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"Bargain
Barbecue Reds"
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July
8, 2002 • Koobation Estate
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Mixing up the varietals
in a blind tasting is one sure way to guarantee some
variety and to put our palates through their paces. Jon
hosted us at his house and prepared a great mixed grill
to match our mixed wines. Wines made from Zinfandel came
out on top. Whether that demonstrates the grape's
superiority or our group's taste preferences, we're not
certain. We prefer simply to enjoy, rather than be forced
to make this judgment.
Brand
Varietal /
"Type"
Vintage, Appellation,
Vineyard
TASTING
NOTES: Color;
aroma; flavor; body;
balance; finish. Alcohol. Varietal composition
(if known). Summary. ($ paid)
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Wines are considered
Equal Quality
Within Categories of Recommendation
(Listed
Alphabetically by Brand)
consensus
terms appear in bold
(possible flaws? are in brackets)
* indicates a second or third party
WEBSITE
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VERY
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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 Marietta
"Old Vines Red"
(nv) California,
"Lot 28"
Dark
maroon, very appealing color; big, deep,
rich, jammy, ripe, berry, black
cherry fruit aroma with some spearmint, root beer,
vanilla and chocolate in the background;
very ripe, slightly sweet, ripe,
fruity, plum, blackberry, black
cherry and cherry cola with spicy,
green peppercorn and earthy flavors; buttery
smooth, rich, round, medium to full body, firm
tannins; excellent balance (too sweet?);
pleasant finish, lingers long and well,
slightly warm. 13.5% alcohol. Varietal composition
varies, but is usually based on Zinfandel with
Carignane, Grenache, Gamay and sometimes other red
grapes. Winemaker Chris Bilbro never seems to make
enough and the style can change slightly from lot
to lot; it is nevertheless a perennial Critic's
Darling. This wine is just plain yummy and fun to
drink. ($11) WEBSITE
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HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
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 Fresno
State
Primitivo
2000 California,
Duarte-Linden Hills Vineyard
Raspberry red
color; light, ripe, fruity, strawberry, red cherry,
dried cherry, blackberry, vanilla, pencil
shavings and oak aromas; young, fresh,
fruity, strawberry, sour cherry and oak
flavors; medium body; good balance,
mouthwatering acidity, slightly tart;
drying, astringent, slightly bitter, short
finish. 13.1% alcohol. Quite controversial, with
many of the fans remarking of its
"Beaujolais-like" style, while detractors
found it "vinous and nondescript" and objected to
the astringent finish. ($14) WEBSITE
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 Rancho
Zabaco
Zinfandel "Heritage
Vines"
2000 Sonoma
County
Dark color; big,
young, fresh, rich, ripe, fruity, berry,
black cherry, currant, raspberry,
strawberry, cotton candy, weedy,
menthol and slightly alcoholic aromas;
clean, complex, concentrated, ripe, fruity,
blackberry, dark cherry, grapey, spicy,
sappy (medicinal?), raisiny flavors, with very
little oak; medium to full body, dry and
tannic; good balance; finishes
somewhat short. 14.3% alcohol. Varietal
composition is 76% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, 8%
Syrah. Clean, balanced and generally well-liked
wine, with mostly 2nd and 3rd-place votes. ($12)
WEBSITE
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 Wild
Horse
Zinfandel
1999 Paso
Robles
Medium-light red
color with a garnet edge, slightly cloudy;
fruity, sweet, young, fresh plum, cranberry,
blackberry, grapey, dried
berry and raisin aromas with smoke,
Graham cracker, coffee bean, celery, grassy, leafy,
and floral undertones; appealing, very fruity,
distinctly Zinfandel, almost sweet
berry, nectarine flavors; smooth,
silky texture, medium body, firm, soft tannins;
good balance, slightly tart, snappy
with a faint coffee bitterness; long, clean,
pleasant, warm finish. 14.8% alcohol.
Varietal composition (if known). Tastes very much
like Zinfandel at its best, rendered in an
"elegant" and "polished" style that a couple of
tasters wished had more depth of fruit. ($12)
WEBSITE
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RECOMMENDED
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 Delicato
Shiraz
2001 California
Dark color;
Dense, complex, sweet, young, grapey, tutti-frutti,
black fruit, blackberry, raisin, gamey, oak, tar,
dill and mint (onion?, bleach?) aromas; clean,
ripe, juicy, black currant,
blackberry, mincemeat, mineral and slightly musty
flavors; smooth, light, thin body (diluted?);
good balance, slightly sweet, slightly tart;
flavorful, drying, slightly hard, slightly
tannic finish. 13.5% alcohol. Although this
wine has a slightly tannic finish, it has good
flavors and is fairly easy to drink. It is neither
exciting, nor offensive, which are much better
stats than most wines in the price range. ($5)
BEST
BUY WEBSITE
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TASTED
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 Belford
Springs
Zinfandel
1999 California
Medium red color;
complex, dark fruit, black licorice, cedar,
mint, basil, charcoal (burnt rubber?), mahogany,
dill and American oak aroma with
hints of cherry, raspberry, spice, caramelized
sugar, smoke; clean, spicy, herbal, dill, fennel,
grass, pine, earth and vanilla flavors dominate
extracted black cherry fruit; medium body, tingly
(effervescent?) and soft, but substantial
tannins; fair to good balance; drying,
somewhat anesthetizing finish. 13.5% alcohol.
Grapes gown in Reedley, Fresno County. Somewhat
oaky at present, but with evident underlying fruit;
in a few months, this wine should settle down and
become more enjoyable. ($9)
WEBSITE
n/a
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 Bonny
Doon
"Il
Circo"
Uva di Troia
2001 Puglia,
"La Violetta"
Medium
ruby-raspberry red color; light, fresh,
complex, somewhat Rhone-ish, dusty, fruit, cherry,
cola, bubblegum, slightly spicy,
alcohol, pepper, cedar, new wood and
smoke aromas (faintly medicinal? filter
pad?); clean, astringent, very dry, minerally,
slightly green flavors of unripe fruit,
cherry (stemmy?); bright, tight texture,
medium body, very tannic; tart
balance, acidic; long, very astringent
finish (metallic?). 13% alcohol. Uva di Troia is,
according to winemaker Randall Grahm, "perhaps the
most complex indigenous grape of Puglia." All but
one panelist remarked on the excessive tartness of
this wine. ($15) WEBSITE
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 Fat
Bastard
Shiraz
2000 Vin de
Pays d'Oc (Languedoc)
Medium-dark
garnet color; closed, nondescript, grapey,
pruney, woody, faintly blackberry, blueberry,
green, celery, perfumey-minerally aroma (stemmy?);
vinous, spicy, green, dead, simple,
flat flavors lack fruit; smooth entry,
thin body, somewhat dusty tannins
give a bad mouthfeel; balance is overly
acidic, sour; short, harsh finish. 12.5%
alcohol. True to its namesake, this is not very
pleasant stuff. ($10) WEBSITE
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 La
Famiglia
Barbera
1999 California
Medium-dark ruby
color; aggressive, heavy, stinky
(Brettanomyces?
SO2?),
smoky-oaky, toasty, charcoal,
coffee, burnt popcorn aroma dominates light cherry
fruit; dry, oaky, charcoal, minerally,
barnyard flavors kill any fruit; lean body,
slightly bitter tannins; tart balance
(acetic?); slight burn in the long, dry finish.
13.5% alcohol. One taster (let's just call him
"Woody") liked this wine very much. ($18)
WEBSITE
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 Sequoia
View
Cabernet
Sauvignon
2001 California
(Barrel Sample)
Red raspberry
color with a garnet edge; cherry,
blackberry, pomegranate, plum, dried fruit,
prune, spice, green chili pepper, dill,
green bean, briary, yeasty, earthy aromas with a
hint of oak; clean, dry, simple, vinous, briary
(stemmy?) flavors; smooth, light-to-medium
body; good balance (flat?, low acid?);
moderate finish. 13.5% alcohol. Varietal
composition: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12.5 % Merlot,
12.5% Alicante Bouschet. While seemingly middling,
this wine has some pleasant elements and only minor
flaws; judging barrel samples is always a guessing
game that can go either way after bottling. ($14)
WEBSITE
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This
Panel
included Regulars Mark, Bob, Marlene, Jon,
Ray, Tammy, Jim L. and Betsy and Guests
Debbie and Jim
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