On Greg’s palate this is an 89 pointer from one of my favorite regions of Spain – Jumilla. This has a deep red color and the aromas incite tart red raspberries and earth. On the palate it is acidic, which I love, and tannic with earthy red fruits just like the nose. There are very subtle hints of licorice and plums. I wish I had more of the $15 wine I got from Wine Library.
Rombauer used to make awesome zins in the early 90’s. Now they are over ripe and over extracted. This is so typical of California zins these days. The once present black pepper is no where to be found. It is a fruit bomb verging on a dessert wine. Some love this newer style zin. Not me. I pine for the glory days when they were spicy, not too fruity and complex as hell. Bring back my favorite grape. It’s not expressed in this bottle. That being said, for today’s zins, this is one of the better ones. There is structure and interesting flavors. It’s just way too sweet for my tastes. I would give this one 85 points for the memories of Rombauer zins of the past.
I picked up this steal of a deal at winelibrary.com a couple of weeks ago. They were offering it for $29.99 – about twenty bucks off their regular price. And I have to say it was well worth it! It is not your typical California pinot noir. It is much more in the Burgundian style. You can see it has a nice red color but not too dark. The nose is full of red berries and I get a hint of watermelon. Interesting to say the least. On the palate it has huge fruit and a wonderful balanced acidity. It has some hints of toasted oak but, much to my liking, it is very subtle and not overpowering. There are some fascinating rose floral notes that permeate this wine and along for the ride with the cherries in the mouth come raspberry flavors. Mix that all up with a bit of damp earthiness and you have a glass full of goodness. I like this wine very much. Rating? Oh, I’d easily give it 90 points. It opens up beautifully after an hour or so.
Tasted this old zin tonight. Here’s my take on it.
I tasted the 2004 La Millière Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the Rhone Valley. A complex wine with aromas of red currant and strawberry with some peat. The flavors of red fruits comes through right away with red cherries on the mid palate. This wine has a nice focussed acidity that goes well with the fruit. Rated 92 pts by Steve Tanzer and I agree with that.