Staff
-- marinij.com
There was a time when January was the dullest month for wine drinking, for the tasting of new releases and for general interest in the topic. But, when Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (www.zinfandel.org) came into being, created the single best tasting of the year and scheduled it for January, things changed. Now, January is zinfandel month, and in addition to the organized week of events, there are all manner of special zin tastings and get-togethers among lovers of this very special grape. Check out its Web site for seminars, food-and-wine tastings, fancy dinners and the biggest bash of the year - and all open to the public.
It is all because zinfandel is not like other red wine grapes with their polished ways and their "put me in the cellar for a decade" airs of nobility. In short, zinfandel is for foods that have lots of flavor and rib-sticking goodness. It is no wonder that 10,000 folks flock to the ZAP tasting in San Francisco to do their best at tasting their ways through the offerings of some 300 zinfandel producers.
The reviews below are of wines that are currently in release and have been recently tasted.
One star 2003 Cedarville, El Dorado, $22. Allow yourself to learn more about the wines being crafted by the husband-and-wife team of Jonathan Lachs and Susan Marks. This intensely scented wine smells of ripe blackberries and shows a more subtle trim of stony soil in the nose. It is a near-classic expression of Sierra Foothill potency.
$Two stars 2003 D-Cubed, Napa Valley, $25. Zinfandels from the Napa Valley are no slouches when it comes to depth and muscle, but they tend tomore refined than most of their peers from around California. This one bridges the gap between power and good manners quite nicely in its ripe, concentrated blackberry smells accented by notes of creamy oak and in its lengthy, compelling ripe berry flavors. A touch on the youthfully coarse side, it will reward a couple of years of bottle age for those who like a smoother, rounder zin.
Two stars 2002 Hendry, Block 28, Napa Valley, $28. George Hendry grew up on the land that now supplies the grapes for his winery. He still farms the family vineyard and, in addition to the grapes
sells to some of California's leading vintners, he makes some darn good wine. This one is full in body and very ripe in direction but has achieved remarkable balance and sports a wealth of essential fruit.
Two stars 2003 Ravenswood, Dickerson Vineyard, Napa Valley, $30. Joel Peterson founded Ravenswood some three decades ago, and it quickly grew into one of the leading zin proponents in California along with Ridge and Rosenblum. This wine delivers subtle suggestions of cassis in the midst of fairly deep and well-focused ripe-berry aromas while, in the mouth, it follows through with a burst of ripe fruit made more interesting by its adjuncts of rich oak.
Two stars 2003 Ridge, Lytton Springs, Dry Creek Valley, $30. On occasion Lytton Springs has been the biggest and ripest of Ridge's zins, but this offering comes with a slight sense of restraint in terms of alcohol if not in its fruit. Nicely concentrated and very deep in well-defined blackberries, it also shows complexing touches of mineral and earth that speak straight to its vineyard beginnings.
Two stars 2003 Rosenblum, Hendry Vineyard, Reserve, Napa Valley, $40. This wine is a magnificent expression of the Hendry fruit and the Rosenblum ability to capture the essence of zinfandel, and it is one of the few wines that rises to superstar status year in and year out.
Two stars 2003 Seghesio, Cortina, Dry Creek Valley, $26. A big, mouth-filling zinfandel, yet its ripeness is balanced by plenty of nicely defined fruit, and the wine's chocolatey themes are always subservient to its strong sense of berries. There is a bit more polish to this one than is typically found by those of its ilk, and, if a bit tannic and hot at the end, it has all the pieces in place to grow better with three or four years of age.
