Inspired by a thread asking why Steele wines were so good and reasonably priced, I tried:
1. Steele OldVine Zin PaciniVnyd/MendocinoCnty (13.5%; http://www.SteeleWines.com) 2006: Dark color; strong blackberry/Zin rather Am.oak/vanilla slight spicy/earthy/dusty pleasant nose; huge legs at 13.5%??; soft rather strong vanilla/Am.oak some blackberry/Zin/spicy attractive/simple flavor; med. quite vanilla/oak slight dusty/old vines some blackberry/Zin lightly spicy finish w/ slight tannins; needs yr or two; a pleasant Mendo Zin w/ some dusty/old vines character and lots of Am.oak at an attractive price; $17.50
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I've followed JedSteele's wines from the very start. I first met Jed at a dinner party at DarrellCorti's in the mid-'70's when he was still a student at UC/Davis as I recall. At that time, DeronEdmeades had started his eponyimous wnry up in the AndersonVlly. The wines were pretty dreadful, very amateurish. In fact, for a number of yrs, when my group would encounter a bad wine, we'd call it an Edmeades or a Husch, a derogatory label for the wine.
Fresh out of school, JedSteele became winemaker at Edmeades. What a turnaround that was. From about the '76 vintage, Jed turned out one stunning Zin after another from some of the old vnyds up on the MendocinoRidge...Pacini, Dupratt, Anzelotti. They were as good as any Zins being made in Calif then..Ridge, JoeSwan, DavidBruce, Montevina, HopKiln, Milano. He made some Pinots that were pretty terrific, back afore the AndersonVlly was known as capable of great Pinots. Moreover, he made some Cabs from MendocinoRidge grapes that were bottled under a CortiReserve label that were as good as any being made in Calif then. Who'd thunk...great Cab from the AndersonVlly??
Jed left Edmeades around '80 or '81, to go to work for JessJackson, as I recall. Eventually, he left Jess to start his own Steele label there in LakeCnty. He made some pretty good Chards under his label, but I felt his red wines never measured up to what he made at Edmeades. Not even close. Over the intervening yrs, I've tasted Jed's wines from time to time. I'm always pretty underwhelmed. My feeling is that Jed has lost his passion for his craft and his day job has just become his...day job. I think his son is now more involved w/ the winemaking, so maybe something good will come from that.
This '06 Pacini is, actually, pretty good Zin...better than I was expecting. At a more than fair price. There's no arguing that point. However...Pacini is a great/old vine vnyd. Jed knows how to make a great Zin..he's done it in the past. This wine could be one of the great Zins of Calif. Alas...it is not. Kinda sad I think.
Tom