2006 Ottimino ZINFANDEL "Ottimino Vineyard" (Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, Cal.)

Ottimino is a relatively small production Zinfandel specialist known for making structured, age-worthy, balanced Zins that have lower alcohol and less jamminess than many of Zin producers that get more press.  The Russian River Valley is a little cooler than most of the other regions where Zin is grown in Sonoma and Napa, so I imagine that makes it a bit easier to achieve this style there.  This wine, from one of the younger vineyards Ottimino bottles, was very good.  As the vines get older, I expect wines from this vineyard to add a little more depth to the mid-palate.

Surprisingly youthful (for a 5 year old Zin) dark ruby color.  Deep nose of ripe blackberry, smoky peat, and baker's chocolate (the latter probably from new oak).  In the mouth, an immediate rich presence of inky, chocolatey, plummy fruit coats the mouth, and there quite a bit of tannin too.  A little hollowness in the mid-palate then leads to a dark, smoky, chocolatey finish where the tannin coating the sides of your mouth is the last thing to leave.  Drink over the next 2 years.  B+.    I got this as part of a 6-bottle Ottimino sampler from Wineaccess.com, at a price that worked out to about $22 per bottle.