Price: $12.99Region: California
Year: 2006
Sometimes it takes a gentle nudge. I received an email from a friend the other day, nicely reminding me that I haven't reviewed a Zinfandel in quite some time, and he was exactly right. I must admit, it is a wine I walk past more often then not, and I'm not 100% sure why. I think in general, I have just had a couple bottles that make me think twice about it, and I have found that the more inexpensive Zinfandels seem to stand out as just that, cheap. Anyway, there were a couple of suggestions for ones I might like, but when I saw "7 Deadly Zins" on the list, I knew what my next purchase was going to be. I have seen this a couple of times before, but just never pulled the trigger, and this time I had no excuse.
The interesting things about this night, was that I had to figure out a way to buy a Zinfandel for a dinner I was planning for my wife's birthday, when I know full well i is one of her least favorite wines. So, in addition to grabbing a bottle of this, I also picked up my default white wine, (http://winereviewsyoucanunderstand.blogspot.com/2008/11/pine-ridge-chenin-blanc-viognier.html) which I know she loves. So, I was covered all the way around. I wasn't sure exactly how much this wine was going to cost at my favorite wine store (which has some great deals), but when I saw it was $12.99, I was actually happy because I was hoping it wasn't a $8 bottle of Zinfandel for reasons mentioned above.
I made a mixed grill of chicken, steak, and vegetable ka-bobs for dinner, so I was actually looking forward to the pairing. i was going to wait until dinner was ready, but something about a glass of wine out on deck while grilling that is very enjoyable, so there was no time like the present. I poured a glass, and was none to surprised at the nice deep, dark color. When I raised the glass to swirl & smell, I was impressed by the very nice smell, that was a touch earthy. So, far, things were looking good. So, when I took my first sip, I continued to be impressed. It immediately hit me how smooth and well balanced the wine was. No big bite that I have sometimes experienced with less expensive Zins, but still bold, and a touch spicy. Kind of similar attributes to what I love about Shiraz, but clearly a different wine (and 14.9% alcohol to boot). I'm not going to say it was my favorite wine, but definitely on top of my Zinfandel list at this point. I am definitely going to have to pay more attention to the emails I receive from Roland in the future.
Rating: 3.5 Corks (A really good Zin)
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