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. Ridge Calif  Buchignani Ranch Carignane (14.8%; 46 brls) 2000: Med.dark color; fragrant cherry/ black cherry dusty/old vines Draper-perfume slight volatile bit taosty/oak nose; tart bit tannic some buttery/toasty/oak slight metallic fruity/cherry bit hard/tight flavor; med.long buttered popcorn/buttery/oak black cherry/cherry/cola finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a pretty little Carignane. $22.00 
2. Ridge Calif Carignan Whitten Ranch (14.1%; 28 brls) 1992: Med.dark color; very dusty/old vines rather fragrant/perfumed lovely some cherry/aromatic some complex nose; softer bit hard/tannic/ tart bright cherry perfumed very floral/rose flavor; bit metallic/dried out tannic some spicy/ perfumed/floral/cherry/cola finish w/ hard tannins; interesting mature Carignane. $18.00 
3. Equs Paso Robles Mourvedre (13.8%) 1998: Med.light color; strong fruity/grapey/plummy slight gamey/smokey some toasty/Fr.oak bit Pinot-like/perfumed nose; soft/light slight washed-out rather plummy/grapey pencilly/toasty/oak rather Pinot-like flavor; long/lingering plummy/grapey rather pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; lots of plummy character; tastes more like Pinot that a big/strapping Mourvedre. $14.00
4. Andrew Murray Vineyards Santa Ynez Valley Mourvedre (13.9%) 2000: Med.dark color; slight fumey/volatile strong plummy/ripe/fruity bit toasty/oak nose; slight hot/fumey/volatile rich/grapey/plummy/ spicy slight toasty/oak flavor; long very ripe plummy/black cherry some chocolaty/CherryMash  slight fumey/hot finish w/ light tannins; very much the AM style of ripe grapiness w/ a bit of volatility. $24.00
5. Scherrer Winery Alexander Valley Zinfandel Scherrer Special Cuvee (14.5%) 1999: Med.dark color; slight metallic very fragrant/spicy/raspberry/perfumed lovely nose; tart/rich very spicy/Zinberry/licorice very floral/perfumed/aromatic flavor; very long/lingering bright very spicy/Zinberry/licorice perfumed finish w/ light tannins; a lovely drinking Zinfandel in the Nalle style.
6. Scherrer Winery Alexander Valley Zinfandel Old & Mature Vines (15%) 2000: Med.color; beautiful very fragrant/ raspbery/bright very spicy bit one-dimensional light buttery/oak nose; lovely very spicy bright Zinberry/raspberry/zippy flavor; med.long bright very Zinberry/spicy/perfumed talc finish w/ light tannins; lots of forward/bright/Zinberry fruit but not a lot of structure; very nice ready-to-drink forward Zinfandel.
7. Sierra Vista El Dorado Zinfandel Reeves Vineyard (EB; 14.0%) 2000: Med.color; slightly volatile/fumey low-key spicy/berry/bllackberry/fragrant slight earthy/funky complex nose; very tart rather  tannic/astringent/alum/drying some spicy/blackberry/Zinfandel; med. very tart/astringent/puckery some blackberry/spicy light earthy finish w/ ample tannins; needs some age; Fall release; very interesting/attractive nose but a Barbera-like acid/astringency on the palate.
8. Elyse Napa Valley Zinfandel Morisoli Vineyard (14.2%) 1999: Med.color; deep blackberry/raspberry bit dusty/old  vines rather buttery/oaked fairly spicy nose; soft rich lush blackberry/raspberry very spicy some buttery/toasty/oak flavor; very long soft/lush blackberry/raspberry buttery/oak finish w/ some tannins; very nice mainstream Zinfandel in the Biale style.
9. Easton Shenandoah Valley Calif Zinfandel (EB; 15.1%) 1998: Dark color; classic ripe blackberry/briary/ AmadorZin deeper more spicy bit tobaccoy/toasty/oak nose; rich/soft lush blackberry/briary very spicy/perfumed some dusty/old vines some pungent/toasty/oak flavor; very long vedry spicy/briary/ blackberry/AmadorZin light toasty/oak some black cherry cola finish w/ some tannins; terrific balance and no overripe character; beautiful Amador Zinfandel.
10. Easton Shenandoah Valley Calif Zinfandel (EB; 15.1%) 1999: Med.dark color; complex/spicy some toasty/oak lighter blackberry/boysenberry/AmadorZin/briary bit jammy/ripe nose; soft/lush briary/blackberry/ jammy light toasty/puungent/oak slight dusty flavor; long briary/blackberry/AmadorZin bit jammy/ ripe light toasty/pungent/oak finish w/ light tannins; bit more ripe than the '98 and bit less intense; unlike most Calif Zins from elsewhere, the '98 seems distinctly better than the '99; most preferred the '98.
11. Carlisle Alexander Valley Zinfandel (16.9%; Carignane; 125 cs; 2/3 tons/acre from George St.Clair vnyd) 2000: Med.color; ripe very spicy Zinberry/blackberry not overripe or raisened clean/bright  very fragrant nose; soft very spicy/Zinberry/blackberry very lush/textured some toasty/oak flavor;  very long fragrant/lush/Zinberry/raspberry/cherry finish w/ some tannins; bit more tart &  structured than the DCV; should improve over the next yr; very attractive fragrant Zinfandel.
12. Carlisle DryCreek Valley Zinfandel (16.4%; 18% PetiteSirah; 225 cs; Ray Teldeschi vnyd) 2000: Med.color; more classic raspberry/Zinberry much more spicy very fragrant/perfumed nose; soft/bright very spicy/Zinberry classic DCV Zinfandel light oak flavor; med.long very spicy raspberry/Zinberry/cherry cola perfumed finish w/ light tannins; lovely forward Zinfandel w/ classic DCV character.
13. Carlisle Russian River Valley Zinfandel Gum Tree Ranch (15.7%; PS&AlicanteBouchet; 125 cs) 2000: Med.dark color; strong eucalyptus/menthol intense blackberry/raspberry/Zinfandel complex light toasty/oak nose; soft very strong rasbperry/blackberry/perfumed strong eucalyptus/menthol exotic flavor; med.long strong eucalyptus/menthol very exotic structured blackberry/raspberry finish w/ some tannins;  needs several yrs; very exotic/eucalyptus Zinfandel w/ good structure; think Sean Thackery.
14. Carlisle Russian River Valley Zinfandel Tom Feeney Ranch (16.0%; 1/2 tons/acre; 150 cs) 2000: Med.dark color; somewhat closed blackberry/boysenberry/RRVZin dusty/old vines very spicy nose; rich rather closed hard/tannic very lush intense blackberry/boysenberry classic RRVZin very spicy flavor; very long lush/ripe rather tannic/closed blackberry/boysenberry dusty/old vine flavor; seems  rather closed but packed w/ flavor; much like some of the Swan Fratis; my favorite of the Carlisles and probably the most potential; a classic RRVZin.

1. Carignane: Paul Draper is a big fan of old-vine Calif Carignane. I struggle & struggle to find out what's exciting about the variety. I don't recall any Calif Carignane that's blown my socks off. The Ridges are about the best I've had, some of the Cline's were good. They often seem to have a very attractive cherry/black cherry fragrance to them; but I often find them wanting on the palate; showing a tart/mean/tannic streak to them. Ohhh well, I'll keep trying; PaulDraper's gotta be right, he's my hero.
2. Easton Zins: These are, by far, Bill Easton's best Zins yet; and some of the best, most polished Amador Zins yet. Although above 15% alcohol, they have an elegance and polish to them that is rare for Amador Zins. None of the overripe/jammy character that Amador Zinfandel can have; they still display that distinct briary character of Shenandoah Valley Zinfandel, yet have a terrific balance that's not often seen in these wines. These are Estate grapes, which means they come from the old Ed  Baldinelli  Vineyard. I havea '79 version in my cellar but was unable to resurect the btl to include it. These two Zins are just additional evidence that Bill Easton is making the best wines in the  Shenandoah  Valley of anyone these days.
3. Carlisle Zins 2000: I've not been greatly impressed with the 2000 Zins I've tasted thus far. Most seem to have lots of pretty aromatics but lacking in richness & flavor & intensity and not the structure & tannins of other vintages in the '90's (save, maybe, the '98's). Lots of pretty faces, but nobody  I'd take to bed. The Carlisle 2000 seem to reflect some of that character of the 2000 vintage. They seem not as big, as structured, as extracted as certainly the '99's and perhaps the '98's. That being said, these are all four pretty terrific Zins; easily the best 2000 Zins I've  yet tasted. They are more forward & will mature earlier than the '99's, but much more than just another pretty face. As before, I prefer the Russian River Valley Zinfandel(s) to the others. The strong eucalyptus in the GumTree gives it a very exotic character; but I, nor my other tasters, felt it was overwhelming. The Feeney seemed a bit closed right now, but I'm confident it will be the best of the four down the road. Terrific wines that shouldn't be damned because of the vintage.