Zinfandel does not age and is best consumed early
High alcohol wines are hot and out of balance
Full throttle Zinfandel does not have true Zinfandel character
While not absolute truths, these thoughts seem to be the case more often than not. That’s why I love it when a wine comes along that contradicts all of these. I drank the 2001 Martinelli Jackass Vineyard Zinfandel over 2 nights. Being that it is a Martinelli, 7 years old, and weighs in at 14.9% alcohol I expected that I may be dumping this down the drain just like I did with the 2002 recently. However, unlike the 2002, this was a pleasure. It actually tasted like Zinfandel with the telltale briar notes which added some interest to the dark fruit. Unlike a lot of big Zinfandels, it did not taste of raisins. It was very full but did not come across as exceedingly heavy. Well balanced. I actually think it drank better on day two and would not be surprised if this actually gets better over the next couple of years.