'01 Martinelli Guiseppi & Luisa Zin

Just received from the winery last Wednesday.

WOW! I've got my wine of the month!

Opaque ruby color with a bright sparkling ring. Stick your nose into the glass and you would swear that you were just thrown into the briar patch. Fresh rasberry aromas with vanilla and tar boquets burst up the nostrils like smoke out of a cannon. Take a swig and its John Philip Souza time. Huge tary jam of rasberries and other bright red fruits coat all parts of the mouth; from the creaminess of the fruit to the prickles of the white pepper this wine tickles all the sensations at once. And then a metamorphosis to the finish. The smooth and long creamy vanilla finish had me anticipating my next mouthful. This is not a sipping wine. This is not a subtle wine. It is a smelling wine but the glass somehow all of a sudden became empty. This bottle shared between two of us lasted 15 minutes. 93 points on the wine but 100 on the fun scale.
5 grins!

How do they make it so good and sell it so cheap?
So what's the JA and JAH going to be like?

<edited by LCC to fix title>

Good. 8 bottlels on the way...

David,

Just curious ... what's the alcohol content on this one? Seems like the 2000 G&L was somewhere in the 17.2% neighborhood. And y'all killed this in 15 minutes?!?

I have a case of this waiting for me in Missouri. Dr. T and I are *supposed* to be sharing this case, but he might just has allocation reduced to next to nothing!

By the way, Parker gave this 90-92 in issue 142, and seemed to be indicating that there was further upside potential from there. From your description, it sounds like the upside was fully achieved. YAY!

stemor,

The alcohol is only 15.3%. Pretty low for a zin today. It was not noticable and I'm sure that it was a big part of making the wine seem so fat. It was so nicely balanced.

It was my first drink of the day too. I am one that usually makes a GLASS last half an hour or so because I usually drink all the different wines that are available. I'm sure you've all been there; five or six glasses all with a short pour sitting in front of you while everybody else is just lapping it down in any order. At any rate, I couldn't believe how I wanted to take these HUGE mouthfuls of this stuff. And just holding and swishing this big gulp around the mouth experiencing all the different sensations was such a kick. This wine I would say was a "zin epiphany" for me and I've had alot of big zins before.

Stem-

I caught that. But remember next to nothing does not equal nothing. Round up, baby.

pm coming.

I just picked up my (err, OUR!) case today and couldn't waing to open one of Dr. T's bottles.

This was sort a surprise to me after the jammy 2000 G&L. Although this wine achieves the full range of intense flavors (including vanilla, dark fruits, and coffee) it does it without the almost-too-high residual sugar content of last year's offering. In fact, the mouthfeel is relatively light for a big zin -- with a nice warmth on the (long!) finish.

Nothing seems out of this line in the 2001 G&L. It's drinking well now, so enjoy! 93 SM points.

I visited the tasting room this past Thursday and they were pouring the G & L. Excellent stuff, without a doubt. I picked-up a few bottles. Parker rated this 92 points and it's every bit of that.

Missed you by a day at Martinelli!

Popped this open last night. I suggest that a year or two in bottle would definitely help this wine. It took a while to unwind and show it's stuff. Not as thick and powerful as the '00, but still delicious. 90pts.

jb

Tasted at the Victorville get together on 4/19/03.

2001 Martinelli Zinfandel, Guiseppe & Luisa; Sweet, yummy, concentrated red raspberry fruit, candied cherry, and white pepper. Turns supple and elegant in the mouth. More evidence for the high quality of the Zinfandel harvest in 2001 in California. HDW 92 About $45?

My rating 92 points. I am glad I have some of this in the cellar. I need to be on the lookout for more. Anyone know if they have more left? I may have my destination winery for tomorrow, if I can handle the drive from Paso. Anyone have a phone number instead, or know if it is still available?

Mike

It was still available as of last Saturday. If you go, you need to taste the 2001 RRV Pinot.

Thanks Jones. Phone number for them? If I go, any appointment necessary?

Mike

No appointment necessary.

3360 River Road
Windsor, California 95492
tel: (707) 525-0570 or (800) 346-1627- between 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. PST
fax: (707) 525-WINE

Thanks Jones, I will call them forthwith. Not sure if I could make it there before closing or not, but want to purchase more.

Mike

jones-the people at martinelli said the 2001 rrv pinot is made in a softer lighter style. how good is it?

If I was not on wine probation I would have bought a case. Very enjoyable current drinking imo and pretty well priced at $35.

I will concur with what Martinelli said about the RRV pinot. When I tasted it last month at the winery I thought it was "meek for a Turley wine". It is probably more food friendly than the rest of their pinots. I have a couple coming to me this week for "future analysis".

Its the second wine for all of the single vineyard RRV Pinots.

To me, "meek" has a negative connotation that I don't feel is warranted. I quite enjoyed it.

Cracked open one of these tonight!!!

WOWZER!!! What an incredible Zin. It doesn't get much better than this.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Brent. Very big, very ripe but with balanced acidity and a lengthy finish. Excellent wine--really showed nicely last night. Only one left--wish I had purchased more when I was at the winery.