By Matt Mabus (Mattman)

Mattman

The doors to Fort Mason opened at 10AM, and experience dictates that the palate is best early in the day, as are the crowds.  We arrived at the pavillion at 10:20AM and got right to the business at hand of sampling (and spitting) a whole messload of ’97 Zins.

’96 Rio Seco Zinfandel - Larry and gang were not at ZAP last year, so I’m certain that there were a number of ZAPites that had not had this, a reference point for ’96 Zin. Lots of bright cherry, oak and plums on the nose. Moderately tannic,
somewhat sweet from the concentration, but at 16.9 alc it’sgotta be dry. One of the best wines of the day.

’97 Turley ‘Hayne Vyd.’ Zinfandel barrel sample - They usually also pour another vyd designate, but if you only get one, you want it to be Hayne. More black than most of the Zins being poured today, though somewhat more brilliant and less opaque than previous vintages. Lots of obvious dark fruits on the nose, sweet fruit and loads of spice, turning fairly tannic on the finish. 17.0 alcohol and fabulous if you like this style of Zin.

’97 Rio Seco Zinfandel barrel sample - Vibrant dark ruby red, lots of dark fruits on the sweet smelling nose. Much higher acidity than the ’96, and not showing as opulent fruit as the Turley immediately before it. A very lengthy finish indicates
that this wine will do well with more age than Zin typically does.

’97 Folie a Deux ‘Bowman Vyd.’ barrel sample - Medium dark, bright bubble-gummy nose, edging to cherry, medium to full in body, but not especially concentrated. Lots of spice with rather hefty tannins on the finish. Overall a very pretty wine.

’97 Martinelli ‘Jackass Vyd’ Zinfandel - Julie wasn’t pouring the Hill this year. 16.5 percent and pretty darn black. Big expressive nose that didn’t have the brett usually found in their Zins. Spicy, with lots of deep, dark black fruit flavors, formidable tannins. Texturally deep and rich.

’97 Martinelli ‘Louisa and Guiseppe Vyd.’ Zinfandel - From cuttings off of the Jackass Hill Vyd. Lots of toasty oak and coffee aromas on this black wine, though it edges towards a brownish. Not quite as defined as the Jackass and brighter on
the palate, and not as opulent. Nicely flavored, it’s pretty full-bodied. Rich mouthfeel.

’98 Madrano ‘Hayne Vyd.’ Zinfandel barrel sample - Not as dark and opaque as one would expect a ’98 to be, with the same bubble-gummy character that was in the Folie a Deux ‘Bowman’. A touch hot and also perhaps a little under ripe.
14.0 percent but tastes more, due to a lack of concentration. Medium toward full-bodied and not as tannic as many of the other wines. Lingering spice on the end. 180 cs. production

’97 Vigil ‘Mohr-Fry Vyd.’ Zinfandel - Loads of eucalyptus draw you into this one, almost Orion-like. Fairly high acid component with pine notes, classic Zin-berry, nice balance and full body. Sweet finish. Worth trying in the mid teens.

’97 Parducci ‘Zingaro’ - Soft on the attack, not terribly tannic, and much more forward than most of the Zins being poured today. Decent fruit, and not too spicy. It’ll probably sell well at $15ish…

’97 Hendry ‘Block 7’ Zinfandel - Not as dark and as extracted as the ’96, almost a touch of VA on the otherwise reticent nose. Bright cherry fruit with good mouthfeel and relatively tannic on the end.

’97 Carlisle Russian River Zinfandel - Salt and vinegar potato chip and eucalyptus on the nose. Some commented that it had a nice Pinot character to it. Made by Mike Officer.

’97 Carlisle Dry Creek Zinfandel - Much more vanilla on the nose than the Russian River, rather ferociously tannic. Definite guy wine.

’97 Miner Family Zinfandel - By Oakville Ranch. An unusual nose that reminded me of Jaegermeister, and not as expectedly deep or explosive on the palate. Moderately tannic. More claret styled than most.

’97 Ridge Geyserville barrel sample - Somewhat reticent on the nose, but showing promise. With hard core swirling a good waft of Zinberry was expressed. Lovely, luscious mouthfeel, very full, but soft and enveloping at the same time, plush, good acidity on the back end. Sweet bing cherry comes through in spades at the end. A great young Geyserville.

‘97 Folie a Deux Fiddletown ‘Eschen Vyd.’ Zinfandel - Not as immensely dark as so many of the ‘97s, and rather fiercely tannic the longer it sat on the palate, though the fruit is pretty soft and opulent on the attack. Not as great as some Eschens of years past 

’97 Norman ‘The Monster’ Zinfandel - The best nose yet, pure Zinberry, cracked black pepper and a touch of anise. Not as saturated as the immense cherry palate would lead one to expect. Zippy attack. Great balance, intense and delicious. Not as long as some of the others, but one of my top 5 of the day.

’97 Rio Seco Late Harvest Zinfandel - Anise and tar on the nose, black in color, with gobs of Zinberry on the palate. Not immensely tannic and showing more of the prune/raisin character as it sat in my mouth. 2.3 percent RS, and 17.7 alc. Great wines, all 3 from Dr. Fermento and gang.

’97 Renwood ‘Jackrabbit Flat’ Zinfandel - Someone recommended that I try this, and having liked the ’96, I was eager. I could not get past the hideous levels of VA on the nose. Oxidized as well, it was flawed. Perhaps this was just a bad ba rel sample?? Did anyone else find something different?

’96 Saddleback Old Vines Zinfandel - One of the success stories of ’96, and no surprise at that, as Nils Venge is a ZinDeity. Quite dark purple/black. Perfumed nose, Zinberry, cranberry, and toasty oak. Nicely balanced (to my Zinned-out
palate), but not as lush and full as the otherworldly ’95.

’97 Saddleback Zinfandel barrel sample - Not as dark as I would have expected, but with a beautifully focused, brightexpressive nose. Good marriage of oak and fruit, and with  higher acidity than I expect to find in a Saddleback Zin. Lots of white pepper, and a note of fennel. Not as packed with flavor as expected, but then, the Cab component has not yet been blended in. Great winemakers can improvise in challenging situations and this is proof. It is the product of a stuck fermentation.

’97 Saddleback Late Harvest Zinfandel barrel sample - Aromatically, not as expressive as either the ’96 or the ’97. Big, big, palate (5.5 percent RS), very focused pure fruit. Wonderfully balanced, with ample acidity, loads of glycerin, a
chocolatey finish that went on for days. In retrospect, my favorite wine of the day.

’96 Venge Family ‘Scout’s Honor’ - Half and half Sangiovese and Zinfandel, and never one of my favorite wines.  Grapefruity on the nose, light to medium palate, with rather high acidity.

’97 Acorn ‘Alegria Vyd.’ Heritage Vines Zinfandel - Slightly bitter palate, not terribly sweet, though reasonably well balanced. Tasty enough, but the finish was a bit short.

’97 Norman Late Harvest Zinfandel - Somewhat bottle shocked, according to Lei Norman. Bright and sweet, with 5 percent RS. No oak at all, high moderately high acid, and good length.

’97 Folie a Deux ‘Grandpere Vyd.’ Zinfandel barrel sample - A touch of VA on the nose, though otherwise muted. A bit hot on the palate, with a good amount of Asian five spice type flavors.

’97 Eberle ‘Sauret Vyd.’ Zinfandel - 16.5 percent alcohol, nice focused palate, with lots of forward fruit, and somewhat restrained on the end.

’97 Eberle ‘Steinbeck Vyd.’ Zinfandel - Not showing the power that is generally associated with Eberle Zins, but not bad wine by any stretch of the imagination.

’97 BC (Bohemian Cellars) Zinfandel - Jammy nose, with a lighter, more fruity palate than the nose would have indicated. Fairly high acidity, the second vintage from Shon. A small dollop of Petite Sirah was added, and it is priced pretty
reasonably at $13.75

’97 Robert Biale ‘Aldo’s Vyd.’ Zinfandel - Typical Biale type of color, not over-saturated and immense. Beautiful nose, with lots of Zinberry. Well balanced palate with good cherry flavors. Not much better than the ’96, which is a bit of a
disappointment, but the ’96 was a huge success for the vintage.

’97 Midnight Cellars Zinfandel barrel sample - Expressive nose, very true to Zin, Nice mouthfeel, silky, yet with spicy round flavors at the same time. A mineral component was noted on this wine, one that was missing from just about all
the others. 180 cases, from Paso Robles.

’97 Rosenblum ‘Annette’s Reserve’ ‘Rhodes Vyd.’ Zinfandel - From Redwood Valley, VA was present on the nose, and the wine smelled leesy to me. The palate was much better than the nose, with vanilla flavors from it’s (probably) new oak, cremy and lush, it tasted of exotic spices at the end.

’97 Dashe Late Harvest Zinfandel - Beautifully, bright, focused, jammy fruit. Plush, deep and delicious on the palate. Lots of grapey flavors, root beer and coffee, with grape tannins coming out on the end. Without question one of the best wines being poured this day, and certainly in my top 5.

’97 Fannucchi Trousseau Gris - Okay, so it’s not Zin. Okay, so it’s not even red!! How often do you get the opportunity to try varietal Trousseau Gris? Expressive nose reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc. Somewhat oily palate with notes of anise
seed and licorice.

’97 Fannucchi Old Vine Zinfandel - From vines planted in 1906, this wine had some bitterness on the palate that worried me. Though focused, this is not worth the high 30’s that the lady pouring told me it would be selling for.

’96 Ravenswood ‘Cooke Vyd.’ Zinfandel - It was nice of Joel Peterson to pour this, as it is pretty hard to come by. Not one of my stars of the day, it was not as dense and concentrated as I would expect a Cooke Vyd. Zin (even from ’96) to be.  Turning a bit hard and bitter on the end.

’97 Domaine Archer Zinfandel barrel sample - From David Demostenes’ vineyard in Alexander Valley. Very focused, pure, true spicy fruit, good weight and good length with a hefty dose of vanilla. Nicely made wine, but $26??

’97 Folie a Deux ‘Grandpere Vyd.’ Zinfandel Essence - 4 percent RS with 17.2 alcohol. Even though there was a whiff of volatile acidity to the nose, otherwise it was quite intense, with bubble-gum aromas overpowering the nail polish.
Structured very nicely, with a deep rich palate, it was a bit hot on the end, but considering the high alcohol, it wasn’t out of whack. The raisiny fruit flavors failed to hide it’s Amador heritage.

’97 Dark Star Zinfandel barrel sample - Came in at 25.5 brix,  bright cherry nose, fairly light in color, cranberry and spice flavors dominate, and it was not terribly long.

’97 DeLoach OFS Zinfandel - Not as densely concentrated as past vintages, but nice forward fruit, and more tannin than the wine could handle. In retrospective, perhaps my let-down wine of the day.

’96 Peirano Estate Zinfandel - From Lodi, with an earthy, bretty nose, picking up characteristic Zin notes with some swirling. Light on the palate, though with correct fruit, the finish was pretty short. At around 10 bucks it’s a reasonable
quaffer, though.

’97 Tria California "Old Vines" Zinfandel - I noted the California appellation in conjunction with an Old Vines moniker and asked where the grapes came from. Their reply, "Oh, here, there, and yonder, you take old vines where you can get them these days." In consideration that there is no "official" designation of what is an old vine, I’ve gotta say that I think they are abusing the term, because I found the wine to be quite light, and most unexceptional.

’97 Titus Napa Zinfandel - Bright, glowing ruby color, with a really nice fragrant nose of Zinberry and a touch of bubblegum. Deeply flavored good wine, with the tannins from Howell Mt. well tamed.

’97 Grgich Hills Plavic Mali - It was under the table if you asked for it. Not showing a whole lot on the nose, though the resemblance to Zin was apparent with a little pepper. Not as concentrated, saturated or dense as the majority of the wines
being poured, but then, it does come from Yugoslavia.

’97 Hendry Block 23 Zinfandel - Very dark wine, with interesting notes of citrus peel, clove and eucalyptus on the nose. Quite structured and deep, it has more concentration than the majority of wines being poured today, and in my mind was much more so than the Block 7. Dark fruits abound on the palate, moderately tannic, with bright acidity. Had I had it earlier in the day, it might have been even better, because after almost 50 high octane Zins, my palate was a bit fatigued.

So ended my sojourn at Fort Mason with the world’s best Zins, and off Eric and I went to meet up with Sid and his lovely wife Charmaine for garlic French fries and calimari at Gordon Biersch. After spitting (mostly) I was able to also have a beer.