Friends of the Rampant Oenophile appreciate my parties because I try always to find new twists on enjoying wines. This past weekend, we celebrated the coming Fall Season with a Harvest Vertical tasting of some excellent Zinfandels, one of this Rampant Oenophile's favorites in any season.
While more serious oenophiles may adhere strictly to exhausting rules guiding a vertical tasting, this Rampant Oenophile follows a simple process. Walk into the cellar, find three bottles of the same wine from the same vintner in succeeding years, and compare the joys of consumption.
For this Zinful weekend, we enjoyed the 2004 St. Francis Old Vine Zinfandel, the 2005 St. Francis Zinfandel Wild Oak, and the 2005 St. Francis Tres Viejos Old Vine Zinfandel. Yes, we cheated slightly with two 2005 vintages, but I could find no 2006 bottles, and didn't want to uncork my 1998 Old Vine Zin just yet.
Our first bottle was the Tres Viejos, a wonderful way to start our journey. I bought this bottle on a trip to San Jose last year, and it is only available from the winery. The St. Francis site has a list of states that they can ship to, so please inquire. At $40 it's pricier than an everyday wine should be, but this spicy treat offers great value on special occasions. It's also a beautiful winery with an exceptional tour and shop, so stop by if you are in Sonoma.
The Tres Viejos, Spanish for Three Old Men, offers a blend of three Zinfandel vineyards, which makes for complex flavor profiles and a very interesting nose. My guests enjoyed identifying bouquets in this big blend. We find red fruit, spices including pepper and clove, and bright "zingers" that we couldn't identify but tickled our noses.
Enjoy a sloshing sip of Tres Viejos and reward yourself with very rich fruits. Not bright cherry or berry, but deeper grape, fig, and melon. The finish is long and luscious with complexity among sweet and spicy flavors. I noted pepper, clove, anise layered on sweets like white chocolate, vanilla and coffee.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment of this Zinful Weekend...
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