Zin recommendations?

[dsimmons]

My hands down favorites are Carlisle and Ridge but have enjoyed many of those mentioned here. The one I did not see mentioned that would worth a try is Seghesio. In good years their Sonoma bottling is a real value.

[Robert_Chesnick]

Surprised no one has mentioned Neal. Hard to beat the price point for the quality.

[M_Dildine]

A couple of old school Zin purveyors - Biale (many old Napa vineyards) and A. Rafanelli (DCV).

[Brian_Tuite]

Hi everyone,

If there’s an appropriate older thread to point me to, please feel free, and I’ve got some mileage from the great old-vine zinyards thread, but I’m wondering if any of the zin lovers on here could provide me with a few producers to focus in on in exploring more of this wonderful grape.

I have long loved Ridge’s and Turley’s offerings, had great experiences with Rafanelli and Scherrer, and good experiences with Bedrock and Carlisle. I worked last harvest at Williams Selyem and liked our zins but didn’t love them, ditto for Hartford Court, and in both cases found the $60 price tag to be a turnoff. I’d like to stay under $50, preferably under $40.

Any ideas?

The Hartford Family RRV Old Vines should be about $42. Zins in price range and not yet mentioned would include Brown Estate and Reichwage. I’ve reviewed many of these on Zinfandel Chronicles. Good luck.

Tom

Had a 2017 Hartford RRV Zinlast night. Was quite ripe and “porty”.

[Chris_Seiber]

I’m a fan of Turley zins, but have only ever bought at wine auctions. Not sure what retail is on them.

Go to their website and sign up for the mailing list. I don’t think there is a long wait, pricing is substantially better than retail, and there is no obligation — you just buy what you want when the offers come out, I think twice a year.

[Rich_Brown]

Hi everyone,

If there’s an appropriate older thread to point me to, please feel free, and I’ve got some mileage from the great old-vine zinyards thread, but I’m wondering if any of the zin lovers on here could provide me with a few producers to focus in on in exploring more of this wonderful grape.

I have long loved Ridge’s and Turley’s offerings, had great experiences with Rafanelli and Scherrer, and good experiences with Bedrock and Carlisle. I worked last harvest at Williams Selyem and liked our zins but didn’t love them, ditto for Hartford Court, and in both cases found the $60 price tag to be a turnoff. I’d like to stay under $50, preferably under $40.

Any ideas?

The Hartford Family RRV Old Vines should be about $42. Zins in price range and not yet mentioned would include Brown Estate and Reichwage. I’ve reviewed many of these on Zinfandel Chronicles. Good luck.

Tom

Had a 2017 Hartford RRV Zinlast night. Was quite ripe and “porty”.

That had to have been an off bottle Brian. I’ve had a handful of the most recent vintages and none of them have been even close to porty. You should definitely try another one and report back at some point, as I feel like youd normally love this wine.

[Tico_D]

I’m a fan of Turley zins, but have only ever bought at wine auctions. Not sure what retail is on them.

Go to their website and sign up for the mailing list. I don’t think there is a long wait, pricing is substantially better than retail, and there is no obligation — you just buy what you want when the offers come out, I think twice a year.

Thanks for the suggestion, will check it out.

Definitely recommend the Turley Zins.

[D_Mowe]

Inline with your represented style I would give Radio-Coteau Zinfandel a try.

[S_Rash]

Kokomo and Mauritson in Dry Creek Valley
Fields Family Wines in Lodi

[Gabe_Berk]

Green & Red

[z_hart]

We’re big fans of Zichichi’s Old Vine zin, from Dry Creek Valley. $35/bottle with futures order.

[J_Cohen]

Bucklin!

[Hoang_Pham]

Besides my regular zin faves of Turley, Carlisle, Bedrock.
Mauritson, specifically their Rockpile offering and Storybook in Calistoga make solid zin juice for under $50.

[JulianD]

+1 on Turley.

I know they have the rep of being big fruit bombs, but they have really tamed it down since ~2014 under Teagan. Also, pricing is substantially better on the mailing list vs retail.

[Rich_Brown]

We’re big fans of Zichichi’s Old Vine zin, from Dry Creek Valley. $35/bottle with futures order.

Never heard of them before - I’ll have to check it out!

Thanks for the new reco!

[Ben_M_a_n_d_l_e_r]

Love me some zin - looking forward to this discussion!

With your positive feedback on Scherrer, Bedrock, Carlisle, and Ridge, my first thought was that your preferences would lean towards more med/med+ bodied zins with a focus on balance and structure, but since you also mentioned Turley as a favorite, it sounds like you’re open to larger scale versions as well (yeah, I know Teagan’s dialed it back some but they still come across bigger to me vs. The other producers mentioned).

That being said, my first thought would have been Hartford, as IMHO, their wines have never been better and their zins have catapulted towards the top of my list in recent years (now sitting alongside Bedrock and Carlisle), but sounds like you didnt dig em as much. I really like the Bucklin reference (Wills entire lineup is awesome), and would also suggest checking out Once & Future (Joel Peterson’s latest project).

Couple other options would be Matthiasson Zinfandel which to me is somewhat similar in style to Scherrer (lighter bodied, low alcohol, and plenty of acidity), and Limerick Lane… although the LL zins have reached the price point where I’m sadly no longer a buyer (most will be over your threshold).

Last…if you can find em for a good price at auction, I’m a huge fan of the Beekeeper Zins. Expensive at retail, but very, very good.

Looking forward to hearing from my fellow zin fans/friends on the topic (you know who you are)

Thanks Rich for all the suggestions and details. I have always found Turley to do big well, and on the rarer occasions I wanted something really powerful, I was always happy to have some Turley on hand. I think that’s still true under Teagan - I wouldn’t ever really call their wines “restrained” - but I do like them just as much if not even a bit more now, though my sample size is not all that large.

I’m glad you mentioned Matthiasson - I have a bottle of his Limerick Lane zin that I picked up on a whim a little while ago so will definitely have to crack that open. Maybe I’ll have to give Hartford another shot, too - my opinion is based on only one day of tasting through their wines.

[Ben_M_a_n_d_l_e_r]

Ben, take advantage of barrel tasting weekend this and next week and try Joseph Swan and Wine Guerilla in Forestville, Nalle and Mauritson in Dry Creek.

Oh man don’t remind me! I am so bummed to be missing this. Really need to plan better next year. Thank you though for the suggestions - onto the list they go.

[Ben_M_a_n_d_l_e_r]

My hands down favorites are Carlisle and Ridge but have enjoyed many of those mentioned here. The one I did not see mentioned that would worth a try is Seghesio. In good years their Sonoma bottling is a real value.

You know, I never had much luck with Seghesio in the past, but recently tasted their Home Ranch and Pagani bottlings and was very pleasantly surprised, so they’re back onto my radar.

[Ben_M_a_n_d_l_e_r]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I’ve made a list and it looks like Bucklin, Talty, Mauritson, and Nalle are first up. Will report back with any particular successes!

[Brian_Tuite]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I’ve made a list and it looks like Bucklin, Talty, Mauritson, and Nalle are first up. Will report back with any particular successes!

The first three being in Dry Creek makes for a good tasting day.