Wine & Spirits - June 2018 - 52

YEAR'S BEST US ZINFANDELS
near Windsor, where the vines are 40 years
old. It's a chunky wine, packed with inky
blueberry and brandied cherry flavors. Brisk
tannins keep the structure vertical and focus
the wine's power. (W&S 12/17; 896 cases)

511665

91 | Dutcher Crossing

$46

2015 Dry Creek Valley Bernier-Sibary
Vineyard Zinfandel ^ Planted in 1998, these
head-pruned vines are dry farmed with
organic practices. They produced a light,
delicate and rosy red in 2015: zinfandel in
a pinot-noir mode. Its lively intensity brings
out floral scents of fruit skin, and tangy,
orange-zest acidity that would complement
pork chops roasted with apples. (325 cases)
511569

91 | Green & Red

$34

2015 Napa Valley Tip Top Vineyard Zinfandel ^ This grows on a northeast-facing
ridgetop, the vines planted between 1,400
and 1,800 feet. That exposed, high-elevation site produced a sumptuous 2015, a supple and luxurious red gaining tension and
dimension from the fruit's cave-like coolness.
The tannins contrast that coolness with their
warmth, placing the wine with braised meats
or a thick-cut ribeye. (600 cases)
449619

91 | Paul Dolan Vineyards

$15

2015 Mendocino County Zinfandel (Best
Buy) ^ Grown organically on hills above the
Russian River, this is everything you'd hope
to get in an inexpensive Mendocino zin (or
a pricey one). It smells a bit jammy but turns
out to be deliciously spicy and brambly, its
lush blue fruit taking on a vibrant, floraltinged length. It's a ripe, sunny wine that's
hard not to love. (W&S 8/17; 5,080 cases)
450289

91 | Ravenswood

$18

2014 Napa Valley Old Vine Zinfandel (Best
Buy) ^ Scents of hibiscus, sage and madrone
mingle in this satisfying zinfandel, its combination of texture and spice bringing to mind
Mexican chocolate. This is friendly and fresh
(not at all boozy), ready to serve at cellar temperature with chicken mole. Sourced from
Hendry, Dickerson and a range of other vineyards, this is a steal at the price. (W&S 8/17)
508237

91 | Tin Barn Vineyards

$29

2014 Russian River Valley Gilsson Vineyard Zinfandel (Best Buy) ^ Michael Lancaster buys this fruit from a sandy vineyard
52

WINE & SPIRITS

JUNE 2018

511314

91 | V. Sattui

$37

2015 Amador County Amador Ridge Vineyard Zinfandel ^ Underneath its bold blackraspberry flavors, this wine has the kind of
stony minerality you might find in the oldvine carignans grown in pockets of crushed
rock in the Côtes Catalanes. Here, the fruit is
sweet, draping the stony tannins and lasting
on juiciness. It would be delicious with the
charry bits of a grilled leg of lamb studded
with rosemary and garlic. (206 cases)
511412

90 | Beauregard

$48

2015 Dry Creek Valley Maple Vineyards
Zinfandel ^ The team at Bella gets fruit from
the oldest blocks of dry-farmed bush vines
at Maple Vineyards, planted in 1970. Those
vines produce a floral zin with notes of rosepetal jam. The tannins feel brisk and frisky as
well as meaty and savory, ready for a charry,
soy-marinated flank steak. (530 cases)
507637

90 | Chateau Montelena

$44

90 | Inglenook

$48

90 | Inglenook

$48

2015 Alexander Valley Reserve Stone
Ranch Zinfandel ^ Presented in a rich, generously oaked style, this zin holds to a tight
structure that keeps its fruit sweetness balanced in the finish. Though substantial in
size, it's firm, holding some cherry tension
against spice notes of cardamom and turmeric. (149 cases)
511499
2014 Rutherford Napa Valley Edizione
Pennino Zinfandel ^ This estate-grown zin
includes small amounts of primitivo and
petite sirah. It's round and supple, yielding
scents of roses and a balance of sweet and
salty black fruit. The bittersweet-chocolate
tannins place it with brisket. (2,450 cases)
507854
2013 Rutherford Napa Valley Edizione
Pennino Zinfandel ^ One taster compared
this wine to Valpolicella, its formidable tartcherry flavor perked up by some dimpled
fruit (often intentional in ripasso wines). This
is dark in tone, with mineral edges to the tannins driven by the heat in the finish. Pour it
with a meaty pasta Bolognese. (W&S 10/17)

$35

2014 Ben Lomond Mountain Beauregard
Ranch Zinfandel ^ Ryan Beauregard makes
this wine without adding yeasts and ages it
in mostly older American oak, presenting zin
in a rustic, unpretentious style that was more
common in the 1980s than it is today. The
oak needs time to integrate, eventually yielding to buxom dark-cherry flavors and notes
of black olives. Decant it in the morning to
serve with braised boar at dinner. (472 cases)
511467

90 | Bella

90 | deLorimier

$39

2014 Calistoga Napa Valley Zinfandel ^ An
old-school zinfandel, its color as transparent
as the thin skin of the grapes, this has the
richness of a warm-climate wine, plus supple,
dusty tannins to keep all the black-fruit flavor
in focus. There's a gamey, meaty edge to it,
some eucalyptus and sour plum notes that
add to the wine's charm. Pour it with grilled
lamb. (W&S 10/17; 4,800 cases)
511672

511475

90 | Neyers

$30

90 | Ravenswood

$39

90 | Sierra Starr

$17

2016 Borden Ranch Vista Luna Zinfandel ^
From a quartz-rich vineyard in the Sierra
Foothills, this massal selection of zin ferments without added yeasts and ages in
neutral French oak. It's a serious red, clean
and round, lasting on sagebrush scents and
smoky tannins that will meld into roast rack
of lamb. (1,116 cases)
511631
2015 Dry Creek Valley Teldeschi Zinfandel ^ Round and honeyed, this wine's darkcherry and pomegranate flavors have a supple, chocolatey richness. It's big and ripe,
gaining some tannic definition as it takes on
air. Serve it with braised lamb. (700 cases)
511379
2014 Sierra Foothills Old Clone Zinfandel
(Best Buy) ^ The Starr family added a parcel of
zinfandel vines to their Grass Valley estate in
2000 using a massal selection from 100-year-

http://www.dutchercrossingwinery.com/Wines/Zinfandel http://www.vsattui.com/shop/?productid=0D843BFB-2134-4464-95CF-BB0898EC84E4 https://store.neyersvineyards.com/Wines

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