A Zin like no other I've tasted

[Stinky The Clown]

The picture is their 2003; the wine I had was their 2004.

This was a very different Zin. Usually, they're peppery in the way some lettuces are peppery. This one had almost none of that. Instead it was like plum jam, but without the sweetness. Huge, chewy fruit. I mean, *really* chewy. Well to the sweet side of dry, but not at all sweet. This wasn't a simple wine, either. It went more than a few layers deep.

It is a $25-ish bottle that we got a few weeks ago at our local wine emporium's one day blowout. I think I paid maybe $12 or $15 for it.

[eleny]

1. I wonder if the difference is because it's "Old Vine Zin"

At our giant spirits store they have two other brands of old vine Zin. I might go up there and ask. Your description makes it tempting since I'm a big fan of plum jam. So that was a hook for me.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I don't think the old vine thing is the issue .....

There are a lot of old vine zins. In fact, what they are, are old private, non-commercial growths of grapes that a hundred or so years old. The vineyards were allowed to go wild for generations and are just now coming back into commercial cultivation. The vines are deep rooted, healthy, and well established.

The flavor is from the terroir and the skill of the vintner. I have grapes from 'this side of the hill' make this kind of wine and grapes from that side of the hill make that kind of wine. Same grapes, same vintner, same skill.

I am told that the 2004, unless it is retail stock at a store, is now only available in half bottle 375ml stock. I also have no idea how any of this compares to the 2003 or 2005 vintages, both of which are still available in full 750ml bottle.

[troubleinwinter]

2. It reminds me of a wine I used to buy years ago.

Marietta Old Vine Red from Geyserville. A grand wine.

It's pretty hard to find a bad red from Mendocino, Sonoma or Napa. I do like those from Mendocino especially.

I read an article a long time ago about an old Italian man in Sonoma Co, I think, that made wonderful red. He said that the best reds grow on steep hillsides where they had to struggle. He also said he peed on the vines when he tended them.

I have a friend of German extraction who grows the BEST, most intense garlic. He says that his secret is that he "speaks harshly to them" as they grow. :shrug:

[DrDan]

4. I have had several of the Steele Cabs

very very good