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Steve Spielmann's TN Thread
- Thread starter Steven Spielmann
- Start date
lars makie
lars makie
But, put me in the camp that cannot stand that fucking 07 Seghesio. Haven't tried any of their other wines, but I tried one of the Sonoma after the Spectator review. Had a glass one night and couldn't finish it, tried another the next night and it was worse... poured the bottle down the drain. Opened a 2003 Ridge Lytton Springs the other night and couldn't finish it either. Maybe I'm losing a taste for Zinfandel.
Kay Bixler
Kay Bixler
Nalle. And one year Frey, of the no sulfites fame, made a terrific, inexpensive, juicy/weedy zinfandel but I have not tried lately.
Steven Spielmann
Steven Spielmann
Interesting tips, Thor. Thanks. Where does Foxglove source their grapes? Is that a SCM Zin?
That Frey looks like a winning possibility - and alcohol under the golden 14% mark! I'll poke around for that as well.
I don't hate it, Lars. I'm always fully prepared to hate just about any wine with over 15% alcohol (the 2006 Prisoner may have been the worst wine I've had all year, for example) but this actually struck me as, you know, at least a wine made out of grapes. I would drink the Seghesio over the Prisoner or two buck chuck, and gladly. For that matter there are a lot of inferior ten dollar grocery store wines. It's just a bit over the top and too alcoholic for me, plus it feels a little manipulated somehow (no idea if it actually is), and doesn't offer much to think about after the first few sips.
I'm mourning your lost Lytton Springs...though curiously I missed the 2003 entirely. Liked '01 and '04 pretty well though.
That Frey looks like a winning possibility - and alcohol under the golden 14% mark! I'll poke around for that as well.
I don't hate it, Lars. I'm always fully prepared to hate just about any wine with over 15% alcohol (the 2006 Prisoner may have been the worst wine I've had all year, for example) but this actually struck me as, you know, at least a wine made out of grapes. I would drink the Seghesio over the Prisoner or two buck chuck, and gladly. For that matter there are a lot of inferior ten dollar grocery store wines. It's just a bit over the top and too alcoholic for me, plus it feels a little manipulated somehow (no idea if it actually is), and doesn't offer much to think about after the first few sips.
I'm mourning your lost Lytton Springs...though curiously I missed the 2003 entirely. Liked '01 and '04 pretty well though.
Chris Coad
Chris Coad
Some recent cheap zins that I'd buy again:
Peterson Winery Zinfandel Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley 'Zero Manipulation' 2002 ($14). Gently plush black cherry-blackberry aromatics, smells warm and ripe and dark, with just a hint of licorice. Tastes smooth, velvety and chewy-textured, medium acidity, broadshouldered but by no means oversized. Some rough tannins on the finish, but really a rather supple, juicy zinfandel with a sense of restraint and some complexity. Very nice. [Buy again? Yup.]
Sfida Primitivo (70%)-Negroamaro (30%) Puglia IGT 2006 ($9). Hey, it's zinfandel: black cherry mingled with black raspberry, ripe and juicy aromatics, dark fruit laced with a light tarry-licorice vein. Tastes friendly and jammy and fruit-forward, medium acidity, fleshy and ripe and loosely wrapped, but also relatively unmarred by overt oakiness or anything else weird. A simple juicy quaffer that does very well with a burger, simple and straightforward and kind of fun. [Buy again? Yuh.]
Sobon Estate Zinfandel Amador County 'Hillside' 2006 ($8). Medium-light garnet, quite translucent. Bright black cherry & mineral notes, touch of cocoa powder, touch of Robitussin. Bright, tart and racy, a pre- or perhaps post-gob style of zin that's more food friendly than most of its competitors in the same price range. It's a simple little wine, but it has a pleasant tartness and some friendly-ripe raspberry-black cherry fruit. Simple, unassuming zinfandel with some nervy flavorosity. Refreshing, really. ORGANIC! SCREWCAP! [Buy again? Definitely.]
Benson Ferry Zinfandel Lodi 'Old Vines' 2005 ($10). Medium-dark purply-garnet color. Rich smoky-brambly raspberry-Robitussin aromatics with an interesting rooty-sasparilla note. Sweetly ripe and juicy, there's a hint of froot-punchiness here but that smoky-barky dark streak and some good concentration help ground the wine, keep it from drifting towards simplicity. It's not entirely cohesive, there's a bit of a roughness in the middle, but it's a likeable wine, not big or boisterous, not steroided, just kind of juicy and straightforward. WIth time a slight charry note emerges on the finish, but it's not a dealbreaker. [Buy again? Sure.]
Peterson Winery Zinfandel Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley 'Zero Manipulation' 2002 ($14). Gently plush black cherry-blackberry aromatics, smells warm and ripe and dark, with just a hint of licorice. Tastes smooth, velvety and chewy-textured, medium acidity, broadshouldered but by no means oversized. Some rough tannins on the finish, but really a rather supple, juicy zinfandel with a sense of restraint and some complexity. Very nice. [Buy again? Yup.]
Sfida Primitivo (70%)-Negroamaro (30%) Puglia IGT 2006 ($9). Hey, it's zinfandel: black cherry mingled with black raspberry, ripe and juicy aromatics, dark fruit laced with a light tarry-licorice vein. Tastes friendly and jammy and fruit-forward, medium acidity, fleshy and ripe and loosely wrapped, but also relatively unmarred by overt oakiness or anything else weird. A simple juicy quaffer that does very well with a burger, simple and straightforward and kind of fun. [Buy again? Yuh.]
Sobon Estate Zinfandel Amador County 'Hillside' 2006 ($8). Medium-light garnet, quite translucent. Bright black cherry & mineral notes, touch of cocoa powder, touch of Robitussin. Bright, tart and racy, a pre- or perhaps post-gob style of zin that's more food friendly than most of its competitors in the same price range. It's a simple little wine, but it has a pleasant tartness and some friendly-ripe raspberry-black cherry fruit. Simple, unassuming zinfandel with some nervy flavorosity. Refreshing, really. ORGANIC! SCREWCAP! [Buy again? Definitely.]
Benson Ferry Zinfandel Lodi 'Old Vines' 2005 ($10). Medium-dark purply-garnet color. Rich smoky-brambly raspberry-Robitussin aromatics with an interesting rooty-sasparilla note. Sweetly ripe and juicy, there's a hint of froot-punchiness here but that smoky-barky dark streak and some good concentration help ground the wine, keep it from drifting towards simplicity. It's not entirely cohesive, there's a bit of a roughness in the middle, but it's a likeable wine, not big or boisterous, not steroided, just kind of juicy and straightforward. WIth time a slight charry note emerges on the finish, but it's not a dealbreaker. [Buy again? Sure.]
Paso. It's made by the Varners.Interesting tips, Thor. Thanks. Where does Foxglove source their grapes? Is that a SCM Zin?
Steven Spielmann
Steven Spielmann
Thanks again. You too Chris.
It's hard to write about wines you neither like nor hate which are outside your normal stylistic range. The Seghesio Sonoma is really not bad - it's a credible realization of its grape. I would even prefer it to the soupy Ridge Sonoma Three Valleys (though not any other Ridge bottling I can remember), which is just a few bucks less. The only definite fault that I can really detect is the overt alcohol. I could even put up with that and drink more of it if this were say $10 per bottle. It's just not my kind of thing and not that great to boot.
Of course you're allowed to brutally hate it even if I don't.
It's hard to write about wines you neither like nor hate which are outside your normal stylistic range. The Seghesio Sonoma is really not bad - it's a credible realization of its grape. I would even prefer it to the soupy Ridge Sonoma Three Valleys (though not any other Ridge bottling I can remember), which is just a few bucks less. The only definite fault that I can really detect is the overt alcohol. I could even put up with that and drink more of it if this were say $10 per bottle. It's just not my kind of thing and not that great to boot.
Of course you're allowed to brutally hate it even if I don't.
Steven Spielmann
Steven Spielmann
Point scores are a symptom of a deeper problem. I want to think about wine experiences without necessarily reaching a verdict. I just want to describe them for what they are.
Comparisons are unavoidable and sometimes they will be qualitative. But I don't want that to be the telos of my wine notebook.
Comparisons are unavoidable and sometimes they will be qualitative. But I don't want that to be the telos of my wine notebook.
originally posted by Thor:
Nalle's in the mid-$20s here. (For that matter, so is Dashe DCV.)
Ah what's a few bucks between friends??!