We tried last night (2/27/19) Mostly New Zins:
1. MarthaStoumen Zin varietally incorrect KingAndrewsVnyd/SuisunVlly (13%; 30 yr old vines) 2017: Med.color;
very bright strawberry/raspberry/quite spicy Zin light pencilly/oak bit earthy slight funky rather pretty
nose; quite tart/tangy bright/strawberry/raspberry slight tangy/metallic/earthy quite lean/austere flavor
w/ light tangy tannins; long quite tart/tangy/metallic bright/raspberry/strawberry/Zin/some spicy finish
w/ light lean/tangy tannins w/ a slight mousey/hantavirus far in the backtaste; a rather lean somewhat
eviscerated/skinny rendition of Zin, but one of the better SuisunVlly Zins I can recall. $38.00
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2. Onward Zin KnoxVnyd/RedwoodVlly (11.4%; 4 brls; onwardwines.com/) Faith Armstrong Foster 2016: Med.light
color; very bright strawberry/Zin/spicy bit earthy slight Mendo/tomatoey quite pretty nose; quite tart/
tangy/bit metallic bright/very strawberry/Zin/spicy bit earthy/Mendo tomatoey flavor w/ light brisk/lean
tannins; very long bright/strawberry/Zin/spicy light tomatoey/Mendo/earthy finish w/ light brisk tannins;
plenty of flavor for 11.4% alcohol but on the lean/wirey side; reminds a lot of the early BarneyFetzer Zins
but w/o the oak; quite a pretty Zin. $34.00
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3. Matthiasson Zin LimerickLaneVnyd/RRV/SonomaCnty (12.8%) 2016: Med.dark color; classic LL/very spicy bright
raspberry/blackberry/Zin bit dusty/OV light pencilly/oak lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy quite spicy/Zin/
bright/blackberry/raspberry some dusty/OV light pencilly/oak flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; very long quite
spicy/LLZin/raspberry/blackberry/bright/blueberry some dusty/OV finish w/ modest brisk tannins; unusual style
for a LLZin but still speaks distinctly of that LL spiciness; needs more age. $45.00
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4. DryCreekVnyds Zin OldVine DCV/SC (Avg.vine age: 95+ yrs; 14.5%; SaH: 26.5 Brix, pH: 3.69,
TA: 0.65%; 15 mo. in Fr/Hungarian/Am oak; 19% PS/3% Carignane; Hrvstd: Sept.2 & 27; Dry farmed/
head pruned) Healdsburg 2016: Very dark color; strong vanilla/Am.oak/smokey/toasty quite dusty/OV very strong
blackberry/Zin/raspberry/classic DCVllyZin/very spicy lovely nose; bit soft rich/lush fairly dusty/OV rather
strong toasty/smokey/oak strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/ripe bit spicy flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very
long/lingering rather vanilla/smokey/toasty/Am.oak fairly dusty/OV strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe finish
w/ some soft/ripe tannins; loads of oak but more depth & structure than the other two; some like the old Swans
or the old Ravenswoods w/o the oak. $nc (SL)/$28.00 (VSP)
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5. DryCreekVnyds Zin Estate/Spencer'sHillVnyd DCV/SC (14.5%; 782 cs) 2015: Dark color; some lighter/leaner slight
minty rather spicy/Zin/raspberry/blackberry light pencilly/oak rather attractive nose; lightly tart strong
raspberry/DCVZin/spicy light pencilly/oak bit minty flavor w/ light tangy tannins; long bright/raspberry/DCVZin/
spicy/blackberry light pencilly/oak bit minty finish w/ light tannins; a bright/pretty classic DCV Zin but not
the depth or intensity of the Somers; a pleasant Zin just one step above the Heritage. $33.60 (VSP)
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6. DryCreekVnyds Zin SomersRanch DCV/SC (14.8%; 697 cs) 2015: Very dark color; beautiful intense/very spicy/
blackberry/raspberry/Zin quite dusty/OV light pencilly/oak/bit toasty very perfumed/fragrant classic DCVllyZin
nose; fairly tart/tangy very spicy/classic DCVZin/raspberry/blackberry/bright some dusty/OV some pencilly/
toasty/oak slight alcoholic bit complex flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long/lingering very perfumed very
strong/bright/raspberry/blackberry/Zin/very spicy some pencilly/oak/toasty rather dusty/OV bit complex slight
earthy finish w/ some ripe/smooth tannins; a quintessential DCVlly Zin w/ depth & structure to age a few yrs;
beautiful Zin. $33.60 (VSP)
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More fizzsputa from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Martha Stouman (marthastoumen.com) is a winemaker that makes "natural" wines (by whatever definition you
choose). I was first attracted to her wines because she makes a Nero d'Avola from the John Chiarito vnyd up in
Ukiah. Her wines tend to be on the lean side but seldom show the funkiness that you can get in natural wines.
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2. Onward: Another maker of "natural" wines. She farms many of the vnyds from which she sources. The vnyd-designate
wines appear under the Onward label. Faith Armstrong Foster originally hails from British Columbia. She also
makes wines under the Farmstrong label that are blends from various vnyds. Again, often a bit on the lean side
but seldom show the funkiness of many natural wines.
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3. Matthiasson: Steve is the vnyd consultant at LimerickLane, so is able to buy some of the LL grapes. He makes
his LLZin in a much leaner/structured style than the others (Turley/Carlisle/Bedrock) and not nearly as
pleasurable/drinkable from the git/go as those are.
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4. DryCreekVnyds is killing it w/ their Zins these days. Their HeritageVines Zin (which we get in NM about $15)
is one of the best Zin values around. I've always liked their OV Zin but find it has a bit more oak than I like.
They also make a number of vnyd-designate Zins that are good, but just that. But to me, their BeesonRanch and
SomersRanch Zins are their top-tier Zins, as good as any DCVlly Zins around.
Tom