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. Novy Zinfandel Russian River Valley Carlisle Vineyard (16.0%) 2001: Dark color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/ black cherry some smokey/toasty/Fr.oak very spicy terrific nose; tart bit alcoholic very intense blackberry/black cherry/cola very spicy light toasty/smokey/oak flavor; very long/lingering intense black cherry/blackberry/cola some toasty/oak slight alcoholic finish w/ some tannins; a stunning Zinfandel on Adam's first one. Tastes like a Zinfandel made by a Pinot producer.
2. Carlisle Russian River Valley Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard (16.2%; Zinfandel + PS / Alicante Bouschet/ GrandNoir/ Carignane; 410 cs; planted in 1927 by Alcide Peletti; 1.25 tons/acre) 2001: Dark color; intense peppery/boysenberry/blackberry/cola/framboise very intense fruit light smokey/pencilly/oak very lush nose; tart very intense blackberry/boysenberry/framboise very spicy/peppery light milky/ pencilly/oak flavor; very long/lingering tart intense blackberry/boysenberry/peppery finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs; a killer Zinfandel; tastes like a Zinfandel made by a Syrah producer.
3. Carlisle Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (15.8%; 237 cs) 1998: Med.dark color; very fragrant/perfumed very spicy/ aromatic rather bright/Zinberry slight dusty light pencilly/oak some complex nose; tart very spicy cranberry/Zinberry bit lean some pencilly/oak complex flavor; very long very spicy Zinberry/ cranberry biy dusty light pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; lots of bright DCV fruit and lots of spiciness; really tasting nice right now.
4. Carlisle Sonoma Cnty Zinfandel (15.9%; Carlisle Vineyard + DryCreek  Vineyards; Zinfandel + dryCreek Carignane & Grenache; 230 cs) 2001: Very dark color; some blackberry/spicy/black cherry bit closed some tobaccoy/smokey/oak lovely nose; softer bright cherry/black cherry/blackberry spicy bit earthy/ dusty flavor; med.long spicy cherry/berry/bright some spicy/peppery light oak/smokey finish w/ light tannins; the Carignan/cherry character seems to show thru; lovely drink Zinfandel for the near term.
5. Carlisle Russian River Valley Zinfandel Tom Feeney Ranch (16.6%;  Vineyard planted in 1926; Zinfandel + PS/ AlicanteBouschet/GrandNoir de la Calmette; 350 cs) 2001: Dark color; some minty/eucalyptus very spicy/blackberry/raspberry/Zinfandel more bright/DCV-like some Am.oak/pencilly quite spicy nose; tart some buttery/Am.oak slight eucalyptus bright/spicy/Zinberry/blackberry bit alcoholic flavor; very long/lingering buttery/Am.oak slight eucalyptus/minty very spicy raspberry/blackberry finish w/ some tannins; beautiful spicy Zinfandel more DCV in character than RRV; loads of bright fruit.
6. Carlisle Russian River Valley Zinfandel Gum Tree Ranch (16.2%; century old vines; last vintage/gone to real estate developers; Zinfandel + PS/GrandNoir de la Calmette; 1 ton/acre; 140 cs) 2001: Very dark color; strong minty/eucalyptus/menthol huge blackberry/peppery/framboise complex nose; huge/rich eucalyptus/menthol intense blackberry/boysenberry/framboise very spicy/peppery light oak flavor; very long/lingering big/blackberry/boysenberry/Zinfandel rather eucalyptus/menthol very spicy/peppery finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs; a classic RRV Zinfandel w/ interesting eucalyptus character; the eucalyptus seems more subdued than last yrs version; killer Zinfandel.
7. Rockledge Napa Valley Zinfandel (14.5%) Growers: Peter&Linda Snowden, Winemaker: John Gibson 1999: Dark color; spicy blackberry/boysenberry slight framboise rather oaked slight earthy nose; tart some toasty/pungent/oak bright raspberry/blackberry/Zinfandel bit buttery flavor; med. bright/ raspberry/blackberry some buttery/oak finish w/ light tannins; nice well-made mainstream Napa Valley Zinfandel at a good price.
8. Carneros Creek Wnry Amador Cnty Late Picked Zinfandel Esola Vineyard (16.7%; RS: 0.6%) 1976: Dark color w/ little browning;slight/some corked/TCA that blows off to an intense boysenberry/ripe/chocolaty/licorice/ pungent some tobaccoy/smokey/oak very complex no raisened or pruney nose; off-dry very ripe chocolaty/licorice/blackberry/boysenberry bit raisened/overripe tarry/pungent/tobaccoy complex flavor; very long bit astringent/dried out strong blackberry/boysenberry rather tobaccoy/pungent/ oak some tarry/complex finish; drying out and a bit aged, but in amazing shape for a LateHrvst '76 and little raisened/pruney character showing.
9. Turley Calif Zinfandel Juvenile (15.3%; Young vines: Hayne/Moore/Duarte/Pesenti + Turley Estate) 2001: Dark color; some milky/oaked rich chocolaty/blackberry/Zinfandel slight earthy/mushroomy rather grapey/cola/lush nose; soft/lush chocolaty/raspberry/blackberry bit earthy some pungent/toasty oak flavor; soft/lush/grapey bit chocolaty lush/raspberry/blackberry/Zinfandel light toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; soft/lush/grapey Zinfandel.
10. Turley Calif Zinfandel OldVines (15.5%) 2001: Very dark color; more classic blackberry/raspberry/Zinfandel some dusty/old vines/earthy very attractive nose; rich/ripe blackberry/boysenberry very spicy light pungent/oak some dusty very attractive flavor; long dusty blackberry/raspberry/lush/Zinfandel light toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; very delicious/tasty blackberry Zinfandel w/ good dusty/old vine character.
11. Turley ContraCostaCnty Zinfandel Duarte (15.0%; 105 yr old own rooted vines) 2001: Very dark color; very strong plummy/blackberry/chocolaty earthy/mushroomy/dusty/old vines complex nose; soft/ripe plummy/blackberry/chocolaty dusty/mushroomy/earthy light toasty/oak flavor; long chocolaty/plummy/ blackberry/Zinfandel some earthy/dusty finish w/ light tannins; lots of ContraCosta/plummy character; very tasty/drinkable Zinfandel.
12. Turley Atlas Peak Zinfandel Mead Ranch (16.0%) 2001: Very dark color; bright raspberry/blackberry very spicy/cloves/licorice some toasty/oak lovely complex bit dusty nose; tart very spicy/cloves strong raspberry/blackberry/Zinfandel some pungent/smokey/toasty/oak flavor; very long/lingering very spicy/cloves strong raspberry/blackberry/Zinfandel light pungent/oak complex finish w/ some tannins; can use a yr or two; beautiful/lovely very spicy Zinfandel; my favorite of these Turleys.
13. Turley Napa Valley Zinfandel Turley Estate (15.6%) 2001: Dark color; intense blackberry/licorice/chocolaty/ boysenberry very perfumed/loads of fruit nose; tart spicy raspberry/blackberry/black cherry/cola some pungent/toasty/oak flavor; long spicy chocolaty/licorice/boysenberry/Zinfandel/blackberry finish w/ light tannins; terrific/intense nose but doesn't quite deliver on the palate.
14. Turley Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel Grist Vineyard (15.0%) 2001: Dark color; rather dusty/old vines beautiful/ripe/ raspberry/blackberry/Zinberry some toasty/pungent/smokey/oak complex nose; tart very spicy/bright/ Zinberry/raspberry/blackberry light toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; very classic DCV Zinfandel w/ lots of spicy fruit; lovely wine.
15. Salvatore Molettieri Turasi Vigne Cinque Querc (13%) 1997: Dark color; very dusty/earthy/walnutty smokey/funky/licorice bit goat pen/barnyardy/hot-climate strange nose; tart/tannic earthy/pungent/ walnutty rather Italian/hot-climate/funky/goat pen some blackberry flavor; med. funky/barnyardy earthy/dusty/walnutty finish w/ some tannins; lots of hot-climate/funky character but an interesting wine.
16. Elyse Napa Valley Petite Sirah Barrel Select (12.9%) 1994: Very dark color; very ripe bit alcoholic cranberry/boysenberry rather pencilly/smokey/oak some complex/tobaccoy nose; soft/smooth spicy milky/Am.oak peppery/cranberry some aged/tobaccoy/PS flavor; long peppery/cranberry some pencilly/ tobaccoy/Am.oak finish w/ light tannins; a bit further along than I'd have thought for such a black/extracted PS in its youth; very attractive mature PS.
17. Ridge Late Picked Pagani Ranch (80% Zinfandel, 15% Mataro, 5% PS; SaH: 28%; RS: 0.1%; 15.8%) 1992: Med. dark color; very lush blackberry/licorice/boysenberry/licorice some milky/Am.oak bit complex nose; rich blackberry/licorice/boysenberry bit alcoholic milky/Am.oak slight dusty/earthy flavor; med. long dusty/old vine milky/Am.oak strong blackberry/licorice/pungent flavor w/ some tannins; seems to be moving right along; classic Pagani peppery character; lovely mature Zinfandel.

1. GrandNoir de la Calmette: Cross of PetiteBouschet (Aramon X Teinturier du Cher) X Aramon; named by Henri Bouschet after his breeding station. "...he suspected its true worth and was unwilling to have the family name associated with it... The sins of its parents indeed visited on this infelicitous crossing... Second most planted grape in Cognac... Teinturier, even worse than AlicanteBouschet"
2. Carlisle Vineyard: This is the  Vineyard made famous as the Peletti  Vineyard by the Cecil Deloach. Cecil harvested the cuttings from this  Vineyard, propagated them onto a new Vineyard, trademarked the name, so the Peletti  Vineyard no longer is. When Mike&Kendall bought the Peletti  Vineyard, there was a few more yrs to run on the DeLoach contract, which ran out w/ the 2000 Vineyard. So this 2001 is the first Zinfandel Mike made from his own grapes. It's clear that this is, indeed, a very special Zinfandel Vineyard from these first two wines. It was interesting to taste these two wines side-by-side. Both are classic RRV Zinfandel, with an intense peppery/blackberry character to them. The glib response would be to say the Novy tastes like a Zinfandel made by a Pinot producer, but LarryA. would raise bloody hell with me. But, in fact, I DID find more of a black cherry character and a bit more toasty oak in Adam's version. Mike's had a bit more of the peppery character to it I associate w/ RRV Zinfandel. I found a bit more alcoholic heat in the Novy, but they both carry their high alcohols very gracefully. Both are absolutely stunning Zins and it will be fun to follow both of their evolutions.
3. SonomaCnty 2001: This is Mike Officer's VW-grade Zinfandel, made for more immediate drinking and a more attractive price. But "bottom of the line" Zinfandel it ain't. It is, in fact, better than most other winery's Zins that sell for much greater bucks. Really nice drink stuff.
4. CarnerosCreek Zinfandel '76: This was a mystery wine brought by Blair from his cellar. From the ullage (mid-shoulder) and the decrepit cork (Frank Mahoney had a lot of problems thru the '74-'76 vintage with corks and many of his wines were "weepers" and ullaged badly) (this cork just slid right out very easily; not well-sealed); I knew it must be a fairly old wine. From the still-dark color; I guessed a Zinfandel from the mid-late '80's. The wine was still very much alive and still had plenty of fruit left in it. The wine was a bit strange. Everyone immediately got a corked character to it. When I finally poured my glass and tried it, I found a bit of an old-wine mustiness to it and a small but noticible TCA component. But, as I swirled and tasted, the TCA seemed to diminish quite a bit and I could taste the wine underneath it. Then, when I went back & tried it again at the end of the tasting, the corkiness was still very much there. I don't usually notice this kind of behavior with TCA. Some people thought the wine had a raging TCA to it, others thought it not so bad and found it to go away with breathing in the glass.
5. CarlisleZins: I've followed Mike Officer's Zins from the very start, back in his home winemaker days. There are some of the best Zins being made in Calif these days I feel. They have big fruit and big alcohol, but yet seem in balance and not overripe at all. Terrific Zins.
6. TurleyZins: I've followed the Turley Zins from the very start, back in the Helen Turley days. They were, and continue to be, some of my favorite Zins. Despite their high alcohol levels, which I don't find objectionable, they seldom show that overripe character that such ripe grapes can give to a wine. I think that will be harder to do w/ their Paso/Pesenti Zinfandel. The wines from HelenTurley's era gave them the reputation for huge/extracted/oaky Zins. Under Ehren Jordan's care, the wines have seemed to me to be more balanced and restrained. Furthermore, all the Zins are distinctive and representative of their terroir, something that can't always be said of some wineries who produce multiple Vineyard-designate Zins.