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 4 Mile Creek Calif RW (15.1%) 2003: Med.color; rather juicy/grapey some spicy/fragrant light cherry nose; tart/light juicy/grapey/cherry/strawberry/raspberry flavor; med. bright/juicy/grapey/ cherry/strawberry finish w/ light tannins; a bright/frivolous young/Pinot-like red at a great price. $9.00
2. Kunde Estate Century Vines Zin Sonoma Valley Shaw Vnyd (14.5%; www.Kunde.com) 2001: Med.color; attractive spicy/ raspberry/Zin light oak nose w/ no old vine character; soft bright/raspberry/Zin almost DCV/ spicy pleasant/smimple flavor; med.short soft/bright spicy/raspberry finish w/ light tannins; no old vine character I could find; pleasant/simple/drinkable Zin. $21.00
3. Joseph Swan Vnyds Mendocino Zin TW 1977: Med.color; bit toasty/pungent/oak slight minty/menthol cedary/ pencilly/old Zin slight bubble gum (Fleer's) very attractive/spicy some raspberry/earthy complex nose; tart bit dried-out bright/spicy/raspberry light toasty/pencilly/menthol perfumed flavor; med.long spicy/pencilly/menthol slight raspberry/earthy bit dried out/astringent finish w/ light tannins; a lovely/complex nose but a bit dried-out on the palate; in great condition for a 25 yr old Zin. $nc (R&LB)
4. Joseph Swan Vnyds Russian River Valley Frati Ranch Zin (12.5%) 1991: Med.dark color; rather earthy/pungent slight herbal/licorice/blackberry slight funky/wet-basement (not corked) some complex nose; tart bit dried-out/astringent pungent/charred/toasty/oak bit herbal rather licorice/blackberry some dusty/earthy flavor; med.long tart slight dried-out/tannic pungent/charred/smokey/oak some licorice/pungent/black berry slight herbal/funky finsih w/ good complexity; should be drunk up now. $16.00
5. Joseph Swan Vineyards Russian River Valley FratiRanch Zin (15.6%) 1995: Very dark color; strong pungent/toasty/ charred blackberry/boysenberry/Zin perfumed/complex nose; bit alcoholic pungent/toasty/charred/oak blackberry/boysenberry/licorice/Zin bit dusty/old vine some black pepper/Dr.Pepper bit dried-out flavor; very long blackberry/boysenberry/Dr.Pepper/spicy/Zin bit charred/toasty/oak bit astringent finish; probably close to its peak or a bit beyond. $25.00
6. Joseph Swan Vineyards Russian River Valley Frati Ranch Zin (14.1%) 1996: Very dark color; more bright/spicy/ raspberry/blackberry/Zin light pungent/toasty complex/perfumed/spicy nose; tart more bright spicy/ blackberry/raspberry kight pencilly/cedary/toasty slight licorice/pungent flavor; very long/lingering bright/blackberry/raspberry light pencilly/cedary complex finish w/ light tannins; a classic example of mature/complex old Zin. $30.00
7. Novy Alder Springs Vnyd Mendocino County (45% Grenache, 32% Mourvedre, 15% Counoise, 8% Syrah; 15.0%) 2002: Med.color; very fragrant/perfumed/strawberry/Grenache/Nehi soda pop very spicy bit dusty nose; tart very spicy/perfumed/fragrant bright/vibrant/Grenache/strawberry/Nehi slight earthy/dusty flavor; very long perfumed/fragrant/spicy/Grenache/strawberry finish w/ light tannins; a bright/vibrant very spicy/strawberry Grenache at a great price. $25.00
8. Novy Carlisle Vnyd Russian River Valley Zin (16.0%) 2002: Med.dark color; spectacular blackberry/raspberry/ Zin very spicy/old vine dusty bit licorice very perfumed/fragrant/aromatic/cherry light pencilly/oak nose; tart very bright/vibrant perfumed/bright cherry/raspberry/Nehi soda pop light pencilly/oak slight dusty flavor; very long/lingering/elegant very perfumed/cherry/raspberry/spicy/Zin light oak/ pencilly finish w/ light tannins; very Nalle/DCV-style Zin w/ loads of perfumed aromatics; lovely/ aromatic Zin. $30.00
9. Ridge Calif Zin Paso Robles (100% Zin; DusiRanch/SLOCounty; 14.8%; Drk: 6/03-6/08) 2002: Med.dark color; very strong/jammy/blackberry/spicy loads of fruit bit rosemary/spicy nose; soft/lush ripe/jammy/ blackberry/spicy round/smooth flavor; med.long soft/jammy/blackberry/Zin/spicy finish w/ light tannins; classic ripe/jammy/PR Zin, bit lacking in structure; for the near term. $25.00
10. Ridge Calif Zin Dusi Ranch/Paso Robles/SLOCounty (14.9%; 41 brls: Drk: 11/09-11/11) 2002: Slightly darker color; deeper more spicy/complex more licorice/chocolaty ripe/jammy/blackberry more perfumed/spicy nose; soft much richer very spicy/licorice/blackberry/chocolaty/Zin light milky/Am.oak flavor; long deeper/very spicy/chocolaty/licorice ripe/blackberry/jammy/Zin slight oak finish w/ light tannins; bigger/richer very good Paso Zin.  $24.00
11. Ridge Calif Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley (75% Zin, 20% PS, 5% Carignane; 14.4%; Drk: 11/03-11/13) 2002: Med.dark color; lovely spicy/raspberry/blackberry slight leafy/earthy light oak/ toasty nose; tart spicy/raspberry/blackberry bit tannic/hard bit simple flavor; long/attractive spicy/ raspberry/blackberry slight earthy/dusty light smokey/oak finish w/ light tannins; attractive/forward Zin but not the structure of the 2001.  $30.00
12. Ridge Calif Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley (76% Zin, 17% PS, 7% Carignane; 14.7%; Drk: 12/07-12/12) 2001: Dark color; bigger/riper licorice/blackberry/raspberry very spicy/perfumed/aromatic some complex nose; tart big/rich/ripe blackberry/raspberry very spicy/aromatic light toasty/oak bit dusty/old vine flavor; very long very spicy/blackberry/raspberry/boysenberry rather spicy/peppery/ licorice light toasty/oak finish w/ fair tannins; needs age; one of the best LS Zins in recent yrs; more like RRV than DCV Zin in style; great LS. $30.00
13. Ridge Calif/Russian River Valley Ponzo Vnyd Zin (96% Zin, 2% Carignane, 2% PS; 14.4%; Drk: 6/08-6/10) 2002: Med.color; attractive spicy/blackberry bit peppery/boysenberry light milky/Am. oak nose; tart bit funky/horsecollar/earthy some peppery/blackberry/RRVZin slight lean/hard/raspberry light oak/toasty flavor; med.long spicy/peppery/blackberry slight funky/earthy/dusty old vine light oak finish w/ light tannins; attractive RRV Zin. $25.00
14. Elyse Zin Morisoli Vnyd Napa Valley (15.2%) 2001: Very dark color; very ripe/plummy/ blackberry/chocolaty bit stemmy/herbal/ dishwater/weird nose; off-dry bit hot/overripe blackberry/plummy/chocolaty over-the- top flavor; long rather overripe/plummy/chocolaty/boysenberry bit hot/alcoholic/late-harvesty finish w/ light tannins; bit too much on the overripe/late-harvesty side for my tastes. $28.00
15. J.Fritz Late Harvest Dry Creek Valley Zin (17%; SaH: 37 Brix, RS: 6.5 Brix) 1994: Med.color; very intense/ very ripe boysenberry/blackberry/jammy/chocolaty bit licorice/chocolate bit complex nose; soft/sweet rich/ripe/chocolaty/boysenberry/jammy loads of fruit some complex flavor; very long rather sweet intense/very ripe/chocolaty/jammy/boysenberry some complex finish w/ light tannins; lots of very ripe Zin fruit but not raisened/pruney in character; will go a long time yet. $17.00/hlf

1. Swan Mendocino '77: A month or so ago I tasted a bunch of my old Swan Zins, including this '77. I lamented the fact that I was shorted a btl of this wine when I picked up my order at Joe's back in 1979, and speculated that Joe's teenage daughters had had a btl of this at the expense of TomHill's stash sitting there. Shortly after I posted those notes, what should show up on my doorstop but my missing btl, direct from the wnry. Although there was no mea culpa or confession on Lynn (Swan) Bergland's part, I sure she was more that happy to finally put to rest all those guilt feelings she had harbored all these many yrs!! Typical of the kind of service you get from SwanVnyds, even if it takes 20+ yrs to make things right. Mucho thanks to Rod & Lynn. Although this btl was still very healthy and alive, I thought it was a little further along than the btl we had a month ago, which was taken from my cellar, which runs on the very cold side during the Winter (low 30's).
2. CarlisleVnyd: This is Mike Officer's vnyd, formerly known as the PelettiVnyd on the DeLoach btlgs. Quintessential RRV/old vine Zin vnyd. Most goes to the Mike's Carlisle label, some to Adam & Diana. Very different style of Zins, based on the 2001 tasting. The Novy tastes like a RRV Zin made by a Pinot producer; the Carlisle like a Zin made by a Syrah producer. Both terrific wines from an exceptional vnyd.
3. 2002 Zin Vintage: Thus far that I've tasted, my take on the 2002 Zin vintage is that it resembles a bit the 2000 vintage, but a bit bigger and richer. Lots of glorious Zin fruit, but not the structure for aging of the 2001 vintage. So probably midway betwixt the 2000 and 2001 in terms of greatness in Zins. Of course, YMMV, depending upon the producer. PonzoVnyd: This is a new single-vnyd Zin btlg for Ridge. It formerly went into their Sonoma blends. This one data point doesn't convince me that the vnyd is of the stature of Geyserville or LS or even Nervo. We'll have to see what future vintages bring, the jury's still out on Ponzo. But you have to trust Draper's judgement that this has something different to offer.  Jeez...I wish Ridge would go back to making Fiddletown (Eschen), Shenandoah (Esola), Occidental (vonWeidlich), and Mendocino Zins... those were a MAN'S Zin!! I miss them terribly. Jeez...I even miss their CoastRange PinotNoir for that matter. Heck (tame Kansas colloquialism), I'd even drink their WhiteZin again. ResidualSugar: I get pee-o'd (tame Kansas colloquialism refering to a bodily function) when they put the RS on the label in Brix. The % RS is what you taste on the palate, not the Brix RS. It's easy to measure the Brix RS (with a hydrometer), so that's why the do it, rather than % RS, a more complicated measurement. There is a nomogram that, given the Brix RS and the % alc, allows you to read off the % RS; but I hate having to go into my (vast) archives to retrieve it. Surely there must be some software out there that allows you to make that conversion???
4. AlderSpringsVnyd: This is a relatively new vnyd up North of the primary vnyds of the UkiahValley of Mendocino, up in a heavily-forested area (as I understand). The wines I've had thus far from this vnyd by Adam & Diana Lee have been mightly impressive. I'm dying to try a Syrah from there (Pax or Copain?). It's a vnyd I think we'll be seeing great thing from in the future. FratiRanch: Always my favorite of the Swan Zins, this is a classic RRV Zin vnyd. They typically are one of the best Zins made in Calif every year. I was a bit surprised about how far along the '91 was, as I had assumed it was going to be one of those 20+ yr Zins. Maybe it'll make it, though.

   TomHill