WTN: Ten Zins

[Jenise]

Had a party last weekend. 100 guests and 60 bottles of zin. Not blind.

2013 Folie à Deux Zinfandel Amador County
Out of ten zins, while having no particular flaw it was perhaps the least liked by all because prominent oak robbed it of any other point of view.

2015 Trentadue Winery Zinfandel La Storia Reserve Block 303 Alexander Valley
Seductive sweetness (sweetest on the table), blackberry and black raspberry fruit and a hint of Old Spice after shave that's probably more about the oak then the grape. I liked the '14 a lot; this, not so much.

2016 Peachy Canyon Zinfandel Westside Paso Robles
Liked it better than the last CT reviewer, though he/she has a point. It IS a relatively soft, demure wine for Paso, but for me therein lies its appeal. It's more red fruit than black, and more about finesse than power. Frambois-ish flavors with decent spice, good balance.

2015 Pierano Estate Vineyards Zinfandel The Heritage Collection Pierano Estate Vineyards Lodi
Very jammy fruit, low acid--pretty much what you expect from Lodi Zin.

2016 Antico Masseria del Sigillo Primitivo di Manduria Antica Sigillo
For complexity, balance, brightness and focus, my favorite among ten wines and if a vote had been taken among other guests it would have handily taken first place.

2015 Sobon Estate Zinfandel Old Vines Amador County
Usually a fan of Sobon but not this time. Super ripe jammy fruit with dill/pine from the American oak that hasn't (and maybe never will) integrate. Probably my least favorite of the ten zins present.

2015 Rabble Zinfandel Mossfire Ranch Paso Robles
Another well-behaved Paso Zin. Alcohol's just under 15% but manages to avoid being obvious, fruit's rich without going into blockbuster territory, and there's some serious structure here.

2015 Mazzocco Zinfandel West Dry Creek Dry Creek Valley
If flavor were volume, then this was the loudest wine present. Dense and juicy on the palate, this shouts obnoxiously like that guy three rows back at the baseball game. Huckleberry and spice flavors amped by alcohol and RS leave nothing on the table. Didn't care for it.

2015 Marietta Cellars Zinfandel Roman North Coast
An attractive, bid-bodied blend the includes Petite Sirah for substance and Barbera for a little rusticity. Mouth-filling black fruit; should have unusually good longevity. One of my three favorites.

2014 Easton Zinfandel Amador County
Driest of ten zins on the table and the one showing the most finesse and French Oak spice along with the raspberry fruit. Claret-like and dignified. My other top three wine.

Mazzocco became a Wilson winery a few years ago. Used to be good.

Mazzocco became a Wilson winery a few years ago. Used to be good.

Those tacky "Ten Gold Medals at the Galt Dairy Cow Wineapalooza Festival" at every winery they have acquired are immediate "keep away" warnings to me!

[Jenise]

Mazzocco became a Wilson winery a few years ago. Used to be good.

Can't keep up! This sure was nothing like the wines I remember.

[David M. Bueker]

Marietta - a Bilbro family property!

[Jenise]

Oh really! Cool to know. I really liked that one.

[David M. Bueker]

Scot Bilbro, Owner/Winemaker

[Jenise]

Picked up that one on wine.com (after shopping locally but needing more diversity) but didn't look into the wines very carefully beyond checking CT notes.

Wines like the Marietta Roman make you go, "And why don't I drink more zin?" Then you taste the Mazzocco or the Sobon and go, "Oh, that's why."

I drank, and enjoyed, my first bottle of the Marietta Roman earlier this year, am big fan of Marietta wines, especially the OVR lot # wines--last one I drank was lot #66...The Bilbros keep going from strength to strength..I used to enjoy the Mazocco wines in the pre Wilson days. Our last experience, tasting through the entire line when we were in Sonoma, was underwhelming and painful..what a shame.

Thanks. Two of those brands are easily available here. Sobon 2015 is at The Wine Society. I just read the consumer reviews and one says "Far too much oak for me, and I'm normally a fan" so I may give this a miss after your review (I usually try all TWS Zins).

Pierano 2015 was at Majestic but now out of stock. I've had that and the 2014 and enjoyed both. I also like Pierano's 6 Clones merlot

Back in the day, I enjoyed a number of Peachy Canyon and La Storia zins, haven't had any in a few years..at least 5 yrs if not longer, they don't showup in our area as often as they used to.

[Jenise]

Thanks. Two of those brands are easily available here. Sobon 2015 is at The Wine Society. I just read the consumer reviews and one says "Far too much oak for me, and I'm normally a fan" so I may give this a miss after your review (I usually try all TWS Zins).

Pierano 2015 was at Majestic but now out of stock. I've had that and the 2014 and enjoyed both. I also like Pierano's 6 Clones merlot

The Sobon was just a whole lot more ripe than I'm used to from them, and of course the American oak was just ridiculously prominent. It was probably used in several of the other wines we served, but it didn't show the way it did on the Sobon.

2016 Antico Masseria del Sigillo Primitivo di Manduria Antica Sigillo
For complexity, balance, brightness and focus, my favorite among ten wines and if a vote had been taken among other guests it would have handily taken first place.

This is why I like Italian "Zin" best, they get the acid balance right, so many Zins lack that focus.

[Jenise]

2016 Antico Masseria del Sigillo Primitivo di Manduria Antica Sigillo
For complexity, balance, brightness and focus, my favorite among ten wines and if a vote had been taken among other guests it would have handily taken first place.

This is why I like Italian "Zin" best, they get the acid balance right, so many Zins lack that focus.

And many times, it's purposeful. The Monster style is all about weight, and acidity would get in the way.

And many times, it's purposeful. The Monster style is all about weight, and acidity would get in the way.

I found my one taste of Turley boring for pretty much that reason. Also a pity because Zin can become quite lovely as it ages.

And many times, it's purposeful. The Monster style is all about weight, and acidity would get in the way.

I found my one taste of Turley boring for pretty much that reason. Also a pity because Zin can become quite lovely as it ages.

I guess I would differ w/ that take on the Turleys, Ryan.
Onetime, way back when, in the days of HelenTurley, those wines were big/extracted/alcoholic/oaky.
But when EhrenJordan took over winemaking, and now under Tegan Passalaqua, they were reined
in quite a bit. They still tend to be a bit on the alcoholic side, but way less oak and much more reflective
of the individual vnyd's terroir. The Turleys these days under Tegan are probably the best they've
ever been, IMHO.
Tom