2001 Hendry Block 28 Napa Valley Zinfandel
My first sniff of this wine while still in the bottle was not promising. I knew I wanted to submit a tasting note, so I was trying to figure out what it smelled like. All I could come up with was dusty cherry with a slight scent of, what, maybe mold? Earth? I gave it a couple of hours in the bottle, (this is always the hardest part for me, I’m very impatient) then poured a glass. It smelled the same, but of course I was not to be deterred. I had purchased this bottle to open on a special day, and this was the day.
I decided to take one for the team, and give it a try. I’m glad I did.
But first things first. The wine is a really lovely dark dark garnet. To me, it seemed a bit thick as it swished around in my glass. This thickness contributed to a velvety mouth feel.
This wine is bursting with fruit. Cherry, blackberry, raspberry. Some nice toasty herbs. It still has that undertone of dust or earth or mold. It occurred to me that maybe this is what people refer to as barnyard. It reminded me of going to the animal barns at the Minnesota State Fair. Not the stinky barns of swine and ovine, but the ones filled with sweet hay and cows, lovingly groomed by 4-Hers vying for a blue ribbon. The place still smelled like cow, but in a really good way. Earthy and substantial.
My first sips noted strong tannins and a bit of heat on the back of my palate. As it opened, the tannins softened and the alcohol stopped shouting for attention.
Great with steak, but drinkable on its own. This wine made me happy happy.
