2007 Rancho Zabaco Dry Creek Valley Reserve ZINFANDEL (Cal.)

Here's a really fine Zin that should be relatively easy to find because of the wide distribution of Rancho Zabaco wines. On the 4th of July, what better wine to drink than the uniquely American Zinfandel. (Yeah, yeah, I know there's a theory that it's related to the Croatian Plavic Mali (sp.?), but nowhere else on earth does this grape taste as great as from California.)

Almost fully saturated luminescent violet ruby. Richly fragrant nose of ripe, sweet spiced blackberries and sweet stony minerals. Mouth-filling, ripe, and full, with concentrated fruit and very good balance for such a ripe wine. very long, spicy, richly-fruited finish, with a bit of gravel making itself known at the end. Has a fair amount of soft tannin to add a bit of structure. 90. Got this for $16 and change at Spec's on Smith, making it an excellent buy.

NOTE: Rancho Zabaco makes several different grades of Zin, so be careful to look for the Dry Creek Valley appellation if you're looking for this one.

(Sorry, can't find a photo of the label, but it's all black and more elegant looking than Rancho Zabaco's usual labels).