Zins!

[Saina Nieminen]

That's a grape that rarely makes it over here, except for cheap bulk shit.

Ironstone Vineyards Zinfandel Old Vine Reserve 2005
Sweet, unstructured and anonymous.

Paul Dolan Zinfandel 2008 - Mendocino County
I kind of liked this one. No new oak that I can see; no extremes of ripeness despite a hefty 14,5% abv. Instead it is bright and crunchy like a pomegranate. Palate-cleansing tannins and a refreshing finish. Actually quite nice and gastronomically easy. I wouldn't mind seeing more Zins in this style here.

Is Dolan any good to those of you are exposed to this grape more?

 

[Steve Edmunds]

Paul was the winemaker at Fetzer for a very long time, and is now a partner in the Parducci Winery. He's been a driving force in Mendocino toward organic (and BD) viticulture. He's definitely paying attention.

 

[Peter Creasey]

originally posted by Otto Nieminen: Zins!Is Dolan any good to those of you are exposed to this grape more?

Otto, My call would be that it's usually Good to Very Good and a pretty good value at its price point.

Having said this, I would not recommend that anyone make a general conclusion about Zinfandels based on this bottling. Not knocking Dolan Zins because they are usually quite palatable, but there are many Zins that would merit a higher quality rating...at least in my view.

. . . . . Pete