Winemaker's Notes
Tasting notes on recently bottled wine: Dark red fruits like pomegranate, red cherry, maraschino cherry, slight nectarine/stone fruit, white pepper, very slightly jammy. Our reductive (opposite of ‘oxidative’) winemaking here really showcases the perfumes and ‘verve’ of this grape, so obliterated when taken to prune-like overripeness. With a nicely centered structure, it’s perfectly suited to use with food like duck or pork roast to show off its texture when young. While I have enjoyed this with dinner very much right before and after bottling in mid-February, I think a minimum of 8 to 10 months bottle aging will be well rewarded, typical of our OMV Zins. I thought it showed a little awkwardly at last August’s barrel tasting (I had held off racking, SO2 adjustment, and blending until just days before the tasting), yet I am very happy with the wine’s development as a result of that decision.
Judi Scherrer –
California Grapevine – May 2006
Medium to medium-dark ruby; attractive, fragrant, spicy, cranberry and blackberry fruit aroma with hints of dill and black pepper; medium-full to full body; forward, rich, spicy, slightly peppery, black fruit flavors; tending to be a bit lean on the finish; medium-full to full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Enjoyable to drink now. Highly recommended. 89 Points. Nick Ponomareff