Casey brought these for us to taste last week:
1. Z-H Cllrs PinotNoir ValleyFoothillsVnyd (14.2%; Clone 91; Hrvstd at 27 Brix & watered back) 2019: Med.dark color; very strong black cherry/PN slight toasty/Fr.oak quite spicy lovely nose; fairly tart rich PN/black cherry/cherry light toasty/oak flavor w/ modest chewey tannins; very long strong black cherry/PN light toasty/oak finish w/ modest tannins; a bit softer & less structured than the other 3 Pinots.
_________________
2. Z-H Cllrs PinotNoir ValleyFoothillsVnyd (Martini clone) 2018: Med.dark color; much more intense AV/perfumed/PN/black cherry some high-toned very light Fr.oak bit earthy lovely nose; fairly strong AV/black cherry/PN slight earthy/dusty light toasty/Fr.oak bit leaner/brighter bit complex flavor w/ lighter brisk tannins; very long/lingering strong black cherry/PN finish; a bit more structure & brightness than the '19; needs another 2-4 yrs.
_________________
3. Z-H Cllrs PinotNoir ValleyFoothillsVnyd 2016: Med.color w/ bit of bricking; more mature some cedary/pencilly light cherry/black cherry/PN/bright light toasty/Fr.oak some complex nose; lightly cedary/pencilly bright/cherry/black cherry/AV PN light toasty/oak some complex flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long/lingering slight cedary/pencilly fairly strong black cherry/bright AV PN finish w/ lighter smooth tannins; shows a bit of maturity & moving right along; probably near its peak w/ a fair amount of pencilly character; quite a lovely mature AV PN.
_________________
4. Z-H Cllrs PinotNoir ValleyFoothillsVnyd/AndersonVlly (Clone 23) 2020: Med.dark color; strongest black cherry/PN/fairly spicy some toasty/Fr.oak rather rich/lush fairly big very attractive nose; lightly tart strong black cherry/PN/blackberry light toasty/Fr.oak fairly rich/lush bit complex slight earthy/dusty slight pungent/licorice bit complex finish w/ modest chewey tannins; very long/lingering strong black cherry/PN/bit licorice modest toasty/Fr.oak fairly rich/lush finish w/ modest chewey tannins; needs another 2-5 yrs yet; my favorite of these Pinots because of the greater intensity & youthfulness.
______________________________________
More gizzrdsnarf from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. This is a wnry that nobody has ever heard of. That's because it's not a commercial wnry. Each year, CaseyHartlip makes a barrel of wine from his Ordway grapes with his forman, Aldo Zavala. Hence the Z-H name on the label. Not to be confused with Z-D. These are not really ho-made wines....just a guy on a tractor dabbling at winemaking. But the wines are as good as any professional wines you'll find out there.
I was rather impressed by these 4 Pinots. They have a lot more rich/lush character and not as wirey/lean/taut as most AndersonVlly Pinots; they show more depth & extract but not the high-toned brightness of most AV Pinots. They remind me a lot of the Drew Pinots but w/o the strong oak signature and the extract. I slightly preferred the '20 because of its greater intensity of fruit. Closely followed by the '18. But all very prefessionally-made Pinots.
Tom
