2008 Joel Gott Amador County Dillian Ranch Zinfandel

The question I ask you is, who is Joel Gott? Something with railroads, yes? Wait that's John. He also spells and pronounces his name differently. I wonder if he's related to Joel Gott? Costco - $20 - Zinfandel - alright.

I hate alliteration, but I'll be damned if there isn't some Port poached peaches on the nose, Strawberry in a Starburst kinda way, or maybe it's cherry in a Skittles kinda way?

The palate brings cherry licorice, plum, vanilla, very nice acid, good tannic backbone

The finish brings more of the same - mildly sweet cherry licorice with a sweet tobacco kind of thing.

I quite dig this - I must start buying more Zin.

Score: 89

2007 Napa Cellars Zinfandel

This goes for $15. This may be an unfair thing to say but I view this as a grocery store sorta wine...I don't know if I've seen it at an actual wine shop, it's more like the middle to top shelf of the local large chains. That's not a criticism, more giving you an idea of where to find it.

Black cherry, chocolate...actually, quite a bit of chocolate and some coffee as well for a nice mocha nose.

Fruit forward, but enough depth to not be fruit bomby....cherry and blueberry for the most part, but some stone fruit comes through along with a bit of very mild green spice.

Almost some Dr. Pepper like qualities on the finish along with peaches, like the red peach flesh around the pit.

Not too shabby....not shabby at all. Approachable and balanced enough that I'd have no qualms serving this at some sort of BBQ this summer.

Score: 87

2007 Woot Cellars Boss Monster

Woot Cellars. If you don't know them, you can find them at wine.woot.com. Most of the time they sell discounted wine (only one item every few days) but a few times a year they sell six packs of their own private label for sixty-five bucks with shipping. This was offered a bit before Christmas.

Red and especially black licorice on the nose.

Quite a bit of black licorice on this one - not anise, but actual licorice candy. I'm getting ultraripe black strawberry for fruit with an array of dried green spices that are integrated nicely, mint and basil specifically. It's all balanced and quite tasty. Nothing groundbreaking but solid all around.

Sour cherry on the finish with some blackberry fading in the distance.

I think so....ten bucks is a very good price for a wine of this quality. Well played....

Score: 88

2007 Seven Deadly Zins Lodi Zinfandel

Seven deadly Zins, seven ways to win, seven holy paths to hell and your trip begins. This is a fifteen dollar bottle, though you can often find it on sale for less. I've wanted to try for some time now.

A very thick nose - black cherry, almost cough syrupy.

Smooth - a bit of smoke, a bit of cherry, a bit of plum, a bit of vanilla, a bit of red licorice, even a tad bit of black licorice. A bit jammy, but not overly so. A bit sweet, but by no means sickeningly so (though enough to knock off a few points). I'd gladly serve this at a BBQ with burgers and I can absolutely see this with ribs.

Vanilla, cedar, and cherry on the finish.

A big wine, tasty, and not terribly simple. I'm digging this. If I found it on sale I could see grabbing another bottle. If you (or someone you love) is a fan of Yellow Tail or that sort of thing, this is a tremendous next step. It's big and slightly sweet, but it's a clear step up in quality.

And now for some Maiden....



Score: 86

2006 Robert Biale Zinfandel Napa Ranches

Alright, so we've had a fair amount of wine over the years and on occasion splurge on fancy ($30+) bottles of various things, today I figured we should try a Zin since we really haven't had any expensive Zins. The retail on this is $40, but you best believe the only reason why I bought it was that it was half off on a end of bin sale. Nice.

A big nose – loads of blackberry and black pepper.

Interesting....very interesting. Alcoholic burn, black pepper, and red fruit – sort of a peach/plum hybrid thing with some cranberry and a whole lot of gooseberry, even pomegranate gets in the mix. I don't even know how to describe this, it's sort of light in mouthfeel but big in body – that's contradictory, I know. It's thin, easy drinking, but if you keep it on the palate you get all sorts of stuff – fruit, spice, loads of cinnamon – almost like a Red Hot candy – and a punch of black pepper. Served blind, I would've never guessed this was a Zin.

The finish has some interesting notes of cola, bell pepper, and a bit of chocolate.

My gut reaction was “this is a joke at $40” but the more it opened, the more I thought about it, and the more I really gave it a chance – I have to say, this is a damn good Zin, probably the best we've had of the varietal (that admittedly is saying very little), and has perhaps given me a nice kick in the pants to explore a grape we've largely ignored.

Wine: 8.5
Value: Pass (it's good, very good in fact, but I can't say it's a value).

2003 GFWC Zinfandel

I picked this up for about $13 at the Glunz Family tasting room in Long Grove, Illinois. To be honest, most of the regular Glunz table wines don't do much for me, but I found this one to not only be better, but to be a pretty solid wine.

Before anything else – this had a ton of sediment so if you have a bottle you may want to keep it upright for a couple days before consuming.

Strawberry and oak on the nose.

A lot of Zins are fruit bombs but this one is very nicely balanced. Strawberry, cherry, oak, black pepper, and a hint of tobacco.

Some spicy notes come through on the finish – cherry pie filling and a bit of black pepper.

On the second day, some oak and funky notes come through. The palate still has a nice balance of fruit, oak, and spice but what's new is some strong overripe blueberry, cola, and root beer notes. Black pepper and cinnamon, plus a bit of strawberry and plum linger on the finish.

Well, this has got to be among the best Illinois wines I've had – excellent QPR – nicely balanced and a great overall bottle.

2004 M. Cosentino The Zin Zinfandel

Calling a wine “The Zin” seems somewhat boastful, but I will refrain from holding this to a higher standard than other Zinfandel. This one ran us around $14 on sale, I don’t recall the regular price but it did strike me as a deal.

The nose is black fruit...dark berries and plums.

Lots of berries on the palate, blackberry, raspberry, plus cherries, medium tannins, and a fair amount of oak. I’m also getting some anise which isn’t really working in this.

The finish lingers with raspberry and cherry.

Certainly not bad, but it’s not really grabbing me. I can’t say I’d buy it again but I also wouldn’t dissuade someone from buying it if they wanted a Zinfandel for under $15.

2005 Gnarly Head Old Vines Zinfandel

This one was going for $8 and came with praise from a friend of mine so I figured I’d pick it up.

The nose hits you with alcohol–not too shocking when it’s 14.5%. Other than that, it’s pretty green—-bell pepper in particular–which is a bit troubling.

The palate releases all fears though–blackberry, overripe strawberry, plums, some oak and spice on the palate–overall I’d call it jammy. The tannins are smooth and this is a very easy drinking wine. We’re eating it with pizza which is a great match, but I’d imagine any sort of BBQ would compliment this well. This one needs a lot of time to open up, pour your glasses at least an hour before you drink.

Without decanting, the finish has a bit of burn and fades very quickly. After letting it open for about an hour, the alcohol burn is no longer present and I get plenty of long lasting blueberry, though there’s a peculiar green taste in the background—if you’re drinking this with food it’s not detectable, but on it’s own it’s there. Present or not, it’s still a lot better with some time to open, and for $8 it’s not going to be perfect.

In spite of the minor problems, I’d say this one is strongly recommended and I’d buy it again without hesitation.