2006 Steele Vineyard "Pacini Vineyard" "Old Vine" ZINFANDEL (Mendocino County, California)

This was a terrific youthful Zin that is really good now but will benefit from another year in the bottle.

Color: Very dark black ruby color.

Nose: Gorgeous and intense -- spicy black raspberry fruit, sweet cream, and a background note of pine forest.

Mouth: Intensely concentrated, but not overblown, with a youthful angularity in the mouthfeel. Lots of focused fruit and black pepper flavors. Some heat in the long finish (which didn't seem to jibe with the relatively low 13.5% alcohol listed on the label).

Cellar or drink?: It will be hard to resist this focused, yummy, concentrated Zin now, but the angularity should settle down over the next year or so.

Score: 90+.

Price/store: Was $16.99 at Spec's on Smith, making it an excellent value in the brave new world of inflated-price Zins.