Simple Hedonisms

Posts Tagged ‘Wine Review’

Last Friday was International Grenache Day – not as prevalent as Cabernet Day – but people celebrated all over the world, abd hundreds of thousands of people were reached via Twitter during this celebration.

I held a walk around tasting  for 9 wineries and 80 people hosting vintners Quivira, Ridge, Mounts, Sheldon, Wind Gap Wines,  Baiocchi Wine, R2 Wine Co, and last minute entry Stage Left Cellars. More on this in an article later this week.

To compliment this tasting, the Ortman Family was nice enough to send rose’ samples to share, which I splashed in peoples glasses as a palate cleanser and kickoff wine, for save one exception, we had reds all being poured.

The 02 Series

I am a fan of the o2 Series and its concept, and loved the Ortman Cuvee Eddy, 02 Series, San Luis Obispo County Rhone blend when I reviewed it last December.  What is o2?

Wines that are fresh, affordable, delicious, coming from a small family owned winery with 40 harvests under its belt.

Review:  Ortman 02 Series Grenache Rosé – Paso RoblesTo the Eye: Dark Salmon, Watermelon Flesh colored

On the Nose: Peach and Strawberry fill the nose.

In the Mouth: Bright, vibrant, refreshing. Watermelon, citrus. Juicy mid palate, lingering acidity on the finish. This wine is easily downed solo, but would pair with with oysters, salads, grilled chicken or fish, BBQ with tomato sauce, pizza. 14.5% alcohol.

Recommendation: As Lisa Ortman says:

A word from the ladies of Ortman Family Wines: Man up and drink pink!

90 points –  A recommended, high quality, value priced rose’. $16 online, and it appears they currently have great shipping specials – 1-5 bottles shipped to CA is $12, and shipping for 6+ bottles is only a penny. (Welcome to California ABC laws.)

There was only 90 cases made of this great summer sipper – grab a few. And lets get another thing straight –  Rosé is not just for summer – that’s about as true as bubbles are only for holidays. You can enjoy rosé any time of year, and its an especially great food pairing, value priced wine for the holidays – stock up and drink pink!

Info and purchase here. 

Enjoy!

A fair share of my Wine of the Week selections are chosen from microwineries, harder to find producers, geek or Rhone varieties, or wines over $20. That’s often what I drink, but certainly not all. It most especially does not represent, as I often remind my wine geek, fellow wine writers, and wine maker friends, what the mass population of North American wine drinkers consume.

I will often write about these as I remain dedicated to helping the typical wine lover and consumer, expand their horizons.  Wine knowledge is a journey of ever broadening discovery, no matter what your experience level, and I would pass on some of my ‘wasted’ years and eye opening experiences, and save readers only drinking big red overoaked wines for your first ten years, which sadly over the last 20 years the consumer has been lead to think is ‘good’.

However, even in the world of  mass market consumption, there ARE good wines you can find widely available, under $20, and just grab off the shelf.

The Dry Creek Vineyard Fumé Blanc is one of those. A price any budget can afford, a wine most wine consumers can enjoy (get over that ‘I don’t drink white wines’ stance  – its killing your growth,)  yet enough there for the experience wine consumer to enjoy, even if as a uber wine geek you’d ‘prefer’ a $30 ‘white’ 6 month skin contact Trousseau Gris.

About Dry Creek Vineyards

Dry Creek Vineyards is becoming one of those rare breed and size winery. Still family owned and operated since founded 39 years ago, as the winery that put Sauvignon Blanc on the map in north Sonoma County, they exist in a difficult space. At 100k+ cases they aren’t the sometimes more fashionable boutique winery, yet they are a fraction of the size of the BIG boys who make millions of cases a year. Only a handful of wineries exist in this size, and less and less each year. A visit to their tasting room and meeting the team, feels the same as the 20k case winery down the road.  Perhaps more another time, but do take a few minutes to read about one of Dry Creek Valley’s pioneers, that brings a piece of the Loire Valley, by clicking here and their love affair with sauvignon blanc here.

I visited with Bill Smart,  Director of Communications, several months ago and tasted through a series of wines. I should point out, Dry Creek Vineyards makes a number of small lot wines, including other sauvignon blancs, but by design for this tasting we wanted to focus on what consumers could find widely available. Do drop by the tasting room to try these – I will be.

 About Fumé Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is sometimes referred to as  Fume’ Blanc. Purportedly this started  when Robert Mondavi  in 1968, changed their Sauvignon Blanc from an off dry  to dry version. To not confuse their customers, they came up with the name “Fumé Blanc”, from Pouilly-Fumé, a  popular dry-style Loire Valley wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. Rather than trade marking the name, Mondavi offered to allow anyone to use the Fumé Blanc name to market dry-style Sauvignon Blanc.

Fumé is French for “smoke,” but has nothing to do with smoky flavor in the wine. It refers to morning fog in the Loire Valley. Any’ smokey’ smells or flavors are from aging in newer oak barrels, not from any aroma or flavor character that is in Sauvignon Blac. Although some wineries choose oak barrel fermentation and/or oak aging, the use of Fumé Blanc on a label does not mean the wine was barrel-fermented or ever contact any oak, although it’s a common misperception that it does. (Another spin is that sauvignon blanc didn’t sell, so Robert changed the name.)

Wine Review

Dry Creek Vineyards Fume Blanc (Sauvignon Blanc), Sonoma County

Welcome to the 39^th vintage of this flagship wine of Dry Creek Vineyards. This sauvignon blanc is entirely stainless fermented, with no oak contact.

To The Eye: Clear pale yellow

On the Nose: Fragant nose of white peach, honeysuckle, grapefruit

In The Mouth:  Citrus. Lime & grapefruit as well as some herbaceous  characters found in the popular New Zealand sauvignon blancs, but with some minerality as well as great acidity that give it a bit more nuance. The finish is dry and mouth watering. Would pair well with shellfish, salads, or make a great aperitif.

Recommendation: An excellent value at $12. This wine has justly received many awards over the years, including recent Best Buy from Wine Enthusiast and in 2008 was the prestigious Sonoma County Harvest Fair (which I am pleased to be added as a judge this year) Sweepstakes winner.

89 Points – Excellent, Recommended Buy.  Buy locally or online, or check your local store. Media Sample (but I will be restocking for summer and Thanksgiving.)

Side Note: I should add their <$10 Chenin Blanc, is also a great value at $8-10, and  varietal I wish we saw more of in Sonoma. I have the 2009 also in my glass, current release is 2010, or it could have also ended up as a Wine of the Week.

Wine Geek Info:

• Grapes 100% Sauvignon Blanc
• Appellation: Sonoma County
• Harvest: October 4, 2010
• Fermentation: Stainless steel fermented at an average of 52˚F for about 30 days
• Barrel Aging: None
• Alcohol: 13.5%
• Total Acidity: 0.64g/200mL
• pH: 3.36
• Residual Sugar: Dry
• Aging Potential: 3 – 5 years
• Case Production: ~30,000 cases

Last month I did a full review of the Charity Case 2008 Rose‘. As I dive into the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc I am again impressed by their noble cause, but also by the quality of this wine. A detail I forgot to mention last time, the wine maker is Jayson Woodbridge of Layer Cake.

To The Eye: Dark Yellow, clear, vibrant

On The Nose: A Delightful nose. I was afraid the dark color and barrel fermentation might belie new oak on this but I suspect the oak was neutral, or a few years old. I am generally not a fan of SB where the oak flavor can be detected.  Tropical fruit, gooseberry, apricot.

In The Mouth: Equally delightful. This wine is lush, creamy texture and mouthfeel. While I would not call it a French Sancerre style, its definitely not your standard New Zealand grassy, herbal SB. Melon, ripe stone fruit. Nice finish with balanced acidity and fruit that linger.

Recommendation: An excellent value for $14 – not to mention a great cause!

Friday is #SauvBlanc Day

This Friday June 24th is #SauvBlanc day on Twitter, where people will enjoy and Tweet about #sauvblanc – grab a bottle of this to enjoy AND help a good cause. Cheers!

I picked up this Pinot Blanc from Spot-On Cellars up on sale at NPA/Salinia in Santa Rosa. This wine is custom crushed but not normally sold there. I have also had Spot-On Syrah and a fan.

To The Eye: Pale yellow straw color.

On The Nose: Fragrant nose lemon zest, white peach.

In The Mouth: Melon and stone fruits in mouth, balanced acidity with some texture and nice mouth feel, a little less austere than some Pinot Blancs can be.

Recommendation: Highly recommend for price and quality. $18 right now at NPA.  They also list distributors on their website.

When I received an email inquiring if I’d like a sample of Tannat, from Uruguay, I did a double take. First Tannat just isn’t a variety you see a lot of by solo, especially in the U.S. It can have very harsh tannins, and is most commonly blended, in single digit percentages,  to add some structure. Uruguay has been on the fringes of my radar as an up and coming wine producer, but I haven’t paid a lot of attention. So, I was pleased to receive this sample, and not knowing what to expect, more pleased with the results.

About Uruguay and Tannat

It’s a small country, only 3.5 million people, bordering Argentina, on the Atlantic coast. The country’s ‘southern wine belt’ has 20,000 acres of vineyards, and 270 wineries. Tannat it turns out, is to Uruguay what Malbec is to Argentina. Brought there in 1870 by a French-Basque emigrant, it is considered the national grape, and is now the largest producer of Tannat in the world. The producer is Uruguay’s largest, founded in 1830, and says it considers sustainable wine growing methodologies a way of life.

Review: 2009 Pueblo del Sol  Tannat, Uruguay

Two very noteworthy things about this wine, and if you follow my personal palate preferences, two personal kudos. First, it’s unoaked.  No oak, not even neutral oak. Unusual for reds but can produce some interesting results. Ranging from something in production by Bonny Doon, to my own Sangiovese, its one way to make red wine and it be 100% expressive of the fruit. Second, its low alcohol, only 12.5 percent.

While generally with a bottle of Tannat I’d dump it in the decanter for an hour, however this fresh, vibrant representation can be drunk right away.

Color: Medium purple, clear, and can just see some light through it at an angle.

On the Nose: Fresh red fruit, raspberry, black cherry, and a hint of graphite.

In the Mouth:  Nice fruit on the front palate, as you first taste it. Bright red and black fruit, with a nice hint minerality running through mid palate. It’s a bit more simple on the finish, but very well done for a wine of this price point, distribution, and variety. Tannins are very modest and balanced, pleasant, making this red wine drinkable on its own.

Recommendation: Recommended buy, drink. A great value, unique wine for $10. Medium size production of 20,000 cases.

Soliloquy : Wine drinkers looking for that “crush my palate with tannins or oak” big Cabernet or 16% fruit bomb Zinfandel might be disappointed, as its more nuanced.For its high value $10 price, it something I’d encourage every wine drinker, especially those exploratory and/or new to try.

Your wine palate is an unfolding trail and series of awakenings, and if you are passionate or even just interested about wine, you should be on a constant path to experiment – and thus  world of wine discovery, and its never ending journey, will blossom for you, with enlightenment, sometimes humility, but always a new frontier. Or you can just drink the same old thing and style every day….the world produces  hundreds of unique varieties of wine, branch out beyond ten.

Where to Buy: Distribution seems good. My favorite local importer & wine shop K&L Wines has about 100 bottles left. The importer TasteVino website also sells it online. This is an interesting importer – Napa locals can order online and will call pickup (as I do with K&L) and even has a wine club, and many great looking value wines to try.  $10 retail. Media Sample.

Thank for reading Simple Hedonisms wine blog – if you enjoy what you read – share it. Cheers!

Napa Valley – California’s most renowned wine region, commanding the highest prices for wine in the state. And the source for tonight’s review of Charity Case Wines, both somewhat ironically a value at $12 a bottle.

About Charity Case

The Charity Case Foundation is a movement that was conceived by winemakers from Napa Valley. All juice and fruit donated by Napa Valley wineries and growers goes into small batch, hand made wines with all net proceeds going to non-profit organizations serving children and families in Napa County. There is no overhead, or charges, all money is for charity, for children.

Charity Case 2008 Rosé

I love the story behind this wine. Many winemakers and industry people (self included with 3 rosé this year) will make a small amount of rosé to enjoy. Sitting around one night drinking one of these ‘science projects’ the idea of blending juice from several sources and varietals might be a hit, and this rosé was born.

Color: Dark salmon pink, almost orange.

On the Nose: Modest nose of strawberry, with hint of red apple.

In the Mouth: Expressive in mouth. This rosé was fermented in neutral oak adds a nice texture, mouthfeel. This is a bit bigger rosé, which will pair with a broader array of foods. Alcohol is 14%, not crazy for California rosé, but be careful, this wine goes down easy! Lots of red fruit – strawberry, raspberry. Nice acidity means this wine lingers on the finish. And then you reach for more….

Recommendations: Recommended buy.  California Rosé usually runs in the $16-$22 price range, so $12 for a quality quaffer is a good value.

Where to Buy: Online – click here

(They also make a Sauvignon Blanc for same price, will be reviewing soon.)

Cheers and thanks for reading!

It’s the time again, wineries are releasing their new 2010 Rosé. It’s been great to see dry (non sweet) rosé wines come back into vogue and many producers I have spoke with have increased production this year. (My apologies to readers for lack of posts and reviews. The double edged sword of gaining in visibility is being pulled in many directions, as well as a very demanding regular job.)

Shattering Rosé Myths

“Real wine drinkers don’t drink Rosé.”  When I hear that (or the same comment on white) I quietly gnash my teeth, weep for the ignorance, and hope that one day someone or something will enlighten them. Don’t choke on that Cabernet.

Rosé is made from red grapes. If you go to a wine tasting, pouring white, pink, and reds, you will notice they are poured in THAT order.

Most Rosé today  is not your sweet, white zin ‘blush’ wine, its juice pressed off of Red wine grapes after some skin contact, and fermented dry, just like your normal red or white wine. Its meant to be drunk only lightly chilled, and enjoyed as an apertif or with a variety of foods, especially summer grilled fare.

Rhone Rosé

Rhone red wines make wonderful Rosé, generally much better than Bordeaux varietals like Cabernet, Merlot etc. (Although you can find them.) Recently I tried the new Syrah Rosé from Mounts Family Winery and the Rhone blend Rosé from Quivira, both Dry Creek Valley producers, both under $20, and both I don’t expect to last long. I will endeavor to review these as well, but consider this a strong recommendation.

Grenache can make an exceptionally wonderful Rosé, so I was pleased to see the new Bonny Doon Vin Gris was 71% grenache. What is more intriguing is the percentage of Rhone whites blended in, in this case 16% Roussanne, and 11% Grenache Blanc. (also 2% Mourvedre.) Something I will have to remember for my own home Rosé science projects.

I could barely keep this gem in the glass as I was reviewing it, it’s so highly drinkable. I thought it a perfect ‘Wine of the Week.’ I have also been asked why I don’t review more wines under $20, so Ta Da – here is a winner!

Review: Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris De Cigare

To the Eye: Gorgeous, light salmon color

On The Nose: Red fruit, rose petals,  and strawberry on the nose

In The Mouth:  Apple, red fruit, modest citrus touch of stone fruit. Mouthwatering, balanced acidity is heavenly when combined with the mouth feel from lees (yeast sediment) stirring.   This is a practice often done in white wines to add texture and mouthfeel, and works very well here. I suspect the Roussanne also adds some richness.) Good minerality (think wet stone) contributed from whites. Glad its only 12.8& alcohol, as it goes down easy.

Food Pairing:  Ridiculously quaffable solo. I am sure it pairs with all kinds of foods, but right now I am embracing it with only my taste buds. I’d go for grilled fish, chicken, veggies, if any is left.

Recommendation: Buy. Now. Usually for Rosé the rule of thumb is to consume that year, but some do age, and indeed Randall Grahm recommends “Delicious today but will develop added richness and aroma with an additional 6-12 months of bottle age.”

93 points.

Where to Buy: Online from Bonny Doon. $15. (Not a typo.) (Possibly some retail – was surprised K&L Wines didn’t.)

As I wrote recently in the article ‘‘Shipping Included’ – the Future of Direct to Consumer? An interview with Bonny Doon Vineyard’ Bonny Doon is taking an aggressive approach to shipping costs. Earlier this year, shipping was included for $99. For the month of April its included in a case. Mix and match, they have many great wines under $20. And join the wine club to save another 15%. It feels like robbery. (I just received a mixed case.)

Wine Geek Info:

• Varietal Blend: 71% grenache, 16% roussanne, 11% grenache blanc, and 2% mourvèdre

• Appellation: Central Coast, California

• Alcohol by Volume: 12.8%

• TA: 0.45 g/100 ml

• pH: 3.5

• Production: 3,298 cases

Enjoy – and thanks for reading Simple Hedonisms Wine Blog – if you like what you read, spread the word and share the article – cheers!

It’s kind of ironic that this week’s wine of the week is a non Rhone from one of my favorite North Sonoma county  Rhone producers, Sheldon Wines. Sheldon in fact also makes  great Burgundian (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay)  and other varietals, but with such little focus on Rhone here in Sonoma and their hands on experience in Gigondas and deep love of Rhone wines, they are one of my top local referrals for Rhone wines. Their Petite Sirah gave me fresh insight that Petite Sirah really CAN be a Rhone varietal, and Dylan’s new Vinolocity Blanc white blend was the only white future I bought this year.

Photos Courtesy of Sheldon Facebook Page

About Sheldon

Sheldon is the beautiful story of Tobe and Dylan Sheldon, who fell in love with each other as much as they did wine, and married these pursuits, and each other. Sheldon is a micro winery, sometimes making as little of a barrel (25 cases.)

They share in all tasks, but success seems to have required more specialization as Dylan focuses most on wine making. In our chats, usually when he is whizzing around the busy winery, Dylan  can geek over vinification techniques to a level I feel like a school boy, and have never heard of. Tobe is a great sales & marketeer and often the face of the winery in the tasting room. Their passion for wine, and each other is visible in all they do, and the sacrifices they make.

Tasting Room and Winery (in the new Santa Rosa Vintners Plaza)

Sheldon opened a new tasting room and production facility last fall in Santa Rosa. Its a shared facility with two other wineries (Krutz and MJ Lords), next too, and owned by Ray D’Argenzio of the D’Argenzio Wines – aka the Godfather of Santa Rosa Wine as I call him.

This new tasting room is part of the Santa Rosa Vintners Square which is unfolding this summer into a mecca of wine and food with another shared tasting room that will support 8 wineries, a culinary center, cobblestone walks, bocce ball, and more.

Both tasting rooms are open for extended hours and regularly feature fun food, wine, and entertainment, often impromptu. Best to follow them on Facebook for the latest. Visit them at 1301 Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

About Graciano

Never heard of this varietal (grape type.) ? Don’t feel bad, there are only about a dozen acres of Graciano planted in California. It’s most known for its production in the Rioja region in Spain, but even there plantings are small, and its mostly blended.

Wine Review: Sheldon 2009 Graciano Ripkin Vineyard, Lodi

Only 4 barrels, 100 cases of this stunning, low alcohol (12%!) red wine were made. Nicknamed “SuperFreak.”

Color: Vibrant, Medium red, fairly clear especially for an unfiltered, unfined wine.

On the Nose: Highly aromatic & complex: Cherry, red fruit, white pepper and spice spring from the glass. Hints of cola, rhubarb and pie spice are in deeper layers.

In the Mouth: Cranberry, tart red fruit, spice.

Recommendations: The acidity level may allow for some cellaring, but I do not have the ability to keep my hands off this wine. Buy and drink, while you can.  Extraordinary- 96 points. (I can count on one hand wines I rate over 95 in the last year.)

Where to Buy: At the Sheldon Tasting Room or Online. $28

Wine Geek & Vinification Info:

• The second vintage working with this obscure varietal. This planting however is found 19 feet below sea level, on limestone soils at the Guard Rd. block in the western most planted area of the Lodi appellation, a certified Lodi Green Vineyard. Originally brought the Graciano in with the idea of blending it, but it had so much personality the Sheldon’s  just couldn’t bring ourselves to change it.
• Harvested in three stages, from the 23^rd to the 29^th of October, just before the rains came. The fruit was hand sorted, and crushed with 100% whole cluster and roughly 50% whole berries to enhance the fruit and spice aromatics. We
• Inoculated the first lot with a natural yeast strain isolated in the northern Rhone valley, the later picks fermented with the indigenous yeast from the vineyard. Fermentation took place in ½ ton macro bins & punched down 4 times a day. Pressed off after 8 days on the skins, using the gentlest press possible, a ¾ ton hydro-basket press. Once the wine is pressed,  it’s allowed to  settle for a few days in tank before barreling down into neutral French oak barrels (4 years old).
• This wine, as with all of Sheldon wines ,is neither fined nor filtered.
• Varietal: 100% Graciano
• Appellation: Lodi
• Vineyard: Ripken (Guard Rd.) Vineyard
• Fermentation: ½ ton open top macro bins
• Cooperage: 100% Neutral French oak.
• Captured into Bottle: June 2^nd 2010.  Released into the Wild: September 2010
• Lab notes- PH 3.39 / TA .68 / Alc% 11.8
• Case production: 95 (12x750ml)

Cheers and thanks for reading Simple Hedonisms Wine Blog !

A few months ago I was contacted by Bruce Patch, the owner and proprietor of Wine Guerrilla and asked if I would like to receive some samples.  These days samples come in decent amounts, and my own cellar is burgeoning with wine, but when someone has taken the time to contact me and wishes to send a bottle, most times I accept, and will attempt to review.

Bruce it turns out was local, so I offered to let him drop off the wines to save shipping. It also allows me to meet the winery face and glean a bit of their story.  I was expecting a few bottles, lo and behold, Bruce had six. I like do like, buy, and review zinfandel (especially cooler Russian River Valley or Zin with some bottle time) but of the many wines I consume, Zin is less common. I realized it would take me quite a bit of time to get through six, nor would readers want six back to back Zin reviews, so I decided to try a different, more fun approach.

I was enthused, some of his Zin’s were well regarded, including prominent California Wine writer Charles Olken. Additionally it was a great opportunity to compare many fruit sources.

The Tasting Panel 

Wine Guerrilla "The revolution is in the bottle."

One of the great things of living in an area where there are over 200 wineries in a 30 mile radius, is enthusiasm and knowledge on wine is very high. Many of us have changed our entire lives in pursuit of passion of this nectar of the gods. It’s as much a lifestyle as it is a beverage, and I blessed with many good friends who are like minded in this passion.

I decided to ask 4 friends all passionate about wine and all in the industry in various manners, ranging from wine maker, to blogger, to tasting room, to join me to taste through these wines.

I kept it simple to keep it fun, but focused still. Panelists were asked to write down basic tasting notes, and then rank their top 3 of the 6 zins.

Lineup

Wine Guerrilla makes a crazy amount of Zin’s, over a dozen are on the website for sale. Most are 200 cases or less.

#1 2009 Sonoma County Zinfandel 81% Zin, 10% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignan & Cabernet

#2 2009 Adel’s Vineyard Dry Creek Valley

#3 2009 Harris-Kratka Vineyard 2009 Alexander Valley Zinfandel – 85% Zinfandel, 10% Carignan & 5% Petite Sirah

#4 2009 Conte Vineyard Russian River Valley Zinfandel- A field blend of 83% Zin, 12% Petite Sirah, 2% Carignan, 2% Alacante Bouchet, & 1% Grenache

#5 2009 Clopton Vineyard ‘old vine’ 2009 Russian River Valley Zinfandel -

#6 2009 Coffaro Vineyards ‘old vine’ Block 1 2009 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel – 84% Zin, 16% Petite Sirah

The tasting was not blind, and tasters had access to the tech sheets. This was an experienced crew, I wasn’t worried about influence.

Results

Each reviewers top pick got 3 points, #2 two points, and #3 a single point. As you can see, the number one choice scored almost twice as many points as the second. And they quickly trailed off.I should add, there wasn’t a single wine we didn’t like, and for many it was a hard choice, with a few re-visits. The styles were surprisingly, refreshingly different.

Wine Review – Wine Guerrilla 2009 Alexander Valley – Harris-Kratka

The winner by a margin.

To The Eye: Lively, dark red.

One The Nose: Cocoa, spice, cherry pie, black fruit

In The Mouth: Brambly, jammy, complex, good finish.

Recommendation: A crowd pleaser amongst a wide variety of palates. 91 points $30 (media sample)

Wine Review: Wine Guerrilla 2009 Russian River Valley  Clopton Vineyard

To The Eye: Hazy dark red

One The Nose: Earth, blackberry, pepper

In The Mouth: Rich, viscous texture, ripe red fruit

Recommendation: A zinfandel that starts out with lots of fruit, finishes nicely, making come back for more. And more. 89 points.

This is a big (15.5% alcohol!) Zin in an elegant package from Tin Barn Vineyards, artisan producer of fine wines in Sonoma, CA. Michael Lancaster is a Toronto native living and practicing independent winemaking here.  Even though Russian River Valley is known primarily for its’ Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, there are a number of Zinfandel vineyards in RRV and many Zin producers including DeLoach, Passalacqua, and the newer Portalupi label.

Tin Barn says this Zinfandel is from 35-year-old vines planted in a flat sandy block of the Gilsson Vineyard, just east of the town of Windsor in Sonoma County. The 2007 vintage is said to be reminiscent of the 2005, which won Gold, Best in Class honors at the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

The timing is perfect to get a taste of Tin Barn Zinfandels, which include this RRV as well as a Napa Valley Zin. Tin Barn is one of 10 neighboring wineries joining together in a food and wine pairing open house this Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Here you will find great wines, unique food pairings at each tasting room, and easy interaction with winemakers, family members and their dogs. See Simple Hedonism’s contest for a chance to win free tickets. Or, purchase tickets ($30) here.

To the Eye: Dense, cloudy rich garnet

On the Nose: Scent of the riverbed, gravel and menthol, almost like a RRV Pinot Noir. Lush, ripe stone fruit and savory herbs … like a full-figured dancer in a tight dress.

In The Mouth: Plums and dried cranberries emerge, puckering along the sides of the mouth and finishing on licorice and tobacco notes. Front of mouth softens as the wine is exposed to air in the glass. Back of mouth retains earthy, gutteral finish. Cries out for food.

Where to Buy: The 2008 is available from Tin Barn at $27. The 2007 might be found in small lots at some local retailers.

Food Pairing: Roasted meats with root vegetables and potatoes, adding some berries in the gravy to play off the fruit in the Zinfandel.  Think Pizza with sweet sausage and thick tomato sauce,BBQ’d Tri Tip or other grilled meat.

Recommendation: Plan a hearty meal around the opening of this wine. I let the bottle breathe for a couple hours before drinking, which allowed the aromas and flavors to open up nicely. Highly recommended for lovers of big wines and RRV nuanced aromas.

Pricing: $27 (media sample).

Wine Geek Info:

• Varietal: 100% Zinfandel
• Harvested: September 28th, 2007
• Barrels: 35% New American Oak
• Aging: 15 months
• Bottled: January 27th, 2009
• Alcohol: 15.5%
• pH: 3.73
• TA: 5.87g/L
• Production: 579 cases
• Release: November 2009

Tin Barn Vineyards

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