Saturday, April 2, 2016

Neal Rutherford Dust Vineyards Napa Valley 2008 Zinfandel Revisited





Neal Rutherford Dust Vineyards Napa Valley 2008 Zinfandel Revisited, $22.09, 92 points, poured a mysterious deep burgundy red with a still crystal-clear wine ring at the leggy glass wall.
The aroma was better than I remembered it (wine evolves); Dusty wild off-the-stem blackberries, floral, and hints of red raspberry were excellent.
Medium-bodied, good acidity, and a mild underlayment of tannin carried balanced wild-berry flavors with a kiss of oak building into more of a hug found in and bound to the long finish of spice, slightly chalky red raspberry, a sweet-spot 14.9% alcohol, and hints of bourbon, all of which impressed.
This is the first of my older Zinfandel wines (tasted more than five years ago) that I liked better than first tasted.

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3 comments:

  1. Might had the small amount of Petite Sirah have aided the longevity of this wine? Well, someone just may have something to say about that.

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  2. A score of 92, that's the highest out of your revisited Ziins. If the % of PS lends any longevity to this Zin like the old Markham I had (a while back), then this Neal probably has a fair amount of aging still to do.

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    Replies
    1. VG: I had to go back and refresh my memory, but I doubt that this Neal has two more years left, but I could easily be wrong. As last night turned into this afternoon, there was a growing vegetative flavor degrading my enjoyment.

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