DALLAS 11TH ANNIVERSARY ZINFANDEL TASTING - Amici's Signature Italian, Carrollton, TX (9/13/2006)

Tonight our “other” wine dinner group got together at Amici’s Signature Italian in Carrollton, TX. Online posters in attendance were wine+art, win, just a skosh and myself. One other DAWGS member MikeB was in attendance as well.

This dinner marked the start of our 11th year as a group. This is my 3rd anniversary dinner with this group. This was the 1st one for win and just a skosh being recent additions to the group. This was wine+art’s 8th and incredibly this was MikeB’s 11th dinner having been one of the original attendees that formed the group 11 years ago. That’s a ton of wine over the years!

As is customary at the anniversary dinner we gathered together at Amici’s, the site of the original meeting and tasted Zinfandel’s, the original wine theme. It is amazing how much Zinfandel has changed over the years. Back then I was drinking Zinfandel’s like Ridge which were then more subtle and supple wines that earned them the monikor “poor man’s claret”. My how things have changed over the years! Tonight’s lineup was stuffed full of full throttled, somewhat over the top, high octane wines with which you could fuel a jet. You know you’re going to have trouble driving home when the lowest alcohol in the group is a 14.6% Rafanelli Zinfandel…and that’s even if you spit! So much for the commentary. On to the show.
White Flight
We opened a couple of white wines to prime the palate and steel ourselves for the onslaught to come.

• 2003 Roberto Anselmi Capitel Croce Veneto IGT - Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT
  WIML89,NOWA,NOWS
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Light yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of apples, limes and pears. Picked up a bit of sulphur on the nose as well. Flavors of minerals, lime and peach. Light to medium acidity with a light to medium body. Drink now. No value recommendation. (89 pts.)
  
• 2001 Martinelli Chardonnay Sea Ridge Meadow Three Sisters - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  WIML85,WA93,WS93
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. 15.1% alcohol. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Yellow color in the glass, slightly cloudy looking throughout. Big but uninspiring nose leaning heavily towards vanilla with some pineapple and clove notes. Overoaked palate virtually devoid of fruit. Medium acidity, I would say full bodied but why? Also the alcohol was noticeable as well. Too hot. Poor effort. Drink now. Maybe decanting would help? No value recommendation. (85 pts.)
  

Zinfandel Flight
Hold onto your hats people. It's high octane Zin time!

• 1997 Rabbit Ridge Zinfandel Grand Reserve - USA, California, Sonoma County
  WIMLNR,NOWA,WS91
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, slight dusty looking throughout. Dusty nose of kirsh and paint remover. Maybe a little licorice still hiding in there. Flavors of mint with perhaps some Bing cherries or a dark fruit of some sorts. Light acidity and tannins. Light bodied as well. This wine is definitely on the down hill side if not completely shot at this point. Therefore no rating. Drink a long time ago. No value recommendation either.
  
• 1997 Howell Mountain Vineyards Zinfandel Beatty Ranch - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
  WIML85,WA90,WS91
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. 15.95% alcohol. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of cocoa powder and pepper. Seemed hot to me on the nose. Flavors of black licorice, pepper and bitters. Light to acidity, tannins and light to medium bodied. Also on the down hill side but not quite as far gone yet. Must be that mountain fruit propping it up a bit. Drink yesterday. No value recommendation. (85 pts.)
  
• 2000 Mauritson Wines Zinfandel Growers Reserve - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
  WIML88,NOWA,NOWS
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. 15.5% alcohol. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of coffee, roasted fennel, black pepper and just a hint of laquer. Flavors of red currants, red berries and a little bitters on the finish. Light to medium acidity, medium tannins and medium bodied. Drink over the short to medium term. No value recommendation. (88 pts.)
  
• 2001 Rombauer Vineyards Zinfandel Joan's Selection - USA, California, Napa Valley
  WIMLNR,NOWA,NOWS
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. 15.5% alcohol. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty looking throughout. Wine was corked. No rating or valuation. NR (flawed)
  
• 2001 Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel 25th Anniversary Lyons - USA, California, Napa Valley
  WIML90,WA91,WS89
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of cocoa, blueberry, a touch of pepper and a little dried herbs. Flavors of black berries and black cherries with a little bit of blueberry. Medium acidity, firm tannins. Full bodied. Needs more time in bottle to soften a bit. No value recommendation. (90 pts.)
  
• 2002 A. Rafanelli Zinfandel - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
  WIML89,NOWA,WS79
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. 14.6% alcohol. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Got a little brett up front, nothing worrisome. Other aromas of anise with just a touch of candy cane/cotton candy. Flavors of Bing cherries, black licorice and red berries. Light to medium acidity, tannins and body. Not quite as enjoyable as the last tasting so I’m downgrading my original score of WIML90 to WIML89. Can be drank now with a splash and short decant or should hold. I’ll try again later this year or early next year. Based on my direct from winery price of $28.00 I’d say the value here is agreeable. (89 pts.)
  
• 2004 JC Cellars Zinfandel Arrowhead Mountain - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
  WIM89,NOWA,NOWS
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Slight dusty nose of cocoa, smoke, pepper and a little blueberry. Flavors of blackberries, black cherries and a little cocoa. Medium acidity with firm tannins. Medium bodied. Drink over the short term with a splash and short decant or over the medium term. No value recommendation. (89 pts.)
  
• 2004 Hartford Court Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  WIML87,NOWA,NOWS
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet to puple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Dusty nose of fennel and spearmint. Flavors of red cherries, red berries and red licorice. Medium acidity, tannins and body. Drink over the short to medium term. Not as good as previous efforts in my opinion. No value recommendation. (87 pts.)
  
• 1999 Martinelli Zinfandel Jackass Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  WIML89,WA92,NOWS
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty looking throughout. Just a bit herbal on the nose with some aromas of Robitussin cough syrup, Sambuca and melted black licorice. Flavors of red currants and red licorice. Medium acidity and tannins. Full bodied. I’d recommend drinking now. I doubt it is going anywhere from here. No value recommendation. (89 pts.)
  
• 2004 Turley Zinfandel Old Vines - USA, California
  WIML87,WA90-92,NOWS
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. 15.5% Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of monkey rubber (remember that stuff you used as a kid to repair flat tires on your bike?), asphalt and black pepper. Nose is hot and unpleasant. Flavors of black currants, black licorice and black pepper. Alcohol was hot on the palate as well. Medium acidity, firm tannins and full bodied. I’d recommend holding another year or two in the hopes it improves but I wouldn’t be too hopeful. I’m giving it 2 sympathy points on the chance it was an off bottle or my palate was shot at the time. No value recommendation. (87 pts.)
  
• 2004 Martinelli Zinfandel "Vigneto di Evo" - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  WIMLNR,NOWA,NOWS
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. 14.9% alcohol. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Really tight nose giving away nothing. Right now a very singular palate of candied fruit. Medium acidity, tannins and body. I’d recommend holding two years to see if it comes around. I’m withholding a rating since this thing is closed for business in my book. No value recommendation.
  
• 2002 Martinelli Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  WIML89,WA94,WS90
  
  Tasted September 13, 2006 at an offline so brief notes only. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Dark garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty looking throughout. Nose of blueberries, pepper, blackberries and cocoa. Flavors of bitters, cocoa and blackberries. Medium acidity, firm tannins and full bodied. Seemed a little hot on the palate as well. This wine is nowhere near as good as the one I had back in April. Downgrading my previous score of WIML92 to WIML89. Hopefully this was an aberration. No value recommendation. (89 pts.)
  

Sounds like good company. Some of the those zins sound like they didn't age so well.