Opened this tonight to go with my roasted eggplant/caramelized onion on olive bread. 15.5% alcohol, bought for somewhere on the low side of $25 (probably around $22, but I can't remember for sure).
Deep purple in the glass, with a youthful red rim. Nose is more meaty than zinny, with smoke, dusty herbs, and very dark, plummy fruit. In the mouth, it's lean and a bit tight, with the dark fruit and alcohol lurking behind the acidity and tannins rather than submerging them. There's a nice combination of sweet and savory-herbaceous notes in the mid-palate. Long and complex finish. Carries the alcohol well, although there's a little heat as the wine warms up. It's a pretty solid mouthful of wine, but one that's actually better with food than without (particularly nice with the olive bread). Hard to say which direction it's going in terms of aging, but I think it's worth keeping a few around to find out.
This is one good zinfandel, and proof that foothill zins don't have to be goopy-oily baked fruit bombs. One of the best I've had from anywhere in a long time. The only downside is that the stuff is so good I'm having a tough time putting a cork in the bottle and sticking it in the fridge!