That was my thought originally, but then again, they hold vintages back, 2015 now while most houses are 2018-19, and they are at the age where most people have consumed their Zins. These are remarkably good Zins. It’s become my favorite CA Zin.
Definitely love the wines.
-Al
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Seriously just so good! And I for sure wouldn’t call it ‘old’…but I popped an 09 a little over a year ago and it was absolute fire. One of the best zins I had that year. Pleeeenty of gas left in the tank!
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I am a convert
When should we try some? I would have to go get them and let them rest for a week or two but I can provide a nice set of wines from the 70s to the present. Most will not be very good, some were never very good, some were good at some point but now are too old, a few will surprise us for how young they taste.
I have found few producers whose wines really age into something special, and perhaps an equal number of producers whose wines endure nicely, but even then 20 years is a long time for most zins.
Here’s one for you: I had an etched magnum of 2001 Kunde Estate Zin and one of their 2001 Merlot I overpaid for at a charity auction many years ago. I thought the etched bottles were kinda interesting and I’d display them, but never did. I didn’t take particular care in storage because I figured I’d never actually drink them…finally decided to get rid of them so in October I opened them up to dump them ahead of the recycling bin. Being the wine geek I am though, I poured a glass of each just to see…
The merlot was gone. Undrinkable. The zin though, really surprised me. There was still some brambly fruit in there, and had a decent finish. It was actually not bad…I finished the glass….and then drank a bit more. Crazy.
I was gifted an engraved 2002 Kunde Estate Sonoma Valley Zin 1.5L years ago. It was used as a door jamb for a long time, simply because I did not expect to ever have an occasion to pop it, and my opinion of the winery’s bottlings was “Eh”*.
Well, I ended up opening it c2017, and it was very pleasant. Of course, a large-format bottle ages more slowly, but this bottle had not been treated gently at all over time.
\
- The “Shaw Vyd” Zin is a different story, however!
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My limited experience includes ‘12 & ‘13 Geezer consumed over the past 9 months. Both excellent.
I have 6 bottles of 2016 VGS zin which the winemaker has suggested are 20 yr wines. Sounds like I should drink up? Other than VGS, a few Turleys and the odd Bedrock, I don’t purchase much zin. Thoughts on this one?
They used to have a by the glass Zin at Berns that was, IIRC, from the 1970s. I got a glass while waiting for a table just as a curiosity and it was excellent. Someone also brought a 20+ year Zin to the pre-Falltacular dinner in 2020 and my wife thought it was so good that she made her way through the mob (she’s only 5 feet tall) to give me some. I do not recall what it was, but it was excellent. It might have been brought by Mark Hubbard, but I am not sure. I also recently picked up 4 bottles of 1990s decade Turley at auction (sorry, not in CT yet) and the first two bottles were good, but not religious experiences. I have a few cases of 10+ year old Carlisle zins and I have drunk some older ones with no issues. Here is a recent note on a 9 year old Zin:
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2011 Carlisle Zinfandel Montafi Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/31/2020)
This has now happened twice. I taste a wine blind that my wife selected. My comment, “this is a great Zin. My guess is not mountain fruit. The only Zin I have had that was this good is Carlisle Montafi Ranch.” Nothing more needs be said. (94 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
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I have only had a few aged zins (mostly Turleys and Ravenswoods) and my experience is that aged zin definitely becomes less “zin like”. If I want something “non zin”, I’ll drink something other than zin. I usually drink zin when I want something fruity to enjoy on its’ own.
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We had quite a few Aged Zins at the Old Vine Redux in August, 2021. Notes and pics in the link.
Found this CT note from a little over a year ago:
1997 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines Scherrer Vineyard Alexander Valley
11/16/2020 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 93 points (Edit)
Anyone who thinks zin doesn’t age well needs to get their hands on one of these. This wine shows layers of bright blue and red fruit supported by mouth watering acidity. Vibrant, juicy and delicious with plenty of life left, this paired exceptionally well with grilled sirloin.
Sorry, whats VGS?
I believe Jen is referring to Chateau Potelle VGS. The original zins they produced came from a vineyard (estate?) on Mount Veeder. The original zins were quite good but pricey at the time (late 80’s). The winery has fallen off my radar and the current release zin is from Moon Mountain.
FWIW VGS=Very Good Sh*t.
Sean that is correct, thanks for translating!
I have 2015 from Mt Veeder, and then the 2016s from Alta Vista Vineyard Sonoma. I tried one about 6 months ago and it was drinking nicely, but I am wondering how much time I can hold my remaining bottles.
Gotcha - thanks! I drink quite a bit of zin but was not familiar with that one. CT reviews are solid…granted 99% of them are from Mark1NPT (who has to hold the record for the most comments on CT notes).
If you care to, please elaborate.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
While not that old, this 2017 Turley Duarte was incredibly good the other night.
Zinfandel, Carignane, Granache, Mataro,
Evangelo, Mori, Del Barba vineyards (Salvador was included in through the 2019 vintage)
I wish I could share a glass of this wine with anyone who doubts that Zinfandel can age/improve while still maintaining the characteristics that we all love about the variety. Stunning wine. What did I pay for this at auction - $15?!? Thank you Joel!
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