Wine Tasting: Zinfandel

Ah, Zinfandel. Still my favorite varietal, particularly for bang-for-buck value. If I have $100 to spend, I'll buy cabernet. But for less than $30, it's Zinfandel. No big surprises, with favorites proving themselves yet again (Scherrer, Storybook, Seghesio, Rosenblum, Ridge). I did have two cork'd bottles in the 18 we opened (fortunately, I had a second bottle of one of them).

Favorites in bold.

1. 2007 Ravenswood Vintner's Blend California Zinfandel ($8.99): the baseline, basic, $10 supermarket Zin. Perfectly drinkable.
2008 Shenandoah Vineyards California Zinfandel ($9.99): my favorite under-$10 bottle, reliable, generally a bit more interesting than the Ravenswood or Rosenblum $10 standards. This vintage just a touch sweet, but perfect party wine.
2002 Joseph Swan Lone Redwood Ranch Zinfandel ($15.99): Swan makes excellent Zin in a more restrained style and often holds them back to age. This started with a stemmy, menthol profile at the beginning, but settled down to be quite nice; excellent food wine.
2007 Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel ($17.99): perhaps the most reliably good Zin under $20 (altho price for current vintage is $19.99), the basic Seghesio bottling has been wowing critics for nearly 10 years, shows reasonable balance and structure, but not meant to age.
2005 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Mayacamas Range Zinfandel ($26.99): probably my favorite Zin producer of all, finds the right balance between fruit and structure, never sweet or "jammy." A crowd favorite, not just mine. If only it were a little less pricey (current vintage is up to $29.99).
2006 Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel ($29.99): my benchmark $30 Zin, consistent and well-made, but always needs age. This was still very young, and even after 3 hours in the decanter was still improving. After 4 hours decanted, it was at its best, with great structure, nice acid, and bright red fruit. Too bad my 2002 bottle was cork'd!
2000 Scherrer Old & Mature Vines Zinfandel (~$35): very nice, very relaxed, very smooth. Would have been nice on a warm evening with a light meal.
2005 Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel (~$25): another nice showing from Ridge, in a style that's more forgiving of early drinking than the Geyserville.
2002 Seghesio Lumetta Zinfandel ($29.99): in addition to the standard Sonoma bottling for which Seghesio is justly famous, they also make smaller production single location Zins. This one has been in my cellar for a few years and was fantastic, with all the balance of the Storybook, but a bit lighter on its feet. Excellent stuff (and was on sale for $18 several years ago -- wish I'd bought more!).
2005 Rosenblum Snows Lake Vineyard Zinfandel (~$35): my favorite of all the 2005 Rosenblum Zins, and was briefly on sale for half off (I bought a case). Excellent wine, generous without being a dessert experience, was a delight with the pork ribs (thanks Dru!).
2005 Rosenblum Annette's Reserve Zinfandel ($24.98): the sweeter, almost port-like style that Rosenblum is known for, but with structure, too. A perfect dessert or aperitif wine.
2007 Rosenblum Annette's Reserve Zinfandel ($35): still a bit too young, component flavors not knit together yet, not the measure of the 2005.
2004 Scherrer Old & Mature Vines Zinfandel (~35): stand-out favorite of the night for almost everyone who tried it. All the red fruit, but with good acid and balance. Some even said more like Pinot than Zin (perish the thought). Thanks to MJ for pushing me to open it! And if you buy it in futures, you can get a much better price...