Monday, October 08, 2012

2008 Saddleback Cellars ZINFANDEL "Old Vines" (Napa Valley, Cal.)

A big, dark low-toned, intensely-flavored, and significantly-oaked Zinfandel.  Not my favorite style, but still, very well done.

Fully-saturated, plasma-like, black ruby-crimson.  Low-toned nose of smoky sandstone and earth, minerals, dark blackberry skins, and espresso roast coffee.  Dense flavors immediately coat the mouth, with chocolatey-dark berry flavors and a lot of graphite-inflected minerals.  Dense and large-boned.  Loads of soft tannin and very full body.  Drink this one in mid-winter with a winey stew and it will shine.  B+.  Was $27 from WineAccess.com.

(Sorry, 2007 shown.)


1 comment:

Jim - Wine Club Guide said...

This sounds absolutely delicious, although I tend to agree with you that heavily-oaked Zins are not usually my style. Because of the strong chocolate-berry flavors and the minerality you describe, I wonder if this would hold up well against a very gamey stew - perhaps rabbit, or venison if something was done to offset the leanness of the meat? I've always found that Zinfandels impress people at dinner parties since not as many people drink them with the regularity they should. I look forward to getting a bottle or two of this and trying it with a nice game stew and some good friends!