WTN: Wine Tasting Notes: Wild Hare Zinfandel
$3.99 at the Grocery Outlet. What can I say? I'm cheap. I buy lots of wine at the Grocery Outlet, and Trader Joe's when I can get there.
It's not a great wine. The Barons Rothchild are not shaking in their boots over this one. Okay, maybe that's not a fair comparison, since this is a Zinfandel, not a Cabernet Sauvignon. Well, the people at Ridge aren't going to lose any sleep over this wine, either.
But it's not bad. My first impression was that there was a lot of fruit in the nose, as I decanted it. My first sip was very pleasant, fruity and nicely acidic. It had the berry flavors I expect from Zin. Later on, I noticed that it also had a touch of sweetness. I didn't notice any tannins. We were having a spicy tuna mac for dinner, and it went well with it. The hint of sweetness went nicely with the heat, and there were no tannins to fight with the tuna.
I'd say that this would be a nice wine to sip at a party. Rich, fruity flavors, nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet, it's what one would expect from an "animal label" wine. The label shows a rabbit - or hare, I presume - kicking back on the beach with a glass of wine. 15.1% alcohol, so it's not a lightweight, but it didn't seem hot to me, perhaps because of the fruit and sweetness. As I said, not a great wine, but, at $3.99, a good value, if this is the kind of wine you like. I picked up a Wild Hare Cabernet Sauvignon, too, but I haven't tried that one yet.