2004 Dancing Bull California ZINFANDEL (and Lodi Zins in general)

I haven't had the basic Dancing Bull low-priced Zin in years, so I thought I'd try it again. I was not impressed.

The back label says the grapes were from the Lodi region, and the look, smell, and taste of this wine (unfortunately) confirmed that. A dullish black ruby color, this wine has a very loamy, earthy nose with ripe but slightly stale berries underneath. As it aired out, the earthiness subsided and the fruit freshened somewhat, but this style of Zin (loamy earthiness and dull fruit) is, to my mind, a dead giveaway that the grapes were sourced from the Lodi region.

Here's my biased take on Lodi Zins: in general, I'm not a fan. A little background is necessary. Zinfandel has become much more popular over the last 10 years. In the mid-1990s, it was the ugly duckling of California. As it began to gain in popularity, folks also started catching on to the fact that, all other things being equal, old vines make better wines. As these two phenomena occurred, the demand for "old vine" Zins from top-flight regions (such as Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, Napa, Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, Paso Robles, and Amador County) began to outstrip the remaining supply. Zin producers, to be able to continue to grow their Zin production to meet supply, began buying more and more Zin grapes from Lodi. (Lodi has LOTS of Zinfandel acreage, and before real Zinfandel re-surged in popularity, I imagine that most of it went into the crappy White Zinfandels that plagued dinner parties in the 1980s.) Initially, wineries didn't put the "Lodi" appellation on the bottle, presumably because no one knew where that was. (Lodi? Isn't that an old Creedence song?) They were sold under general appellations like "California" or "North Coast." But there were (and still are) lots of old vines there, so as "Old Vine" Zinfandel continued to regain in popularity, someone had the great idea to begin touting Lodi as a specific appellation for "old vine" Zin. Now, lots of producers actually put "Lodi" on the label.

Now to the part about taste and smell. Lodi is in the north part of the Central Valley, famous for huge fruit and veggie farms. Good wines are typically made in crappy, stony soil. Fruits and veggies like rich, fertile soil. My guess is that there's either something about the Lodi soil or the climate (or both) that is much more conducive to fruits and veggies than great Zin. Nonetheless, because it allows wineries to put "old vines" on the label, wineries are buying Zinfandel grapes there in increasing amounts. But I almost invariably find these wines to lack the vibrancy, depth, and complexity of Zins grown in the better regions listed above. Generally speaking, Lodi Zins are duller in color, duller in smell, and duller in taste. And they can have a wet-loamy earthiness. So don't be fooled -- this is not Class A real estate for Zinfandel. Sure, there's a few nice ones, but they're the exception, not the rule.

Back to Dancing Bull. Although I don't taste wines blind, I would like to think that I could have pegged this one as being from Lodi. It had the decent, simple, dullish, earthy fruit that I think is typical of Lodi. Nothing wrong with it, just a dullard. A non-repeat purchase. But because it's widely-available and cheap, you have my blessing to buy it if you're racing off to a party and have to stop at the local supermarket for something to shove at the hostess. $10 or under just about everywhere. 78.