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ZINFANDEL
ADVOCATES
&
PRODUCERS
TASTING
2000
January 29,
2000 at Fort
Mason Center, San Francisco
as reported and
photographed by Jim LaMar
<<<visit
the ZAP website
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The
annual ZAP tasting has become one of my
favorite wine events. Concentrating on only one
varietal and having the opportunity to taste and
compare hundreds of examples is not only remarkably
enlightening, but also buckets of fun. Since
ZAP sells out months in advance, it is
highly advisable to secure tickets as early as
possible. Although there are a couple of
preliminary events, a smaller tasting on Thursday
and a wine auction dinner on Friday, the ZAP
flagship is the Saturday tasting of both current
and new releases from the now 229 ZAP member
wineries.
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Six Thousand
Tasters attended ZAP 2000. Where's
Waldo?
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 Rabid
Zin tasters queue-up to sample Ridge's
latest releases.
Participation
included the ZAP Tasting Kit, consisting of a
souvenir wine glass, a catalog and a personal
baguette, which may actually have been a
diversion...
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This year, my
normal channels failed and I was forced to change
my plans and cancel both my hotel and dinner
reservations the week prior. Then on Tuesday, the
25th, I get a call from the ZAP office with
an offer of complimentary PRESS tickets!
Grousing about our lack of coordinated timing, but
graciously accepting the windfall nonetheless, I
decided to make a day trip of it. To share the six
hour round-trip drive, I recruited my friend Kevin
who hadn't yet attended a ZAP. We left
Fresno at 6:00 am, fortified ourselves with a hardy
breakfast at Eddie's Cafe in Los Banos and arrived
in San Francisco right on time. A parking spot
serendipitously became available one block away
from our destination, so I knew it was going to be
a great day.
A new feature at
this year's ZAP was a room specifically for
the PRESS. Around the perimeter was an
alphabetically-ordered representative collection of
Zinfandels, one bottle from each winery.
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...from
the fruits and cheeses.
Considering the
hungry throng, it's a good thing we made that
breakfast stop.
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Since the
wineries chose, I figured they would either show
their best OR their toughest-to-sell, in hopes of
some positive press recognition and sales
stimulation.
Anyway, I started
at the "Zs" and methodically worked my way forward,
gratefully trying to sense the positive qualities
of each wine and dutifully noting my impressions on
a pad. I managed to evaluate about 40 wines,
reaching the low Rs before the authorities decided
to close up shop and herd everyone into the public
event, where I continued tasting in a
less-organized fashion. Of course, with 229
wineries pouring an average of four wines each,
only a team of dedicated and organized
tasters could get to everything, so, you do what
you can...
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By
grapevining (the vinous equivalent of "networking")
my way around the Festival Pavilion, I was pointed
to quite a number of nice wines and a few
disappointments. I "doubled-back" on most of the
wines, especially those at the upper and lower ends
of my judgments. Any ZAP
attendees with alternate or additional opinions may
contact
me for
discussion. Here are my briefs on the mere 62 wines
I was able to taste and record.....
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View from the
Pavilion mezzanine... Who's the fat, bald
guy?
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(NOTES: 1. The
"alphabetical" order follows the souvenir program, which
sometimes uses last names, sometimes first names. | 2.
Many vintages do not agree with the printed program, but
my information was taken directly from the labels of the
wines I was poured.)
MY FAVORITE Zin
picks:
- 1997 Dry Creek
Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley "Reserve" ($30) Big
style, very rich flavors, nice balance
- 1998 Fife,
Mendocino "Whaler Vineyard" ($20)
BEST
BUY Rich,
luscious, smooth
- 1997 Four Vines
Paso Robles "Reserve" ($28) Big, jammy, complex;
11% Syrah
- 1997 Rancho
Zabaco, Sonoma "Heritage" ($12)
BEST
BUY Jammy
flavors, balanced (also see PfW
notes)
- 1997 Saviez
Vineyard, Napa
"Saviez" ($28) Great fruit and balance,
medium-weight style
- 1997 Sebastiani
Sonoma Cask, Sonoma "Domenici Vineyard" ($24) Very
rich, mouthfilling, long finish
- 1998 Spelletich
Cellars, Shenandoah Valley "Twin Rivers"
($22)
Gutsy, spicy
with clove notes
- 1997 St. Francis,
Sonoma "Old Vines"
($24)
Jammy,
chocolatey, clean flavors, good balance
- 1997 Villa Mt.
Eden Grand Reserve, Sonoma
"Monte Rosso" ($20)
BEST
BUY Big
flavors, structure
ABOVE AVERAGE
Zinfandels, with style notes: Claret, Medium, or Big
(Unique = unusual, controversial flavors)
- 1997 Aïda,
Napa Valley "Aïda Vineyard" ($37)
Claret
- 1998
DeLoach, Russian River Valley Estate ($18) Medium,
Unique
- 1997
Edmeades, Mendocino ($19) Big
- 1997
Four Vines, Paso Robles ($18) Medium
- 1997
Gallo of Sonoma ($10) Big (Although generally good
quality and indisputably good value, all Gallo of
Sonoma reds seem too tannic for the "drink now"
consumer. I am curious to see how these wines
cellar...)
- 1997
Gustavo Thrace, Chiles Valley ($26) Big,
Unique
- 1998
HMR, Paso Robles "Dante Dusi" ($20)
Big
- 1998
Hendry, Napa Valley "Block 7" ($22)
Big
- 1997
LaCrema, Sonoma "Reserve" ($22) Big
- 1997
Peterson, Dry Creek Valley ($17)
Medium
- 1997
Pezzi King, Dry Creek Valley Estate ($24)
Medium
- 1997
Phillip Staley, Dry Creek Valley "Staley Somers"
($18) Medium
- 1997 Renwood,
Amador
"Grandpere" ($28) Big
- 1998 Ridge,
Sonoma
"Geyserville" ($28) Big
- 1997 Rosenblum,
Mendocino,
Redwood Valley, "Rhodes - Annette's Reserve" ($25)
Big
- 1997 (Jeff
Rundquist) Z, Amador
"Massoni Ranch" ($18) Big
- 1997 RustRidge,
Napa
Valley/Chiles Valley Estate ($18) Big
- 1998 Sable Ridge,
Lodi
"Hensley Lauchland" ($18) Big
- 1997
Savannah-Chanel, Santa
Cruz Mountains Estate ($36) Big
- 1997 Saxon Brown,
Sonoma
Valley "Santinamaria" ($35) Big,
Unique
- 1996 Sierra
Vista, El
Dorado "Old Vine" ($25) Big
- 1998 St. Francis,
Sonoma "Old Vines" ($24) Big, Unique
- 1997 Stevenot,
Sierra Foothills ($12)
BEST
BUY Claret
- 1998 Tarius,
Mendocino
"Aldine" ($29) Big, Unique
- 1997 Tarius,
Alexander
Valley "Demostene" ($27) Medium
- 1994 Teldeschi,
Dry
Creek Valley Estate "Lot 7" ($20) Big,
Unique
- 1997 Tria,
Dry
Creek Valley ($18) Medium
- 1997 Van Asperen,
Napa
Valley "Van Asperen" ($18) Big, faint heat in
finish
- 1997 Vista Del
Ray, Paso
Robles "Vista
Del Ray"
($17) Claret
AVERAGE Zinfandels,
with style notes: Claret, Medium, or Big
- 1997 Four Vines,
California ($11) Claret - 45% Paso Robles, 40%
Sonoma, 5% Monterey
- 1997 Hartford,
Sonoma "Hartford Vineyard" ($30) Big
- 1996
Jacuzzi, Paso Robles "Contra Costa" ($?) Big,
Unique
- 1997
Kendall-Jackson, California "Vintner's Reserve"
($16) Claret
- 1998 Kunin,
Paso
Robles "Dante Dusi" ($25) Big
- 1998 Robert
Mondavi Coastal, Mendocino
"Old Vines" ($20) Big
- 1997 Ravenswood,
Sonoma
"Cooke" ($28) Big
- 1997 Saddleback
Cellars, Napa
"Old Vine" ($26) Big
- 1998 Saucelito
Canyon, Arroyo
Grande Estate ($20) Big
- 1997 Schuetz
Oles, Napa
Valley "Korte Ranch" ($?) Big
- 1997 Sobon
Estate, Shenandoah
Valley "Rocky Top" ($15) Big
- 1997 Spenker,
Lodi
Estate ($15) Big
- 1997 Joseph Swan,
Russian
River Valley "Anniversary Selection" ($25)
Big
- 1998 Tarius,
Mendocino
($23) Claret
- 1997 Victor Hugo,
Paso
Robles "Templeton Hills" ($16) Claret
- 1998 Vigil,
Lodi
"Mohr-Fry Ranch" ($18) Big, Unique
- 1998 Wellington,
Russian River Valley
($16) Big
UNACCEPTABLE Zinfandels, with explanation of the
character that offended my sense of smell,
taste...
- 1997 Robert
Mondavi Woodbridge, Lodi
"Select Old Vines"
($15)...H2S!
- 1998 Pedroncelli,
Dry
Creek Valley "Mother Clone"
($14)...Brettanomyces!
- 1996
Phillip Staley, Dry Creek Valley "Staley Somers"
($18)...Brettanomyces!
- 1998 Renaissance,
North
Yuba/Sierra Foothills Estate
($15)...strong
terpene nose!
- 1997 Sonora
Vineyard and Port Works,
Amador
"Story" ($20)...re-fermenting!
- 1996 Stonehedge,
Napa
Valley ($16)...moldy cheese nose!
- 1997 Rodney
Strong, Napa
Valley ($16)...Brettanomyces!
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