Cal’s Zins
This
is the big red that you can open up and drink without having
to worry about whether it’s “ready” or not. It provides
direct sensual pleasure that is usually not cloaked behind
barricades of tannin. And it’s not for everyone. The potent,
sometimes dizzying alcohol levels tend to put many wine
drinkers off. Indeed some versions of the variety can almost
strike one as caricatures. Particularly to European tastes,
experiencing what has been called elsewhere the
“Turley-ization” of Zinfandel, the impulse to push fruit
extract, ripeness and body to the maximum, sometimes
constitutes an unpleasant shock. So to be able to enjoy this
big, intense red wine with alcohols generally approaching if
not exceeding 15% is seen by some as a badge of membership
in a somewhat macho, yet esoteric club.
At the same time
there are a number of myths about Zinfandel that have kept
appreciation of the grape somewhat narrower than it should
be. One is that it doesn’t age and is always best consumed a
few years after the vintage; another one I’ve heard
expressed is that Zinfandels all somehow taste the same; a
third holds that the grape can make a wine of massive power
but no subtlety or finesse. During a seminar and dinner at
the Boston Wine Festival I presented several years ago, we
had 18 different California examples, each from a different
AVA, each with a distinct character and flavor profile. To
me it was conclusive illustration of the grape’s versatility
and ability to reflect in very dramatic ways the conditions
in which it is grown. In particular the bottlings from the
many “old vine” plantings throughout the State showed
unmistakable “terroir” characteristics. Because of this
transparency, the rage for vineyard designation in
California has affected Zinfandel more so than any other red
variety besides Pinot Noir. Historically some of the finest
producers of the grape have offered a multitude of bottlings
made in limited quantities rather than one or two blended
cuvees.
As to the aging
question and the idea of elegance rather than raw unbridled,
a visit last summer to the renowned Lytton Springs vineyard
in Dry Creek Valley and a tasting there with the celebrated
“three R’s” of Zinfandel, (Paul Draper of Ridge, Joel
Peterson of Ravenswood and Kent Rosenblum of his eponymous
winery) dispelled those myths in short order. Some of the
wines reviewed at right had significant bottle age and
showed how appropriate maturation can transform the grape’s
signature bold grapey characteristics into flavors that
still exhibit abundant fruit, while revealing new layers of
complexity and elegance only hinted at in youth. The ones
listed were all fabulous wines, highly worthy of collection
and consumption. They are listed by producer rather than in
any hierarchy of “favorites” as trying to distinguish among
them would be splitting hairs at best.
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Ravenswood Ravenswood Ravenswood Ravenswood Rosenblum Rosenblum Ridge Ridge Ridge Ridge |
