WTN: Boeger Meritage and new Robert Craig Zin

A couple of other Holiday Weeks wines I forgot, for some reason:

2003 Boeger Meritage (El Dorado County). 14.1% abv. About half Merlot and half Cab, with the other noble varietals in place as well. Quite a pleasant wine. Alcohol is not obtrusive at all, and the sweetness/fruitiness quotient is well within my pleasure zone. Dark fruit-black cherry and currant. Very enjoyable earthiness. My biggest complaint is that the wine is very soft. No tannic backbone, really...we are talking a drink now wine. 87 points.

2006 Robert Craig Winery Black Sears Zinfandel. Wow. While I tasted and enjoyed the (painfully young) Cabernet lineup from this mountain fruit oriented winery as well, it's this zinfandel that really stood out. The taster mentioned that when walking by the fermenting tanks, one could SMELL the black pepper. Amazing brambly zinberry fruit, with that POW! of black pepper hitting you smack in the gob! Not really a fruit or alcohol bomb, though, with udner 15% abv. This was their first vintage-they had been trying to get Black Sears fruit for quite a while! Tentatively (based on a tasting room sample) 93 points! And I am not that big a zin fan!

So...I sinned on Saturday and bought one bottle.

We used to pick up some of the Robert Craig mountain cabs once in a while back when they went for $30 - $40. Then they hiked the price and we quit buying, although we still really like them. What was the price on the zin, Brian?

We used to pick up some of the Robert Craig mountain cabs once in a while back when they went for $30 - $40. Then they hiked the price and we quit buying, although we still really like them. What was the price on the zin, Brian?

I should refuse to answer this question It's definitely at the very tip top of Zin prices-$50, but given that I find a lot of Zins awful and I loved this one....

[Jenise]

We visited Boeger back in October and were quite impressed with their wines. In an area where high alcohols are not only tolerated but touted (just down the street from them, Crystal Basin Cellars advertises proudly that "our wines are never under 15% alcohol!"), their wines are thoughtfully blended and balanced. Their best wines, we thought, we the Southern Rhone and Tempranillo blends.

We visited Boeger back in October and were quite impressed with their wines. In an area where high alcohols are not only tolerated but touted (just down the street from them, Crystal Basin Cellars advertises proudly that "our wines are never under 15% alcohol!"), their wines are thoughtfully blended and balanced. Their best wines, we thought, we the Southern Rhone and Tempranillo blends.

OMG. What a thing to be PROUD about.

To be honest, I've not hit very many of the Foothills wineries.

It's a longer drive, the roads are often narrow and dangerous for cycling (and their is a real attitude of gun totin' "let's run down the city sissies in their faggy clothing" among some residents), and too many wines I've tried seem to hold Robitussin as their exemplar of flavor and mouthfeel.

All terrible, unfair generalizations, I know...and I know there are exceptions.

We visited Boeger back in October and were quite impressed with their wines. In an area where high alcohols are not only tolerated but touted (just down the street from them, Crystal Basin Cellars advertises proudly that "our wines are never under 15% alcohol!"), their wines are thoughtfully blended and balanced. Their best wines, we thought, we the Southern Rhone and Tempranillo blends.

OMG. What a thing to be PROUD about.

To be honest, I've not hit very many of the Foothills wineries.

It's a longer drive, the roads are often narrow and dangerous for cycling (and their is a real attitude of gun totin' "let's run down the city sissies in their faggy clothing" among some residents), and too many wines I've tried seem to hold Robitussin as their exemplar of flavor and mouthfeel.

All terrible, unfair generalizations, I know...and I know there are exceptions.

Brian, Brian, Brian....

Come along with us next time. We'll take you to some Foothill area wineries that are head and shoulders above those who make a point of high alcohol levels.

LOL. I am TROLLING just a bit here.