WTN: Scary zin!
Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2013 2:50 pm
US wines are so rare in this corner of northern Europe that, in the name of science, I buy a bottle of every single one that becomes available (except the one time we got a "cult" - I couldn't afford that). Our most recent arrival is a Sbragia Family Vineyards Zinfandel "La Promessa" 2009 from Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma.
The question first: Everything I read about this bottle before opening it spoke of it being very true to the Dry Creek Valley style of Zinfandel. I have no idea what that style is. And with so few US bottles available here, I don't think I will ever be able to find out empirically, so can some explain theoretically what this means?
And then my impressions: Yikes! As one who loves Beaujolais and the Loire I perhaps shouldn't have bought - not even in the of science - an unfortified wine that has 16% abv. It is very spicy, oaky and has much berry aromas. Once it warms up from the cellar temperature of 15° C the alcohol becomes off-puttingly obvious. For such high alcohol the palate is amazingly harmonious: much fruit, much ripeness, fairly low acidity and tannins, and only a bit of heat on the finish. More palatable to one of my tastes than the numbers on the tech sheet suggested, but not one that I want to drink more than a small glass of. I think I'll stick to Ridge for Zin from now on.
The question first: Everything I read about this bottle before opening it spoke of it being very true to the Dry Creek Valley style of Zinfandel. I have no idea what that style is. And with so few US bottles available here, I don't think I will ever be able to find out empirically, so can some explain theoretically what this means?
And then my impressions: Yikes! As one who loves Beaujolais and the Loire I perhaps shouldn't have bought - not even in the of science - an unfortified wine that has 16% abv. It is very spicy, oaky and has much berry aromas. Once it warms up from the cellar temperature of 15° C the alcohol becomes off-puttingly obvious. For such high alcohol the palate is amazingly harmonious: much fruit, much ripeness, fairly low acidity and tannins, and only a bit of heat on the finish. More palatable to one of my tastes than the numbers on the tech sheet suggested, but not one that I want to drink more than a small glass of. I think I'll stick to Ridge for Zin from now on.