BULK BUY!
Zinfandel along with a little Petite Sirah from Lodi, California. The wine was aged in neutral (pre-used) French oak.
Sample submitted for review. The ZaZin Old Vine Zinfandel has an SRP of $20 and is available for as low as $15.
From the bottle:
In our travels 'round the California wine country, we occasionally discover amazing heritage vineyards dating back to the late 1800s. The ancient low-yielding vines produce an intensely concentrated and spicy wine. Each year we select the best fruit from these vineyards. The result? ZaZin!
14.9% Alcohol
As we've mentioned before we're big fans of wines from Lodi and the wide variety of wines that can been made so well there. While it's getting harder and harder to say that the area has a signature variety, if anything fits that bill it's Zinfandel. This is thanks to the extremely old vines found all over the region. In the case of today's wine, we're talking about 115 years old!
Vines that old give grapes a depth of flavor and complexity that simply can't be recreated any other way. (see more on that here.) Unfortunately, since one of the very things that helps produce this depth and complexity is lower yields of fruit as vines age, these truly old vine wines are often out of our price range. Not so today thanks to a great deal from a sponsor.
The 2010 Tierra Divina Vineyards ZaZin Old Vine Zinfandel begins with a simply lovely, intoxicating and very strong aroma that's so good it almost generates its own gravitational pull. Sniffing reveals tons of berry notes, well integrated baking spice, licorice and even a bit of banana. Thanks to its smooth mouthfeel and loads of luscious berry fruit interlaced with excellent sweet tea notes, this wine is simply a treat for your tongue. At first blush you might expect a heavier oak treatment was used to produce this wine, but the wonderful complexity from truly old vines are responsible for most of the goodness found here. It's got great balance too, this isn't your over-the-top jammy and hot Zin you often find in California. On the finish the spice and black tea flavors culminate into a wonderful crescendo that resolves into chocolate and coffee notes that linger for what seems like days.
