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.
Rombauer – over the top
July 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment
2007 Papapietro Perry Elsbree Vineyard Pinot Noir
June 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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.
1999 Renwood D’Agostini Bros Zinfandel
July 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Tasted this old zin tonight. Here’s my take on it.
2007 Seghesio Zinfandel
March 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Last evening I popped a bottle of 2007 Seghesio Zinfandel. I paid around $18 for it. I recorded my tasting. Take a look.
A great QPR zin
May 30, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I found a very nice value for under $10. I’ve had Kenwood before and it has always been a pretty ok wine. But this 2005 zinfandel really kicked it for the $9 I dropped for it. It was solid and interesting and quite tasty. Even the color was dark almost inky purple. It was black cherries for days and days on the nose combining with hints of purple plums and spices. Those flavors came through in the mouth as well. Black cherry mixing with spicy apple pie and plums. It was quite smooth with soft tannins. The fruit was pretty big but not over the top. It didn’t reach that thick jammy stage. It was quite balanced and a very good value. I’d even serve this one to guests. I think it’s good drinking now. I’m not sure how long it will last. Probably not more than a few years.