by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 
1. Rosenblum Alexander Valley Harris-Kratka Zinfandel (14.1%; 22% Carignane) '94: Med.dark color; slight volatile very fragrant/perfumed/aromatic/spicy bit licorice/earthy nose; soft bit mushroomy/earthy perfumed/fragrant/spicy/Zinberry flavor; med.long lush/aromatic/ licorice/spicy/Zinberry light earthy finish w/ light tannins; lots of perfumed character and probably at its peak.
2. Rosenblum Alexander Valley Harris-Kratka Zinfandel (14.8%; 22% Carignane) '98: Med.dark color; lovely lush raspberry/Zinberry/fruity light oaked nose; soft/fat/lush buttered popcorn spicy/raspberry/Zinberry/fruity light oaked flavor; med.long lush/raspberry/Zinberry/spicy light oaked finish w/ light tannins; loads of lush raspberry fruit; forward & drinkable.
3. Rosenblum Sonoma Valley Cullinane Vineyard Zinfandel (14.8%) '95: Med.color; earthy/dusty/old vine mushroomy/blackberry slight volatile/aromatic complex nose; tart bit lean dusty/old vines bit earthy/mushroomy rather blackberry/rhubarb interesting flavor; med.long dusty/old vines mushroomy/blackberry finish w/ light tannins; near or beyond its peak; interesting Zinfandel.
4. Rosenblum Napa Valley Reserve Zinfandel Hendry Vineyard (14.1%) '94: Med.dark color; deep pungent/licorice/ blackberry some oaked/toasty complex nose; softer rich blackberry/pungent bit pencilly/ toasty/oak some complex flavor; med.long complex soft blackberry/pungent/licorice light pencilly/toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; lovely mature Zinfandel at its peak.
5. Rosenblum San Francisco Bay Continente Vineyard Zinfandel (14.6%) '98: Very dark color; deep blackberry very plummy some black cherry/black cherry cola/mushroomy classic CC nose; soft lush blackberry/black cherry cola light mushroomy/earthy/plummy flavor; med.long soft/lush blackberry/licorice/black cherry cola very plummy finish w/ light tannins; soft forward classic ContraCosta Zinfandel.
6. Neyers Contra Costa County Zinfandel Pato Vineyard (15.7%) '98: Very dark color; strong charred/toasty/ smokey/oaked some blackberry/plummy nose; bit hot/alcoholic/fumey very charred/toasty/Fr. oaked some blackberry/plummy/earthy flavor; long very charred/toasty/Fr.oaked/pungent light earthy some blackberry/plummy finish w/ some tannins; dominated by charred oak; doesn't seem to have the extract & tannins & structure of previous vintages.
7. Ridge Calif Zinfandel Nervo Vineyard (91% Zinfandel, 9% PS; 14.7%; 116 yr old vines) '97: Very dark color; strong old vine/dusty strong blackberry some milky/Am.oaked nose; soft spicy/blackberry bit boysenberry/cola fairly dusty/old vines some milky/Am.oak flavor; med.long soft/lush blackberry rather dusty/old vines some milky/Am.oaked fairly complex finish w/ light tannins; maybe the best Nervo Zinfandel yet from Ridge; my favorite '97 ATP Zinfandel save the Dusi LatePicked.
8. Ridge Calif Alicante Bouschet Pagani (75% Alicante, 25% Zinfandel; 14.5%) '97: Black color; deep blackberry very licorice/pungent/violets some smokey/charred/oak very dusty/old vines bit clunky/earthy/Alicante nose; big clunky/licorice/pungent dusty/old vines violets/lilacs dusty/old vines earthy/tannic cough syrup some smokey/oaked flavor; long earthy/clunky licorice/pungent/violets/blackberry dusty/old vines some toasty/oak finish w/ fair tannins; a big wine but not huge; best Ridge Alicante since the '93(?) Pagani. Great price. $16.00
9. Ridge Calif Zinfandel Dusi Ranch (100% Zinfandel; 14.9%) '98: Dark color; deep PR/blackberry/jammy/spicy bit earthy/lush nose; soft very lush rich/blackberry/jammy/licorice some milky/oaked flavor; soft very long lush blackberry/jammy/boysenberry bit earthy/dusty some milky/oaked finish w/ light tannins; soft lush drinkable PR Zinfandel.
10. Eberle Paso Robles Zinfandel Sauret Vineyard (14.5%) '98: Med.color; very bright/spicy/raspberry/floral/ violets/cinammon/cloves slight stemmy rather aromatic very spicy nose; soft/lush bright/ raspberry/violets/floral very spicy light cinammon&cloves flavor; med.long bright raspberry/ floral/violets very spicy finish w/ light tannins; a bright very spicy Zinfandel.
11. Scherrer Wnry Old & Mature Vines Alexander Valley Zinfandel (14.5%) '98: Med.dark color; lovely bright/ spicy/Zinberry/cherry/Cheracol/dusty old vines/lush nose; tart spicy/bright/cherry/black cherry/Cheracol/Zinberry flavor; med.long bright cherry/Cheracol/black cherry/Zinberry very spicy finish w/ light tannins; loads of bright/Zinberry fruit.
12. Carlisle Sonoma County Zinfandel (14.7%; 66% Alexander Valley, 11% DryCreekVlly, 14% Russian River Vlly Refosco, 9% DryCreekVlly PetiteSirah; 177 cs) '98: Med.dark color; deep earthy/dusty old vines/blackberry complex some pencilly/smokey/Fr.oaked lovely nose; fairly rich dusty/old vines rather raspberry/blackberry bit pungent/toasty/pencilly/Fr.oak flavor; med.long tart dusty/old vines spicy/blackberry light pungent/pencilly/oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs a yr or two; loads of bright/spicy fruit much like the Cofarros w/ a bit more oak & structure; lovely Zinfandel at a great price. $19.00
13. Carlisle Dry Creek Vlly Zinfandel (15.8%; 76% Zinfandel, 24% PS; 237 cs) '98: Med.dork color; deep/bright raspberry/blackberry/Zinberry bit alcoholic very spicy/fragrant some pencilly/Fr.oak nose; rich very spicy/bright/raspberry/Zinberry lush bit hot/alcoholic light pencilly/pungent/oak flavor; long/rich very spicy raspberry/Zinberry bright fruit bit dusty/old vines finish w/ some tannins; needs a yr or two; classic DryCreek Zinfandel.
14. Carlisle Russian River Zinfandel (15.9%; 94% Zinfandel, 6% Alicante Bouchet; 118 cs) '98: Very dark color; deep/intense very blackberry/peppery dusty/old vines bit earthy deep fairly complex nose; big/rich/lush very black peppery/blackberry/boysenberry very spicy dusty/old vines some toasty/pencilly/Fr.oak complex flavor; big/rich/extracted blackberry/boysenberry/dusty rather toasty/pencilly/pungent/oak finish w/ ample tannins; a big rich extracted textbook RRV Zinfandel that needs 2-5 yrs; much like some of the great DeLoach OFS Zins but more structure and not as porky as those can be. Killer Zinfandel, one of the best '98's I've had.
15. Borgo al Castello Mother Zinfandel OldVines Primitivo del Tarantino (13.0%) NV: Very dark color; rather reduced/pungent bit fecal/herbal rather unclean/stinky some oaked nose; soft reduced/pungent earthy/dusty rather fecal/dirty diaper pail bit unclean some toasty/oaked flavor; med.long fecal/unclean dusty/earthy bit hot climate/goat pen some toasty/oaked finish w/ some tannins; bit too unclean for my tastes but Italian wine lovers will groove on it. James mystery wine
16. Ridge Calif Zinfandel Paso Robles (14.9%) '91: Very dark color; beautiful floral/violets/lilacs bit volatile rather jammy/spicy some vanilla/Am.oaked nose; soft/lush/jammy/blackberry/ boysenberry/floral/lilacs some vanilla/Am.oaked flavor; med.long soft/lush rather jammy/ blackberry rather oaked/vanilla finish w/ light tannins; lovely floral/jammy Zinfandel. Howard& Rhoda's mystery wine.
17. Ravenswood Belloni Ranch Sonoma County Zinfandel (14.8%; 710 cs) '91: Black color; intense pungent/ licorice earthy/dusty/old vines smokey/toasty/Fr.oak blackberry nose; rich intense toasty/ Fr.oaked/pungent rather licorice/blackberry very spicy tannic dusty/old vines flavor; very long dusty/old vines boysenberry/blackberry rather toasty/pungent/oaked finish w/ fair tannins; still going strong & needs age. Steve's mystery wine.

1. Eberle Zins: The last 4-5 Eberle Zins have been big/intense Zins, often over 15% alcohol. I was a bit disappointed at first because this '98 was not cast in that same mold. But the more I tasted the wine, the more I liked it. It is lighter than the previous vintages. But it's more in the mold of a Pinot than anything; with very fragrant aromatics to it and that classic Sauret spiciness that always seems to come thru in his grapes. So be forewarned that it's lighter than previous one but, nonetheless, a lovely Zinfandel. If this is what the Sauret grapes gave in '98, than so be it. Big is not ALWAYS better (speaking as a sizable epee guy who once lost BADLY to a cute little 13 yr old girl!!)
2. Carlisle wines: Mike Officer professes to admire the style of both David Cofarro's and Doug Nalle's Zins. One can certainly see some resemblance to those respective styles. Both Doug's & David's Zins are characterized by a lot of bright/spicy/zippy Zinfandel fruit; which is a big part of Mike's wines. But I would say that Mike's have a bit more structure and tannins than those do, perhaps a bit more depth and "seriousness" than Dave's & Doug's. Maybe a bit like the Ravenswood SV's w/o the oak. One of the problems I've been having w/ the '98 Zins is that they have plenty of fruit but they are deficient in structure & tannins; Zins for consumption in the short term. Whatever Mike did w/ HIS '98's, he did it right. The structure & tannins are anything BUT lacking in his. In fact, I would have to say it's the structure & the tannins that most impresses me about Mike's wines; a high level of everything, yet all the things in balance. Tasting the DryCreek Zinfandel beside the RussianRiver Zinfandel is, to me, the textbook tutorial between Zins from these two growing regions. The DryCreeks always seem to have more bright Zinberry fruit, the RRs always seem to have more deep blackberry type of fruit. The DC & the RR Zins were all pretty alcoholic. Nonetheless, neither of them had any overripe or late-harvesty character and I thought they carried the alcohol very well. The Turley Zins could take a lesson here, I think. The prices for these wines were the future's price last Fall.
3. Scherrer Zins: This guy really knows how to make Zins. This '98 is another winner, though, like many of the '98's, doesn't have the structure of the previous few vintages.