Top Five Zinfandels of the 2007 ZAP Festival
Imagine how easy it is to taste 100 wines.
Yes, maybe it isn’t so easy to imagine; you’ve really got to love wine and be willing to psyche yourself up for the challenge of it.
But if you can imagine how it is to taste 100 wines, then imagine how difficult it might be to choose from that vast assortment of flavors and textures and deliver the best five of them. I don’t claim to be the best at this kind of focus. I really think a more concentrated focus on six or eight wines provides a more quality experience. Until yesterday, I had never tasted such a staggering number of wines at one time.
Nevertheless, I’ve attempted to hereby offer a list of what I consider to be the top five zinfandels poured at this year’s ZAP Fest. These zins are delicious, well-made, and affordable, too, so go get yourself a bottle or two of zinfandel and enjoy the State of California’s signature winegrape, even if it hails from Arizona.
And while you’re enjoying your zin, you might enjoy yesterday’s post fresh from the ZAP Fest - a more experiential view of the day.
5. Eberle Winery: 2005 Zinfandel, Steinbeck/Wine Bush Vineyards ($20). Jammy! Hint of pepper and earth, excellent structure.
eberlewinery.com
4. Tres Sabores: 2004 Rutherford Zinfandel ($30). Tasty blackberry/currant flavor profile, rich texture, fine finish, well made.
tressabores.com
3. Cloud 9 Winery: 2003 Seity ($35). Moderately powerful jammy fruit, solid structure, complex character. Yum! Cloud 9’s 10-acre vineyard is said to be home to the oldest Zinfandel vines on Earth, dating to 1869. These folks also served a warm mulled zin that was the best I’ve ever tried.
cloud9wine.com
2. Jeff Runquist 2003 “R” Zinfandel, Nostro Vino Vineyard, Amador County ($22). Expert winemaking in this outstanding effort that combines lush berry fruit flavors with peppery spice notes and firm structure - a true zin drinker’s wine. Poured at ZAP by the winemaker himself.
jeffrunquistwines.com
1. Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery: 2005 Zinfandel Paso Robles, Dos Vinas Vineyard ($25, 14.2% alcohol). This wine fires on all eight cylinders and races through your senses. Amazing forward fruit, cinnamon, pepper, and cloves, voluptuous mouthfeel and lingering finish. Who could have thought that a zinfandel from Arizona would take the checkered flag from California?
PO Box 779, Sedona, AZ 86339; Phone: 928 274-0394; javelinaleapwinery.com.
Special mention: Graeser Winery’s 2002 Alex’s Ruff Red Table Wine, a blend of 80% Zinfandel & 20% Cabernet Franc. Solid fruit, incredible depth, lovely finish, a rare combination of flavors worthy of the blending experiment.
graeserwinery.com
Top Five Zinfandels of the 2007 ZAP Festival…
A list of what I consider to be the top five zinfandels poured at this years ZAP Fest….
Wine Life TodayJanuary 28th, 2007 22:06
Trecini, Brown Estate, and Bourassa had STELLAR offerings! Don’t know if you hit those but they were great!
(I didn’t make it to Trecini table but a restaurant buddy of mine, where I ate dinner that night, got a case for his personal stash from the folks at Trecini and he cracked one open for us - it was what they were pouring at ZAP - stunningly good)…
JoelJanuary 29th, 2007 20:50
I did try the Brown, Joel, and I can see on other blogs that the Brown was a crowd pleaser. ‘Twas in my top ten zins list, for sure, if I’d just written one! The Bourassa was on my list of wines to try, but somehow I didn’t make it over to that table. The Trecini? I didn’t try it, but I’m sure glad you put it on my radar. Thanks for commenting, Joel - real glad I got a chance to meet you Saturday, and I look forward to seeing your pix from the day’s fun.
winehikerJanuary 29th, 2007 20:57
Thank you Russ. Your comments and publicity are well appreciated. May I post your comments and link on our site? If it’s OK, I’ll have our webmaster hook it up. Our site is under construction today. The updated contact info for our winery is:
Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery
javelinaleapwinery.com
1565 Page Springs Road
Cornville, Arizona 86325
cell 928-274-0394
fax 928-639-0074.
We are located eight minutes outside of Sedona’s town limits. The vineyard, winery and our home rest on the slopes of a volcanic mountain along the Oak Creek greenbelt near the confluence of the Verde River. Our neighbor across the street is the Arizona State Fish Hatchery and Bird Sanctuary. These are historic horse ranch and agricultural properties offering fantastic hikes. Thanks again.
Rod Snapp,
Rod SnappWinemaker and Owner
Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery
Yavapai County, Arizona
January 30th, 2007 16:43
How absolutely exciting!! Thanks so much! You make me proud to be a Zinner. Or, in your parlance, a ruziniker! I do want to make one leetle correction—it was the 2004 not the 2005.
I’m on the fly this morning but am definitely looking forward to keeping in touch—not to mention having the opportunity to welcome you here to the ranch sometime soon!
Julie JohnsonJanuary 31st, 2007 10:54
Duly corrected, Julie! And thanks for writing!
[Editor’s note: I had incorrectly listed the Tres Sabores Zin poured at Saturday’s ZAP tasting as the 2005; I have now corrected it in my post above to read “2004″.]
winehikerJanuary 31st, 2007 10:57