Gary, here’s a fabulous Zin I bet you’ve never had, maybe never even heard of. It’s called C.G. di Arie, and it is incredible. The grapes are sourced from “The Original Grandpère Vineyard” in the Shanandoah Valley. Established 130 years ago, it is the oldest living Zinfandel vineyard in America. The grapes come from the southern-exposures slope at 1,600 feet. The founders are Chaim and Elisheva Gur-Ariehs.

Chaim is a Turkish-born Israeli, who immigrated to the US and became a highly successful food scientist, responsible for developing such products as, Cap’n Crunch Cereal, Del Monte Pudding Cups, wine coolers, and Power Bars.

The 2004 is 86.5% Zinfandel, 9.0% Petite Sirah Lodi, 3.5% Cabernat Sauvignon, 14.7% alcohol, 3.6 pH, and less than 0.1% residual sugar. It was produced in Chaim’s unique “Submerged Cap” fermentation tanks. Intead of pumping over or punching down the cap, Chaim’s method keeps the cap completely submerged for the entire fermentation period, resulting in incredible flavor extration and unblievably silky tannins. You have to experience it to believe it.

Hey, Wine Guy. Great episode. Zins are at the top of my list.

QOD: Nalle. Hands down. Doug and Lee Nalle make an incredible Zin. The Wine Guy should check them out. http://www.nallewinery.com/

Say, didn’t Namath wear pantyhose? The playoff beard is enough, so don’t you be thinkin’ on emulating Broadway Joe.

Lars

I 2nd Vinifera’s suggestion of a Finger Lakes episode. (Welcome Vinifera and thanks for your suggestions)

Thanks, Gary
Very interesting episode.

I havenâ??t had zin in a while but I really liked Dry Creek vineyards old vine zinfandel .

Yoakim Bridge Dry Creek Valley

JOEYdaMUSH, great observation on the labels!LOL
Gary, Zins are the best.Thanks a bunch.
Seghesio can not be beat on taste and price.Delicious!

QOD – My Favorite Zin has got to be a 2004 Elyse Howell Mountain Zin …absolutely wonderful!

QOTD #1: Turley and Nalle

QOTD#2: 2005 Pinots from smaller producers
Landmark Pinot Noir Grand Detour 28995
any AP Vin 29448 29445 29451 29449 29447 29446 29452
any Loring 28933 28934 28935 28936 28937
Sineann Pinot Noir Wyeast 28303
Bjornstad Pinot Noir Hellenthal 29667

Long-time lurker but can’t resist given that I love zins.

First off, Lars is amazing. As a former Minnesotan, he’s dead-on, scary good. Reminds me of my father-in-law from the northern woods.

Favorite zins? Hard to argue against those who suggested Rosenblum’s Rockpile, a really hot AVA these days. Same goes for recent Elyse releases, though they have that oak-monster and high-alcohol thing going (RP wines) and so might seem slightly unbalanced for some. And I’ve heard from others that Swift’s Prisoner is awesome. Agree that the Turley’s have lost some of their charm; last 3-4 bottles have been disappointing. Di Arie’s an interesting wine and I like it enough to buy a half-case every year or two. Yet it tastes a little manufactured to me (perhaps no surprise given the winemaker’s pedigree; I swear that you can actually taste the Captain Crunch in his wines).

I used to like Ravenswood and their “no wimpy wines” philosophy a lot–especially the Old Hill and Dickerson bottlings. Yet they went through a slump a few years ago. I think they’re finding their stride again, yet in the end I come back to Ridge with my favorites being the voluptuous ’97 or ’01 Pagani or perhaps the sleeker ’99 Lytton. The Ridge “magic” is Draper’s talent and the fact that they use field blends (with petite syrah especially) that make their wines more multidimensional with far greater structure than most.

Great segment, Gary. Since it’s play-off time, why not continue with the zins on Friday and compare your fav Ridge zin (Geyserville?) to some of the others in your portfolio, including Shelton and Di Arie? Here’s a suggested line-up, though it omits several other potential superstars from Rosenblum, Seghesio, Terraces and Storybook, as well as your great value in the Rocky Creek:

Carol Shelton 2004 Rockpile (9638)
di Arie 2003 Southern Exposure (8066)
Fife 2002 Old Vines (9332)
Ravensood 2004 Barricia (28801)or Tedeschi (28800)
Ridge (your choice)

p.s. agree the 2004 Lytton was overrated at 95 pts; even Tanzer’s number seems high for this wine especially given how stingy he typically is. Maybe I’m missing something and it will knit together in a few years? Hope so.

Great Show

QOTD: Haven’t had to many Zins untill last year so far we like the 04 2Up, & the Grappler

Can you please try these wines?
Library Code: 7505 Twenty Bench Cab
Library Code: 27784 Lemelson Pinot Noir Cuvee X 2003

First post…ever…how bout some sherry. Never was really into it, then had the 1927 solera…it was awesome. And bring out supafly snooka!!!!

1) Alvear Fino Sherry
Type: Spanish Sherry
Size: 750ML | Vintage: | Library Code: 21068 | Email this

2) Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927
Type: Spanish Dessert Wine
Library Code: 2881

QOTD — Absolute best Zin ever poured down my gullet…. Hands down — 1985 Nalle.

CD

QOTD- Peachy Canyon Incredible Red is my favorite Zinfandel.

Show idea- 4 wines from Justin Winery
Syrahs (including Ojai)
Please no more Sauvignon Blanc tastings

E

Nice. I’ve always liked Ridge. Ummm…I’ve had plenty of satisfying Zins, but I can’t really think of which single one I like the best. I’ve always been happy with Turley, and now that their prices are getting a little more reasonable, they’re even better. I definately think Zins should always be affordable though.

A company called Outpost makes a pretty kick-butt Zin. I’ve only had it twice, but both times I was impressed. OK, have a blast in Bahston. Do those people tailgate with Lobster? Tell your defensive ends to sack Brady a whole bunch of times, cause I’m sick of my wife constantly telling me how hot he is.

GO BEARS!!!
T

Great show Gary. I saw the Ridge Gyserville at WL last Friday. I have always heard good things about the vineyard, but have never had any. As much as I love Zinfandel, I need to give them a try.

The show was somewhat related to a question I asked a couple of times. That was: What vineyard do you think does the best job producing multiple varietals? I remember you having Hogue and St. Jean on early episodes and you liked some wines and not others.

QOTD: The best Zin I’ve had was a Martinelli Jackass Vineyards 2002. HUGE!

Rafanelli Zin is my fav…I have always wondered about the Ridge wines but have never bought any of thier wines due to all the blends…Glad I have second opinion…

Favorite Zin for a “fruit bomb” is the Monster from Norman. I also really like the Carl and Sawyer Vineyard efforts from Wilson Winery in Sonoma. The 2004 vintage is outstanding.

We like Peachy Canyon Zin, and Starry Night.
Nice episode Gary!

god-darn hahahaha I had to laugh

Hi Gary,

Actually, my favorite Zin happens to be one of the bottles you missed by Ridge, the Pagani Ranch. The 01 is great, dence, but a little more austere than the other bottles. And maybe its a trend, but I usually find most of their Zins to be a little hot on the finish. The Pagani has a similar profile on that note.

J-E-T-S

Great stuff Gary!

Mmmmm… Ridge wines. Some of the best Zins out there. I had a 1983 Geyserville a couple of years ago that was still GOOD.

There’s a great tasting at the end of this month (I’m going!) in SF that focuses on Zinfandel producers – ZAP (http://www.zinfandel.org/festival/). If you’re a Zin fan, you should go!

Best Zin?… Wow. That’s tough… right now 2 words spring to mind: Robert Biale.

Hi Everyone,

I really like the Ridge wines, but are they old school? Are they new school? In the old days they were far ahead of the other winemakers, better than most Cabernet Sauvignons. Are they as good, or better than their competitors? I’m asking, ….

Gary good episode, I’m not a big fan of the zins though. Please taste these, or some of these wines sometime in the future. QOTD 2: Clone 5 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Library Code: 29687, Juslyn Vineyard Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Library Code: 29689, Macarico Aglianico Del Vulture 2003 Library Code: 4992, Paternoster Aglianico Del Vulture Don Anselmo 2000 Library Code: 4845. Or maybe do different grapes with similarities to help get people “like me” out of the same grape ruts. “Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon” Thanks ~ Jtk

QOD: Favorite zinfandel: 2004 Robert Biale Black Chicken Ranch Zinfandel