by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

1. DryCreekVnyd BeesonRanch/DryCreekVlly Zin (14.5%) 2002: Dark color; lovely bright
   raspberry/Zinberry very spicy bit licorice/peppery bit vanilla/AmOak nose; rather tart/
   cranberry bery bright Zinberry/raspberry light licorice/Am.oak flavor; slight tannic rather
   tart bright raspberry/cranberry finish that needs several yrs; a bright/vibrant/exhuberent
   very bright/vibrant raspberry/Zinberry/spicy slight chocolaty/ripe light Am.oak nose; very tart
   bright Zinberry/raspberry/licorice/ripe quite spicy light Am.oak bit tannic flavor; very long
   tart bright raspberry/Zinberry light chocolaty light Am.oak finish w/ some tannins; needs
   several yrs. $30.00
   
2. DryCreekVnyd OldVine/SonomaCnty Zin (80+ yrs; 14.5%) 2003: Dark color; strong spicy/cedary/vanilla/oaked some raspberry/blackberry/ripe bit peppery lovely Zin nose; soft bit tannic
   fairly cedary/vanilla/oaked/toasty complex ripe/blackberry/raspberry/Zin dusty/old vine flavor;
   med.long bit tannic cedary/pencilly/toasty/oak ripe blackberry/peppery finish; needs several
   yrs; bigger/richer more oak & riper than the first two. $27.00
   
3. Nalle SonomaCnty/DryCreekVlly Zin (13.9%; www.NalleWinery.com) 2004: Med.color; very pretty bright/Zinberry/raspberry classic DCV/Zin light peppery/pencilly/oak nose; tart bright/Zinberry/
   raspberry balanced/zippy light cedary/pencilly/oak flavor; med.long bright/Zinberry/raspberry
   light oak finish w/ light tannins; a pretty/classic Nalle/balanced/bright Zin. $29.00
   
4. Radio-Coteau Weidlich/RussianRvrVlly Zin (220 cs; www.RadioCoteau.com; U/U; 15.4%)
   2004: Dark color; lovely/beautiful very bright/spicy/vibrant/raspberry/blackberry/Zin dusty/
   old vine light pencilly/oak nose; very tart very bright/shimmery very raspberry/spicy dusty/
   old vines bit tannic flavor; very long/lingering dusty/old vine bright/raspberry/very spicy
   finish w/ some tannins; beautiful exhuberent Zin; bit pricey at $38.00
   
5. ThePines OldVine Zin ColumbiaVlly (15.8%) LonnieWright/Newberg/OR 2002: Dark color; rather earthy/dusty very unusual/non-Zin some overripe quite toasty/charred/oak slight blackberry/
   boysenberry nose; soft quite tarry/pungent/toasty/roasted earthy/dusty slight blackberry/
   licorice rather overripe/prunish flavor; long very soft/overripe/prunish quite tarry/charred/
   oak finish w/ light tannins; kinda interesting if bizarre Zin but a bit too overripe. $33.00
   
6. PepperTreeWines OrangeRegion/OZ Zin (14.0%; www.PepperTreeWines.com.Au) 2004: Med.color; very strong minty/eucalyptus slight raspberry/Zin interesting nose; light spicy/raspberry/Zin very minty/eucalyptus flavor; med.short some minty/eucalyptus very light raspberry/Zin finish w/little tannins; lots of eucalyptus but on the light side; interesting/pretty Zin. $25.00
   
7. KangarillaRoad McLarenVale Zin (15.5%; www.KangarillaRoad.com) 2003: Med.color; bit tired/
   cedary/oaked little fruit rather old-style Martini nose; slight eucalyptus tired/light/raspberry/
   Zin somewhat cedary/oaked flavor; med.short cedary/oaked tired/washed-out little fruit finish
   w/ little tannins; like some of the old Gemello or Pedroncelli Zins in the '70's; pretty
   dull & lifeless; waaaay overpriced at $36.00
   
8. BrownEstate Zin NapaVlly (15.4%) 2004: Med.color; very ripe/blackberry/Zin bit toasty/Fr.oak
   slight volatile/alcoholic/hot nose; soft/fat very ripe/blackberry/Zin some toasty/oak very
   ripe/overripe (off-dry?) flavor; med. soft/fat overripe/blackberry/Zin bit hot/fumey/alcoholic
   some toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; way overpriced at $36.00
   
9. Williams-Selyem FeeneyVnyd/RussianRvrVlly Zin (14.9%; www.WilliamsSelyem.com) 2004: Black color;very overripe/alcoholic intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin slight earthy light oak nose;
   soft/fat very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin rather hot/fumey/volatile/alcoholic light oak
   flavor; very long intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin hot/fumey/alcoholic finish w/ fair tannins;
   pretty over-the-top and overripe; way overpriced at $48.00
   
10. Carlisle DryCreekVlly Zin (15.9%; Planted: 1885-1954; 25% PS; 360 cs) 2004: Black color;
    beautiful intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy light toasty/oak nose; soft/rich/lush
    intense spicy/blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Zin some toasty/oak mouthfilling flavor; very long/
    lingering intense/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy light toasty finish w/ some tannins; needs
    some 2-6 yrs; more like RRV than DCV Zin; huge/intense Zin that carries the alcohol well.
    $29.00
    
11. Carlisle SonomaCnty Zin Fava/Mounts/Teldschi vnyds/DryCreekVlly/RussianRvrVlly (23%
    RRV Syrah; 210 cs; 15.8%) 2004: Very dark color; lovely very spicy/bright/raspberry/blackberry/
    Zinberry nose; tart bright/Zinberry/raspberry/very spicy slight alcoholic loads of Zin fruit
    flavor; long bright/Zinberry/raspberry/spicy finish w/ light tannins; needs another yr or two;
    loads of bright Zin fruit; very attractive wine; alcohol shows a bit here. $22.50
    
12. Carlisle FavaRanch/RussianRvrVlly Zin (15.9%; Planted: 1922; PS/Syrah; 250 cs) 2004: Dark
    color; beautiful huge/blackberry/boysenberry/licorice/chocolaty light toasty/oak nose; rich/
    intense/mouthfilling blackberry/licorice/boysenberry very spicy some tannic some toasty/oak
    flavor; very long/lingering rich/ripe intense boysenberry/blackberry/Zin/licorice bit peppery/
    earthy some toasty/oak finish w/ fair tannins; needs 3-8 yrs of age; killer Zin w/ loads of
    blackberry/RRV Zin character. Great price at $26.50
    
13. Carlisle Pietro'sRanch/RussianRvrVlly Zin (15.9%; BarbieriRanch; Planted: 1905;
    PS/AlicanteBouchet/GrandNoir/Carignane/Grenache/Syrah; 170 cs) 2004: Very dark color; very exotic/herbal aromatic/perfumed intense blackberry/boysenberry/licorice spicy/peppery some
    toasty/oak complex/dusty/old vine nose; tart rich/intense blackberry/boysenberry/framboise/Zin/
    licorice some pungent/toasty/oak complex/dusty/old vine fairly tannic flavor; very long/
    lingering intense/extracted blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy/licorice light toasty/oak finish
    w/ ample tannins; needs 3-8 yrs; shows more dusty/old vine character; killer Zin. $31.50
    
14. Carlisle TomFeenyRanch/RussianRvrVlly Zin (Planted: 1926; 15.9%; + PS/AlicanteBouchet/
    GrandNoir; 175 cs) 2004: Black color; very intense/huge fruit blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/
    framboise/licorice/chocolate some toasty/oak complex/powerful/perfumed nose; rich/lush/extracted
    very intense/boysenberry/blackberry/Zin/framboise/licorice some pungent/toasty/oak very
    perfumed rather tannic flavor; very long/lingering extracted/mouth-coating huge/blackberry/
    boysenberry/licorice/Zin some toasty/pungent rather tannic finish; a huge beat of a wine that'll
    probably go 10-15 yrs; a dynamite wine and my favorite. $32.50

1. DryCreekVnyds: I have, of course, followed Dave Stare's wines from the very start; that being
   the '72 Gamay Beaujolais and the '73 Chenin Blanc and Fume Blanc. His first Zins ('73) were
   pretty little things, rather on the light side. Recently, under Bill Knuttle's winemaking,
   their Zins have taken a really up-tick in quality I think. They are, to me, the epitome of
   classic DryCreekVlly Zin. I really liked the Somers and Beeson Ranch Zins, mostly for their
   tart/bright/exhuberent Zinfandel fruit. The OldVine Zin used to be an inexpensive part of the
   Zinfandel line. With this '03 version, they've upped the price considerably and up-scaled the
   packaging. It is, I think, a far better wine than it used to be; with more intensity and oak
   than before. It's nice to sit down and have a glass of an old friend.
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2. vonWeidlich Zin: This is a very old vnyd just north of Occidental. Stupid place to grow Zin.
   In the early '70's, this is the same vnyd that Ridge sourced their Occidental Zins from. The
   wines were huge/intense classic Bennion-style Zins. Like some of us, they were legends in their
   own time. However, in the mid-'70's, Draper finally gave up on this vnyd because it was such
   a struggle to ripen the grapes and the wines often had a searing acidity to them.
   Not sure where the grapes went in the intervening yrs until Eric Sussman started taking
   them. But his rendition of these grapes is totally different from what Ridge's was. It is
   a much lighter/brighter Zin; yet it still shows the unique character of vonWeidlich vnyd.
   Maybe it's that terroir-thing again.
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3. Oz Zin: These two were my first experience w/ any Oz Zins. Was not impressed.
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4. CarlisleZins: Whatta lineup of Zins this was from Mike. Although the alcohol levels are high,
   I thought they all carried the alcohol very well and none showed an overripe character that
   you'd expect from the 15%+ levels. The SonomaCnty Zin was probably the weakest of the five,
   but it'd blow away any Zin I can recall in the low $20's. The Feeny was clearly the biggest
   most intense of the Zins, but the Pietro and the Fava were right close behind. Those who missed
   out on the Feeny should not fret at all if you have the Fava or Pietro or the DryCreek.
   These are all very big/extracted huge fruit Zin but at no time to you sense they are over-
   extracted or made big just for the sake of bigness.
   All in all, a killer release of Zins from Mike. Lots of good drinking to look forward to.
   Tom