Lust Zin And Sin Zin, The Early Arrival Of Halloween Or Some Dionysian Euphemism

Michael David Lust/Lodi 2007 Zinfandel

Black Oak 2009 Zinfandel


Dionysus is the Greek god of the "unexpected" and of the grape harvest; these two aspects so well describe the Halloween wine I'm tasting now (or maybe tomorrow). The Zinful (oops, Zinfandel) Wine I'll be tasting will be part of the "Halloween" wine selection I intend to present in October.
In the mean time, here are a couple of "Lustful"-links to  explore while I'm gathering my wits to review the "unexpected":

Wine-Thoughts and 

Wineaccess; both of which have contrasting views. 
My thoughts brooded over the 16.9% alcohol (Almost 34 proof), but I didn't feel it would be right for a Zin kind-of-guy to rationalize not tasting this Zin; in fact, experience demanded that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to this "type" of wine, just as it wouldn't be right not to taste that $6.00 bottle of Black Oak Zinfandel (Not yet reviewed).
As you can tell, I very much got into photographing this wine, because as this blog evolves, I find that, other than the wine itself, the challenge of presenting the wine is quite a bit of fun, but time consuming.


Well, today is "tomorrow".
My son marked the bags wherein stood the two bottles of Zinfandel wines, as easy a blind tasting as anyone could arrange, a blind tasting nevertheless.


The number one wine is obtuse to black, but on the rim is deep Shiraz purple.
The aroma jumped out of the glass pungent, new cedar-chest and prune, almost nauseatingly so.
With a strong flavor of Portabello mushroom, this Zin is jammy, meaty, and chewy, with an almost syrupy quality.  This"hot" Zin is not a stand alone wine, but did a bit better with food, Wine-Thoughts had that exactly right.
This Michael David Lust/Lodi 2007 Zinfandel, $50.00, 83 points, was not difficult to pick out, wouldn't be in a crowd. A friend of mine tried the same tasting the next day, and had exactly the same findings, but if you want to read about Michael-David's "redemption", check-out Jon Thorsen's 
review: 2010-Seven-heavenly-chardonnay Jon Thorsen







There is deep ruby color, glittery with flashes of ambient sky-light.
The number two wine is aromatically reticent, but with a little swirling effort, out comes a bit of cedar and black-cherry, with subtle hints of strawberry making this a much more interesting wine. Having a light to medium body with lots of black pepper on the long finish, gives this somewhat one dimensional wine, with 14.5% alcohol, a much better rating (Needs to be room temperature or warm). Black Oak 2009 Zinfandel, $6.00, 86 points.

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Sin Zin Alexander Valley 2007 Zinfandel

Sin Zin Alexander Valley 2007 Zinfandel, $22,99, 90 points, is deep rose red, and the aroma has hints of green and jalapeño peppers, clove, cinnamon, and cedar, but there is plum fruit on the nose as well.
Though I wouldn't describe this Zinfandel as complex, I would describe it as bold, making a statement like a boxer ("Move like a butterfly, sting like a bee" comes to mind); this wine is focused on the edge of firm tannins and carried by an almost medium body of plum with that green pepper having its cameo appearance.
Sin Zin has a long black pepper finish, with just a whisper of mocha.
The Sin Zin carries its 14.4% alcohol very well, though there is a touch of heat here.
I have to believe that a better price is out there, but that said, still a good buy.

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Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger 

Kenwood Jack London Vineyard Sonoma Valley 2007 Zinfandel

Kenwood Jack London Vineyard Sonoma Valley 2007 Zinfandel, $11.99-$29.99, 92 points; this score has me up a tree and out on a limb with this one, so ignore me, but with approximately 12% of my Zins at 92 points, and only the Cakebread (93 points) scoring higher, this would seem to judge me conservative enough, taking into account my avowed bias with this varietal.
I believe Fredric Koeppel (Biggerthanyourhead)
said something like this: it is easier to review a wine that is either very good or very bad, but the middle-of-the-road wines are the tough ones; much paraphrased, but true, and I'm going to go over-board with this Zinfandel, because I liked it so much. If verbosity is not your cup of tea, you might want to settle for this paragraph and this phrase: The 2007 Jack London is a very good Zinfandel at a very good price.

Kenwood Jack London Vineyard Sonoma Valley 2007 Zinfandel, Is not a middle-of-the-road Zinfandel Wine, but within its vibrancy, consistency, and beautifully wild richness, it earned high marks with me. As a standalone wine it is wonderful, and as a food-friendly wine it is a chameleon; though the wine was central to the food, it just seemed whatever I threw at it was great, from Brown Canadian tomatoes, to goats cheese with spinach, Boston-Baked beans, rare fennel-black peppered tenderloin, buttered fresh Italian bread and Chinese cuisine:-) You get the picture.

This Zinfandel had a rim-color of crystal-clear ruby red welling into an almost dense Shiraz, but at the thin of the bottom of my glass, it was strawberry hued. 
Then the Jack London  burst-open with an attack aroma of sharp black cherry, with hints of clove, cinnamon, redwood, and sage.
With flavors of not so subtle cherry and plum in a medium body that is focused; this is power restrained and not over whelming, not as complex as the Tensley Colson Canyon 2008 Syrah, but this Zin reminded me of it. 
The finish is long on black and white pepper with hints of strawberry.
The Jack London is delicious and satisfying.

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Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger 

Greystone And Cuvaison Dueling 2009 Chardonnays

Cuvaison Carneros Napa Valley 2009 Chardonnay, $14.44-$22.99, 90 points, began with a nice
clear golden hue, with a cold aroma of citrus that warmed to hints of bacon and nectarine (Acid 6.5 grams/liter). The flavor layers peeled opened as the wine was awash with air and warmed even more; from lime to honey lemon into a fine creamy ginger finish. Cuvaison fashions a complex, but approachable wine that is consistently good.


Greystone Cellars 2009 Chardonnay, $9.99-$12.99, 87 points, began cold and somewhat muted, but warmed with the aroma of crisp Fuji apple, but warmed into an aroma of butterscotch and toast with a hint of diesel. The color is light goldenrod, with flavors that began with as an almost flat vinegar citrus, but morphed nicely into flavors of quince and hints of mild celery. This Chardonnay is a good table wine, but, for me, not what I had expected by all the reviews. Experts not withstanding, I have my palate and they have theirs. Let me know what you think.


Both these wines paired nicely with fried haddock and clams with Coleslaw.


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Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger

Jezebel Oregon 2009 White Wine You'll Not. . .

Jezebel Oregon 2009 White Wine, a blend of: Riesling (adds acidity and minerality), Gewürztraminer (adds a rich fragrance), Pinot Gris (adds crispness and quaff-ability), $13.59-$18.99, 91 points, is a light, fruity, flavorfully layered White Wine with good quality throughout, mineral-color, lightly-sweet lemon-lime and fresh-cut hay aroma, with flavors of aroma carried-over to palate, but as this wine warmed, hidden talents of apricot, apple, and almond eked their way into consciousness.

Great wine with Thai-food, or light and spicy cuisine.

"You'll Not" Forget her! 

Index-of-reviewed-wines

Merlot Time-Bolla, Havens Napa, Clos Du Bois Sonoma, Glenn Ellen, Lockhart, Artesa

Bargain-basement Merlot, $5.99 750ml is out there, but you knew that; you go to the store every week and grab that bottle of Bare Foot, Turning Leaf, Oak Leaf, Leaf-on the wind or whatever, but I have some comments, and I'll begin with a worthy Merlot at $5.99; can you afford a worthy Bargain-basement Merlot?

Bolla 2008 Merlot, $5.99-$8.99, 86 points, is to me the Merlot, at the price we all want, and I want on my dinner table. Buying this Merlot is like going to the grocery store and buying milk and bread. Bolla 2008 Merlot is about as good a wine, at this price, you'll find.
Did I praise this enough?
Maybe it's the Italian label?
Merlot is not my usual affair, but since my wife mostly drinks Merlot, I can't get away without tasting them.
Light Red color, pleasant aroma, light bodied, having a gentle easy mouth-feel, over-all grapey flavor with great drink-ability, but still a one dimensional wine with just a hint of diesel on the finish.

Havens Napa 2004 Merlot, $19.99 (Are they still making wine?), 90 points, opened to an almost pungent aroma, but settled-down, with some breathing, to a roar of cigar, mint, and grape.
Deep Red color is beautiful.
This is a sleek medium bodied wine with a nicely layered finish.
If I'm correct, and this winery is gone, I think we've all lost something. I think the economy is not as favorable to "Family owned" wineries as it was; I've seen the reports of their selling-out, but just maybe, the best wineries, with lower costs (Family-labor biting the bullet) and demanding higher prices (95-100 points get the big-bucks), will weather these financial storms.

Clos Du Bois, Sonoma Alexander Valley 2006 Merlot, $12.99, 86 points, opens to a hint of clove and soft cinnamon, there is a striking floral character along with alcohol (14.5%), and both carry-over to the palate in excess. There is a bit of bitterness, but not offensively so. I did like this plum and licorice light bodied wine having a fair finish. However, with all the competition, the price hurts this wine.



Glen Ellen 2008 Proprietor's Reserve 2008 Merlot, $3.99-$5.99, 82 points, began with disappointment after the good quality of their Chardonnay. I think this is another one of those Merlots that gave Merlot a bad name.
The color is young with bright purple-red hues.
The aroma devolved from grapey to a muted vegetative character.
This is a thin wine with little to commend it, except for a fair, mild, spicy finish.

Lockhart 2007 Merlot, $9.90, 88 points, is Dark-Ruby-Red. The gentle Black-cherry aroma is very nice. This wine has a medium body, a bit floral and sweet, but the plum and licorice give this some richness, and the silky smooth finish makes this a good wine with a high QPR.

Artesa 2005 Merlot, $14.99-$19.99, 87 points, is dark purple, with a strong floral aroma with hints of clove, all of which carries-over to the palate with some espresso syrup and smokiness. This is the first Merlot I would call "chewy". The medium body is  dense and awkwardly complex, and the finish has quite a bit of heat on it.

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Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger

Antinori Umbria Cervaro della Sala 2005 Chardonnay

Antinori Umbria Cervaro della Sala 2005 Chardonnay, $33.99-$39.99, 92+ points, is 15 % Grechetto, but this is pure delight.

This is my first Italian Chardonnay, and though too expensive for me, I just had to try this one at the lower price point, and at that price, it is a good buy still, especially when you compare it to a high-quality Cabernet.

This wine comes from the Umbria region of Italy. This is a region that produces Grechetto (Among many other grapes), primarily for blending.  

Usually, I start my White wines at about 42 degrees, and sense them develop as they warm, and this Chardonnay too, began cold. The aroma (Cold) is the nicest and lightest lemon-oil and honey. As it warmed, hints of pine and lychee with almond and clove gave complexity to the bouquet.

The flavors developed from a unique blend of pink grapefruit and lemon into hints of pear, apple, and a marble minerality  (As imprecise as that maybe).

This is a clean, crisp and refreshing wine that will pair well with anything buttery, creamy, crab or richer fish, poultry, but you might like this with almost anything; as I've said, there are "rules" but the number one rule is: if it works for you. . .

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Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger