2009 Rabbit Ridge ZINFANDEL "Estate Grown" (Paso Robles, Cal.)

A bit too oaky and overripe for my taste.  Those who like massive, thickly-fruity Zins with lots of new oak will like this better than I did.

Dark ruby with a hint of brick.  Rich, very ripe nose: Sweet blackberry syrup and loads of smoky wood.  Low-toned in the mouth, with inky flavors of dark, dry blackberry syrup, sweet oak, and graphite.  Very low acidity and loads of body.  Concentrated, but a bit overripe and out of balance (the label says 14.9% alc., which isn't that far over the top for Zin, but it tasted far riper than that).  Very fine-grained tannin coats the mouth in the finish.  B-.  Was $15.57 at Spec's on Weslayan and Bissonnet.

2009 Frei Brothers ZINFANDEL Dry Creek Valley (Cal.)

Dry Creek Valley is arguably the best area in the world for Zin, and this one has a nice nose but in the mouth is overripe, overblown, ponderous, and sweet.  It's not expensive, but don't bother unless you like that style.

Soft, dark black ruby.  Rich nose of earthy, ripe, slightly pruney blackberry syrup, roasted sweet baking spices, and smoky coals.  Rich and fleshy in the mouth, but heavy and one-dimensional.  Impressive amount of extract, but there's no acidity and a substantial amount of residual sugar, making it a cloying mouthful.  C.  Was $14 at Spec's on Weslayan.

2009 Laurel Glen !ZA ZIN (Zinfandel) "Old Vines" (Lodi, Cal.)

Finally!  A Lodi Zin I can really get behind!  This was very, very good.  Did not have the muddled, undefined, flabby fruit I get out of lots of Lodi Zins.  This is purportedly from 100+ year-old vines grown in the Mokelumne River sector of Lodi (which is said to have the best -- which for wines means "worst" --soil for wines).  This wine had seamlessly intense, mouthcoating fruit, but was not heavy or ponderous at all.

Deep purple ruby.  Intensely fruity nose of tangy blackberry and plum (hint of rhubarb too) along with sweet, dry gravel scents.  Intense flavors attack the palate with dense cherry cough syrup fruit accented with a chalky earthiness.  Good acidity for a wine this ripe, and a long, pure finish with copious but soft tannin.  Not as elegant and seamless as Dry Creek, or as pure and razor-sharp as the best Paso Robles Zins, but very good in a unique style.  B+.  Was just under $17 at Spec's on Smith.

(Sorry, 2007 shown).

2007 Fritz ZINFANDEL (Dry Creek Valley, Cal.)

A good value in a medium-weight, intensely minerally Zin.

Dark ruby garnet.  Medium intensity, inviting nose of warm vanilla, spicy blackberries, and salty, stony minerals.  Soft and fruity, lots of up-front blackberry fruit, along with a striking saline minerality.  Good acidity and a fair amount of tannin in the finish.  Good, not great concentration, and a medium-long, dry finish.  Solid B.  I got this for $14 and change at Spec's on Weslayan.

2008 Wine Guerrilla ZINFANDEL (Dry Creek Valley, Cal.)

A very good value, flavorful Zin.

Dark ruby garnet.  Pleasantly rustic nose of dark blackberries, roasted green herbs, and brambly sandstone.  In a leaner more rustic style than most Zins, this wine has drying flavors of blackberry, brambly underbrush, and scorched earth.  Good acidity and a bit of tannin in the medium length finish give some structure.  Would pair well with rustic, assertive dishes.  B+.  $14.73 at Spec's on Weslayan.

(Sorry, 2009 shown)

2007 Trinitas OLD VINE CUVEE (Mendocino County, Cal.)

This is very good and a good value, but neither the label nor the Internet discloses what varietals make up this wine.  There's obviously a lot of Zinfandel, but beyond that I'd only be guessing.

Nearly saturated blackish ruby with some violet.  Gorgeous nose of sandstone, baking spices, sweet cream, and ripe black raspberries.  Dense, ripe fruit coats the palate in a soft-textured blast.  Fills the mouth quickly with fruit, then displays loads of sweet, spiced gravel notes, and ends texturally with a fair amount of soft tannin.  My only quibble is that there's some (barely) perceptible residual sugar in the finish.  Very nice.  B+/A- (depending whether you can deal with the bit of residual sugar).  Was $14 at Spec's on Smith.

2007 Ridge "Dusi Ranch" ZINFANDEL (Paso Robles, Cal.)

Notes from memory here, as I had this at a dinner with friends at Harris' Steakhouse in San Francisco last week.

Short version:  one of the best Zins I've ever had.  Longer impressions:  Ripe and fragrant, with great minerality.  Perfect balance, ripe and full but with nice balancing acidity.  No jamminess.  No heat in the finish.  Absolutely stunning texture.  Plush but firm.  A+.

2007 Mazzocco "West Dry Creek" ZINFANDEL Reserve (Cal.)

A luxurious wine.  No other way to say it.

Dark, sedate black ruby color.  Rich, voluptuous, sexy nose of sweet, smoky balsa wood and oodles of ripe, oozing blackberries, along with warm, baking spice-inflected sandstone.  Richly-fruited, dense, full, and velvety soft in the mouth, with mouth-filling, deep-toned berry fruit and a deep-toned minerality in the back half of the palate.  Loads of very soft tannin buried underneath.  Very hedonistic.  A.  Drink this over the next one to two years.  My brother and sister-in-law got this direct from the winery and gave it to me, so I didn't have to pay the high-price tag this commands.  Thanks, guys.

2009 REDS "Old Vines" (Lodi, Cal.)

Long-time readers know I'm usually pretty critical of wines from Lodi, but I wanted to give this one a shot because it's made by Patrick Campbell, former owner of Laurel Glen, who made his reputation making stellar Sonoma Cabernets, but apparently has quit that to focus on making Lodi wines.

This blend of primarily old vine Zin, along with old vine Carignane and Petite Sirah was a good, solid wine, with lots of flavor, but it's still got that muddled fruit thing that I find in lots and lots of Lodi reds. By muddled, I mean that the fruit just doesn't seem as vibrant and focused as that from similarly old vines in other well-regarded regions. But this doesn't have it nearly as much as most Lodi old vine Zins.

Almost saturated violet-tinged black ruby. Winey nose of minerals and ripe, tangy generic berry fruit. Lots of that generic berryness hits the palate right away but fades pretty quickly into a full-bodied winey character. Not as flabby, loamy, or muddled as most Lodi reds. B. For $8 and change (at Spec's on Smith), it's a good, solid value, but it's kind of a blunt instrument. Of course, at that price-point, there isn't much that's much better, but I generally prefer a good, cheap, zesty Spanish Garnacha or fuller, richer Monastrell.

(I also bought a bottle of Campbell's 2009 ZaZIN!, which is basically his best selection of super-old vine Zin from the best sub-area in Lodi, and am hopeful that that one will finally sell me on Lodi. We'll see.)

2006 Trinitas ZINFANDEL "Old Vine" (Contra Costa County, Cal.)

I really like the various "old vine" Zins and other varietals and blends I've had from this unique grape-growing area. The soil is absolutely unique in California in that its deep, almost pure sand with very little organic material. The wines tend to have a slow-building depth of flavor, and there's more similarities across varietals here than there are similarities with the same varietals grown in other areas of California.

This one -- made from 100+ year old vines -- was very nice and an excellent value.

Dark mulberryish ruby color. Looked more youthful than a 5-year old Zin. The first night there was a medium intensity, dark and brooding nose of baker's chocolate, dusty blackberries, and warm gravel scents. There were similarly dark, low-toned flavors that exuded a quiet power, with inky blackberry extract, charred sandstone, and lots of minerals (and a bit of black peppercorn). On night two, it was much more fruit-forward, with intense, clingy blackberry fruit throughout the palate and into the very long finish. Mouth-coating extract but no jamminess whatsoever. The second night it displayed a lot more tannic structure too. Unlike most Zinfandels, I think this one could age well another 2-3 years. The first night I gave it a B+, but on night 2 I upped it to an A-. Was $14 and change at Spec's on Smith.

2007 Summers "Four Acre Zin" ZINFANDEL (Napa Valley, Cal.)

Another excellent, reasonably-priced Zin from this Calistoga area producer. (I reviewed another Zin from this producer here.)

Dark ruby-garnet color. Fragrant nose oozes out of the glass with smoky sandstone scents, baking spices, and sappy blackberry juice. Deliciously rich fruit coats the mouth, with a perfumey spiciness and loads of gravelly minerals. Long, long finish with pure fruit and just the barest tad of peppery heat. Really good acidity for such a voluptuous wine, too. A- I think this one was around $17 at Spec's on Weslayan, but I will verify when I track down the receipt.

2007 Pezzi King ZINFANDEL (Dry Creek Valley, Cal.)

A textbook Dry Creek Zin. Loads of ripe fruit, good minerality and balance. Excellent value too. Whenever I get that Zin itch, a Dry Creeker like this one scratches it.

Very luminescent dark ruby. Richly fruited nose of spiced black cherry and black raspberry fruit, along with some classic Dry Creek earthy, stony notes. Full-bodied, concentrated ripe flavors of spicy blackberry and cherry. Good acids too for a wine this ripe. Very nice. A-. Drink over the next year. Was $16.99 at Spec's on Richmond.

2008 Dashe ZINFANDEL (Dry Creek Valley, Cal.)

A classy Zin with everything in perfect balance, and in a textbook Dry Creek Valley style.

Dark ruby with a bare hint of violet. Beautiful nose of ripe, tangy raspberries and mountain berries; hints of lemon juice and smoky balsa wood. Gorgeously balanced in the mouth. Not too large in scale, with good acids and perfectly ripe fruit and stony minerals. Good concentration. Long finish with lots of soft tannins. Clearly this was consciously made in an elegant style that tries (successfully) to avoid "blockbuster syndrome" -- not that I'm against a big, dense Zin every now and again! 90. Was $22 at Spec's on Smith.

2007 Peter Franus ZINFANDEL (Napa Valley, Cal.)

A big, ripe, but still-in-balance Zin.

Fairly saturated dark black ruby. Big, briary, spicy black raspberry "Zin" nose, with some sweet smoky scents and some chalky, powdered minerals. Deep, weighty, full-bodied, with flavors dark raspberry and baker's chocolate. Gobs of soft tannin and very good, fairly crisp acidity for its size. Massive, but not too ripe or heavy. Will keep another 2 years or so. 89. $24 at Spec's on Smith.

2006 John Robert Eppler ZINFANDEL (Paso Robles, Cal.)

Eh. Decent, but a bit out of balance.

Very dark black ruby. Disjointed nose showing some ripe berries, but very low-toned, almost bitter minerals underneath. Very full-bodied, with low acid ripe Zin flavors marred by too much alcoholic pepperiness and not enough acidity. Slightly bitter finish. All the earmarks of being picked way too ripe, particularly for a Paso Robles Zin -- whose best features are their vibrancy, crisp berry fruit, and stony minerality. 79. Was $15 at Spec's on Weslayan.

Speaking of Zins . . .

Had two very good and very different Zins at Abe & Louie's in Boston last week. The 2007 Storybook Mountain "Mayacamas Range" was more forward than I expect from this winery, which made its reputation making crisp, tight Zins that needed bottle age to round out. It had very bright, focused, and pure Zinfandel fruit (ripe cherry and blackberry), but was very soft and drinkable, with a bit of residual sugar noticeable. The 2007 Ridge Geyserville was more subdued and low-toned, with more complexity and a no residual sugar by contrast. Both very good. Not sure which I preferred. I would probably rate both in the upper 80s.

My strip steak was just a bit beyond the medium rare I asked for, but was still flavorful and juicy.

2006 Chateau Montelena ZINFANDEL "The Montelena Estate" (Napa Valley, Cal.)

This was a very good, but somewhat atypical Zin. I thought it seemed more like a large-scaled, rich Bordeaux from Margaux or Pessac (Graves).

Laid-back darkish ruby color. Complex nose of smoky gravel, dark fruitcake, rich, ripe plums, and a bit of blackberry. Soft, deep, and low-toned flavors of baker's chocolate, really ripe plums, sandstone, and smoky minerals. Very full-bodied, with a bit of peppery heat from the alcohol (label says 14.4%), and some chewy tannin in the finish. Definitely at its peak. It was very good, and I'm certainly no winemaker, but it seems to me this would have be ridiculously great if the grapes were picked just a tad earlier, and the wine had a bit less heat and a bit more acidity to focus it. As it is, I'd say it's an 89. Was $26 at Spec's, I believe.

2006 Rancho Zabaco "Monte Rosso Vineyard" ZINFANDEL (Sonoma County, Cal.)

Disappointing for a wine from this vaunted plot of land. As I picked this out, one of the guys at Spec's on Bissonnet off-handed commented to me that the "wine guy" wasn't too impressed with this, but I blew off the comment, since I usually don't listen to random wine store employee recommendations. In this case, that was a mistake. It was decent, but not near worth 30 smackeroos.

Rich, violet-tinged dark ruby. Animated, deep and sweet nose of almost overripe, oozing blackberries and raspberries, with a barest whiff of sandstone. Broad, fat, low-acid flavors of simple dark raspberries that immediately coated the palate, faded a bit, and then re-appeared in a fairly long, metallic/minerally, slightly hot finish. Good, with lots of flavor, but a little flabby and simple. I expect Zins from Monte Rosso to have great structure and lots of minerally complexity. This tasted like it came from very ripe fruit grown on young vines. 86. Was $31 at Spec's on Bissonnet.

2006 Pope Valley Winery ZINFANDEL "Eakle Vineyard" (Napa Valley)

This is an excellent Zin at an excellent price! Big, ripe, and full, but not overblown.

Mature black ruby color. Rich, smoky blackberry jam nose, with some subtle scorched earth notes. Enters the mouth with palate-clinging, low-toned intense flavors of iodine, blackberry extract, and black pepper. Very full-bodied, with a long, low-acid peppery finish. A real mouthful and a great value at $15 and change at Spec's on Smith (I'll list it as "under $15). 89. Drink over the next year.

(Sorry, can't find a photo.)

2006 Peachy Canyon ZINFANDEL "Westside" (Paso Robles, Cal.)

I love the bright feel and intense minerality of Paso Robles Zins. This is a textbook example, and with a reasonable price tag.

Medium dark ruby-plum color. Complex nose of equal parts pungent crushed stones and spicy black raspberry fruit, with a hint of brown sugar. Soft, yet with a leaner style than many of the weighty Zins that are being made these days. Long, minerally, peppery finish. Nice balance. A very food-friendly style of Zin. 88. Was $18 at Spec's on Richmond.