% Zinfandel and 25% Mixed Blacks (a vineyard blend of dark red grapes).  This is a different take on Zinfandel from a cooler climate vineyard.  The wine was still able to get to 14.9% Alc due to a long growing season.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose has sour cherries.  There is also a black olive note which is very nice and likely from Rhone varietals as part of the mixed black make up.  In addition, there is a classic bramble and black pepper note.  Slight tannins on the wine.  This is a more elegant side of Zinfandel.  Black cherry fruit.  Some depth but a lot of intensity that

Wow.  It has been a while since I have tried any of the single vineyard wines from Ravenswood.  This is great!  Really glad to revisit these.  Made in Dry Creek Valley on gravelly clay loam soils.  15.1% Alc but no hint of it.  Ruby/purple in color.  Clear and bright.  The nose is earthy and dusty with black cherries and a bit of pepper.  With air, an underlying char shows thru.  On the palate, this is soft and smooth.  It starts easy which is nice before picking up weight.  Sour black cherries and some blueberries.  The mid-palate has some black licorice too.  Plenty of depth here.  Medium

This is a vineyard blend from an older vineyard in Sonoma.  This is how wine used to be grown as opposed to blending in the winery.  Sometimes in these older vineyards, its not clear what is growing without doing DNA tests on each vine.  This vineyard has 60% Zinfandel, 25% Carignane and 15% comprised of 22 othr varietals.  The wine is purple with ruby swirls.

I love Carlisle Zinfandels.  Mike Officer makes a bunch of them, but this is my favorite one.  Purple in color.  The nose has some bramble, dark cherries and a bit of pepper.  What i find I like consistently from vintage to vintage, however, is the texture.  It is round, lush, and delicious without being over the top.  Black cherries, raspberries, and black licorice.  No heat.  Each sip makes we want to take another.  It is food friendly, but these seem to go down too quickly.  Its hard to not gulp.  This should age easily for another five years and probably ten or more.