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US Zinfandels
2001 Friends.Zin California Zinfandel
Color: Red
Nose: Earth, musty
Taste: Musty, earth, spice
Finish: Spice, fruit, earth
Evaluation: 85 points
2004
2004 Dry Creek "Heritage Clone" Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Spice, pepper, some heat
Taste: Lip smacking with spice, pepper, high alcohol on this one but not a major distracter
Finish: Long with spice, pepper, and earth
Evaluation: Another solid effort form Dry Creek. 88 points
2004 Joel Gott California Zinfandel $$
Color: Medium red
Nose: spice, pepper
taste: spice, earth, pepper
Finish: Flavorful with spice, pepper, and earth
Evaluation: Nice value. 89 points
2004 Marietta Cellars Sonoma Zinfandel $$
Color: Medium red
Nose: Floral, Spice
Taste: spice, Earth
Finish: Nice finish but a little acidic
Evaluation: Everyday drinker but solid 85 points
2004 Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull California Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Pepper, spice, earth
Taste: Spice and earth
Finish: Spice with a medium finish
Evaluation: A good value wine. 85 points
2004 Renwood Old Vine Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Cinnamon, spice, floral
Taste: Same
Finish: Smooth wine not tannic
Evaluation: 88 points
2004 Rosenblum Monte Rosso Zinfandel $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Blueberry, earth, spice
Taste: Fruit explosion with earth and spice
Finish: Very intense with fruits, earth and spice
Evaluation: The best Zinfandel I have had to date. 92 points
Aurora Wines
2004 Jeff Runquist Zinfandel $$$
Color: Dark red
Nose: Spice, earth, pepper
Taste: Spice, cola, cinnamon
Finish: Long with Spice, pepper and earth
Evaluation: Classic zin taste and possesses some solid characteristics. 91 points
2004 Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Musty, spice, plum
Taste: Earth, spice
Finish: Medium with Cinnamon, spice, crushed rock
Evaluation: A nice flavorful wine. 88 points
2004 Trentadue Old Patch Red (Featuring Zin) Sonoma County $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Fruits, little musty
Taste: Spice, cinnamon, with a smooth taste
Finish: Spice with a hint of mustiness on this medium finish
Evaluation: 87 points
2005
2005 Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Fruit and earth
Taste: Spice and earth
Finish: Spice and earth on a short finish
Evaluation: 85 points
2005 Hartford Court Russian River Valley Zinfandel $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Spice, oak
Taste: Spice, oak, floral, jam and heavy
Finish: Floral, spice, oak
Evaluation: A solid wine if you like Zin. 89 points
2005 Rombauer Napa Valley Zinfandel $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Spice, fruit, oak
Taste: Jammy wine with spice, oak, plum, cherry, and vanilla
Finish: Medium and well balanced.
Evaluation: 88 points
2005 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel Rockpile Road Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Rockpile (9/16/2011)
Medium purple. Black licorice, smoke, oak and pine. On the palate jammy fruit and has a medium finish. (88 points)
2005 Sausal Family Old Vine California Zinfandel $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Spice
Taste: Floral, spice, and oak
Finish: Medium and balanced
Evaluation: Solid wine 87 points
2005 Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Floral, pepper, spice
Taste: Floral, spice, and earth
Finish: Long, multi layered finish with floral, spice and pepper
Evaluation: A really nice Zin. 88 points Haskell's
2005 Seven Deadly Zins Lodi Zinfandel $$
Color: Medium red
Nose: Smoke
Taste: Smoke, floral
Finish: Smoke, perfume, floral on this medium finish
Evaluation: Not traditional tasting Zin but very interesting. 87 points
2005 Sin Zin Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Earth, plum
Taste: Spice, pepper
Finish: Spice, pepper
Evaluation: Simple but drinkable 85 points
2006
2006 Buehler Napa Valley Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark Purple
Nose: Spice, cinnamon, oak
Taste: Spice, cedar, cinnamon, acidic, with medium tannins
Finish: Medium with spice, cinnamon, cedar
Evaluation: Average quality. 85 points
2006 Cline California Zinfandel $
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Spice, earth
Taste: A little thin with spice and earth
Finish: Short and a bit off balanced
Evaluation: 83 points
2006 Frank Family Napa Valley Zinfandel $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Raspberries, spice, floral emphasis on beautiful perfume qualities
Taste: Nice with spice, cinnamon, blackberries, raspberries and floral
Finish: Medium to long with tons going on
Evaluation: A beautiful wine 93 points
2006 Hendry Zinfandel Blocks 7 & 22 - USA, California, Napa Valley (9/23/2010)
Really nice wine with blackberries, floral, spice, oak and plum. Concentrated wine with medium tannins. Well done! (92 points)
2006 Le Baron Ranch Zinfandel Three Sisters - USA, California, Sonoma County (5/20/2011)
A nose with a rubbing alcohol sensation along with raspberry and orange jam. The palate is over ripe fruit and minerals. There is a buttery finish on this wine. It is not balanced and chalk up another bad experience with one of my least favorite grapes. (78 points)
2006 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel Rockpile Road Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Rockpile (4/30/2010)
Medium purple. Big nose with spice, smoke, plum and earth. Palate is complex and I love the smoke and oak combo. Medium and concentrated finish. Very well made wine. (91 points)
2006 Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Spice, oak
Taste: Pepper, spice, oak, vanilla
Finish: Medium and average
Evaluation: Average wine 84 points
2006 Trentadue Winery Old Patch Red - USA, California, North Coast (10/6/2010)
Spice, cherry and minerals. Nice inexpensive wine. (85 points)
2006 Zinfatuation Amador County Zinfandel $$
Color: Light purple
Nose: Cranberry, mineral, plum, raspberry
Taste: Smooth and not tannic
Finish: Balanced
Evaluation: Nice find 87 points
2006 Calistoga Cellars Zinfandel - USA, California, Napa Valley (4/6/2010)
An intense wine with smoke, oak, and ripe fruit across the board. Medium finish and enjoy with some ribs. (88 pts.)
2007
2007 Carlisle Zinfandel Papera Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (8/7/2011)
Minneapolis Does a Blind Tasting Part 2 (Tracy's House): The best Zin I have tasted in a while. Perfume, cherry blossoms, blueberries, spice and dark fruits come together on this concentrated wine and it has a long finish. Medium tannins and this should age for five plus years. A really fun wine to drink. (93 points)
2007 Cline California Zinfandel $
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Spice, easter egg dye, floral
Taste: Spice, floral, sweet fruits
Finish: Pleasant but short
Evaluation: Much better then the 06 87 points
2007 Jeff Runquist Zinfandel "Z" Massoni Ranch - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County (5/15/2010)
Way over the top in a bad way. Too much heat on the nose and palate. Spice, dark fruit and a buttery finish. Not nearly as good as other vintages. (84 points)
2007 Lake Sonoma Winery Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (5/15/2010)
Spice, floral and minerals. Nothing over the top but nothing to get excited about either. Medium finish. (85 points)
2007 Orin Swift The Prisoner - USA, California, Napa Valley (11/25/2010)
Not my style with too much heat and over the top spices. Dark fruits, floral and red peppers following. Medium finish. (87 points)
2007 The Other Guys Zinfandel Plungerhead - USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi (4/6/2010)
Sweet fruit and too much smoke. A wine designed for the sipper not the taster with the over the top sweetness in the wine. (83 pts.)
2007 Pedroncelli Zinfandel Mother Clone Dry Creek Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (10/6/2010)
Average Zin with spice, cherry and a bit hot. I had this wine a while ago and it showed better than this bottle. (85 points)
2007 Ridge Zinfandel York Creek - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District (7/14/2011)
Ridge Tasting: Spice, brush, pepper and sweet fruits. I think less Petite Sirah would be an improvement for this wine. The sweet fruit aspect takes away quality. (89 points)
2007 Charles Shaw California White Zinfandel $
Color: Pink
Nose: None
Taste: Sweet, floral
Finish: Out of balance and sweet
Evaluation: Worth around $3 if you like sweet, out of balanced wines 73 points
2007 Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Cherry, raspberry, floral
Taste: A combo of spices, raspberries, cherries, mild oak and vanilla
Finish: Medium and mild tannins. This wine shows a nice balance of earth and fruit tones
Evaluation: A great under $20 value 92 points
2007 Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County (9/16/2011)
Not bad with spice, oak, floral, blueberries and strawberries. Medium finish and not too complex. (89 points)
2007 Turley Zinfandel Dusi Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (9/16/2011)
Much more complex and interesting than the Hayne. Blueberries, raspberries, sour cherry and earth. The heat blew off quick and the wine really improved. This was decanted over three hours and is well made and balanced. (92 points)
2007 Turley Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (9/16/2011)
Over priced wine! Blueberries, cedar, coffee and raspberry on the nose. Really ripe fruit on the palate and medium finish. Decanted 4 hours and I didn't see much improvement over the evolution. (88 points)
2008
2008 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (9/16/2011)
A nice wine with scorched earth, smoke, sour cherry, oak, floral and clay. Good concentration and long finish. Decanted three hours and it needed it. (92 points)
2008 Green & Red Vineyards Zinfandel Chiles Canyon Green and Red - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/23/2010)
Artisan Vineyards/ Haskell's Tasting (Minneapolis): Spice, oak, raspberries and red pepper. A balanced wine overall and one of the better Zins I have had in a while. (90 points)
2008 Ridge Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma County (9/16/2011)
My favorite of the Zins with blueberries, mushrooms, oak, tart fruits, vanilla and spice. Medium to long finish and concentrated flavors. Should age a decade. (93 points)
2008 Ridge Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma County (7/14/2011)
Ridge Tasting: A guility pleasure wine with spice, dust, blackberries, raspberries, and pepper. The fruit is not so over ripe and enjoyable. Medium finish. (91 points)
2008 Ridge Lytton Springs - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (7/14/2011)
Ridge Tasting: Should improve with age. Floral, raspberry, spice and sour cherry. Good acidity and medium finish. (90 points)
2008 Ridge Zinfandel Pagani Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (9/16/2011)
Nice and should improve over time. Dark in color with aromas of floral, spice, blueberries and sour cherry. Medium to long finish and showing good acidity. (92 points)
2008 Ridge Zinfandel Paso Robles - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (7/14/2011)
Ridge Tasting: The best of the Ridge Zinfandel based wines and a testament they should stick to 100% and forget all the blending. Dust, blackberries, raisins, sour cherry and really balance. Medium to long finish. (92 points)
2008 Ridge Zinfandel Ponzo Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (7/14/2011)
Ridge Tasting: Red delicious apple, spice, blueberries, earth and cherry come together for a nice Zinfandel blend. Medium finish. (90 points)
2008 Rombauer Vineyards Zinfandel California - USA, California (2/18/2011)
Minneapolis Wine Club: Blind Tasting $25 Price Point: Why I hate too many Zins. Sweet fruits along with floral, raspberry and some dust. While I have had good Zin in the last year I have had too many that uninspire. (85 points)
2008 Rubus Zinfandel Old Vine - USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi (8/14/2010)
Smoke, blackberries, dried herbs and floral notes dominate this wine. Big finish and no heat on this wine. Well made. (91 points)
2008 Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County (7/7/2010)
Decanted 2 hours and the heat blew off. Cedar, cherry, rapsberries and spices on the nose. On the palate sweet fruits, spices, pepper and cedar. Good medium finish and a reliable Zin year in and year out. (90 points)
2009
2009 Pedroncelli Dry Rose' of Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (9/22/2010)
Solid effort and of course not your mom's White Zin. Strawberry, minerals, roses and raspberries. Full of flavor with just a touch of sweetness. (88 points)
2009 Ridge Three Valleys - USA, California, Sonoma County (7/14/2011)
Ridge Tasting: I have always found this to be an over priced wine for the quality. Blackberries, spice, brush and some heat. Too much jammy fruit for me. (86 points)
2009 Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County (4/8/2011)
A solid effort with spice, sweet fruit, floral and oak. Medium finish and balanced overall. No heat that I typically get from Cali Zin. (90 points)
If you like Zin try an Argentina Malbec. They will have similar qualities but Malbec shows more fruit.