2 Down, 98 to Go

Dang, the first 2 went down fast. However, I'll be sick of wine and missing beer in now time, so my brother in law, Ted, can relax. Please note that he has now joined the Blog Community for the challenge.

Varietal #2: Zinfandel

2004 Zinfandel, Luddite Vineyards, Russian River Valley, 68 cases produced

I made a pretty great (if I do say so myself) Hungarian Style Goulash on Sunday, which we ate as leftovers tonight. The cookbook recommended Limerick Lane Zinfandel (one of my favorites)--but the only Limerick Lanes I had formed a vertical so were off limits. Hence, the Luddite wine, which is only a few miles away as the crow flies from Limerick Lane. We bought this wine in the tasting room and shipped it back with some other bottles--I'm glad we did. For those of you not familiar with Zinfandel--it is quite often a very fruit forward wine that is often described as jammy and quite often at 15+% ABV (alcohol by volume). It is one of the quintessential American Wines, but is often "dissed" by wine snobs because it is too fruity and too high of alcohol. Good for them, but I really like it for drinking in front of a fire on a dark cold evening.

This wine is deep, particularly for a 2004 from Sonoma County. It is peppery with very little fruit on it, which I find rare for CA Zins. The nose is dominated by pepper, with a little hotness, hinting at the 14.2% abv (alcohol by volume). While this isn't particularly high for a Zin, I always smell it before tasting it. The taste is of plums and chocolate. Surprisingly, the tannins are still prevalent, which again, is rare for a few year old CA Zin. I think that this wine could sit for a few years and do very well.