'07 Chester's Anvil

D

drssouth

Stephen South
2007 Chester's Anvil Zinfandel, Lagier Meredith Pott Joint Venture, alc 15.5%...nose is sweet and brambly...the palate shows no excess heat and although very fruit driven, not sappy or overextraced... the finish is smooth and velvety
...overall, a Zin for those who don't really like the very high octane versions seen so often...

Great with Pork Ribs and baked beans

side note: several years ago Steve Lagier told me that he would only every make one wine (their Syrah) after making over 70 different Mondavi wines each year during his stint there...the Rose from L-M and this wine make me pleased that he has relaxed that idea just a little
 
Jeff, I shared in your consternation but I've tasted this wine and it's like a light 15.5%...as the doc sez, the wine is balanced and fruity (not frootie) and the alcohol level seems like it's an honest indication of the actual booze level. It also didn't knock me off my bean after two glasses, a rare occurrence in the Zinfandel world these days.

-Eden (the third glass, however, was a doozy!)
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by drssouth:
alc 15.5%

...

a Zin for those who don't really like the very high octane versions
Click to expand...

Um, er, hey, whuh?
Click to expand...

The Dr. speaks the truth, Jeff. I had two bottles of this wine (the second of which was corked, dammit!) and I can say that it bears far more resemblance to L'Enfant Terrible than it does to Seghesio or Rosenblum. Here's what I wrote about it in Oct. 2009:

Much in the vein of the recently opened Unti Zin, this wine displayed
the fruit and varietal character of Zin, but had fine acidity and
remained light on its feet. It showed a bit of alcohol, which isn't
surprising at 15.5% ABV, but carefully avoided any sense of
overextraction or heaviness. This was very much in the vein of Nalle,
Dashe and other proponents of food-friendly Zin. Highly recommended at
$24.00 retail.

Mark Lipton
 
I made a wine from the same property (Brandlin Ranch, on Mt. Veeder) from old-vine Zin in 1990, that seemed, uncannily, to be a dead ringer for Gigondas from Domaine du Cayron. I brought a bottle to lunch with Kermit, in '93, having asked him to bring an '89 Cayron. When he saw the bottle he expressed consternation. I just said "taste it, then tell me what you think." After going back and forth between the two wines for several minutes, he gave up: "these are both really good!" was all he could say. The Zin was over 15%, but had pretty impressive focus, and, believe it or not, elegance. Rules rhymes with fools...
 
So it wasn't my second bottle of Chester's Anvil that was corked, but rather my second bottle of the '07 L'Enfant Terrible (I told you that I found them similar in style). Tonight, with pizza, I opened the second bottle of the Chester's Anvil and it was quite different from the earlier bottle. Dark, tarry, with a huge graphitic whack early on and dark, plummy fruit but still good acidity. Much bigger than the earlier bottle, and with enough tarry character to pass for an Amador County Zin. Still enjoyable, but Jean found it too hot for her liking. In my own opinion, it still wore its 15.5% ABV well.

Mark Lipton
 
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