dlb@druxv.UUCP (Dave Bauer) (03/25/85)
I recently participated in a tasting of several white zinfandels and thought
I'd share my reaction to the wines.
Let me start by saying that I'm not a great white zin lover. Many of the
wines have always tasted somewhat singular in flavor to me, and sometimes
when they are finished sweetly they strike me as having an almost 'bubble gum'
nose and finish that I truly dislike. So I approached this tasting with some
skepticism, but to my surprise I found a couple wines that I really liked.
My hands-down favorite was from Story Vineyards, a 1984 white zinfandel
that is actually 80% zinfandel and 20% mission grapes. Perhaps its the
addition of the mission grapes, or perhaps its the sheer skill of the winemaker,
but this wine had a surprising complexity to it. It had a pleasant fruit
flavor with just a touch of sweetness, with a good acid backbone. By far
it was my favorite of the lot. It sells locally for $4.29.
The other zin that I liked was an 84 white zin from Amador Foothill Winery.
It had a light pink-peach color, with good acid, and pleasant fruit with
an almost minty finish. It, too, was fairly dry with 0.8% residual sugar.
I didn't learn the price of this wine.
The rest of the wines I didn't bother to rank. They didn't strike me as
being anything exceptional. My notes follow:
1983 Green and Red white zinfandel. Slight green pepper in nose, nice
peach color, 0.5% R.S., driest of the lot. Soft acids, but tart, with
an almost sour finish.
1984 Shenandoah white Zinfandel, $4.99, closed nose but showing some sweetness.
.98 R.S., slight bubble gum flavor. good acid, with pleasant zinfandel
flavors. Off balance finish with an unpleasant metal-acid aftertaste.
1984 Grand Cru 'Vin Maison' white zinfandel, $4.49, pink peach color,
good acid, simple but pleasant zinfandel flavors with a decent dose of
residual sugar.
1984 Mirassou white zinfandel. closed nose, little or no acid. Soft
pleasant fruit but lack of acid makes it taste flat.
1983 Baldinelli Shenandoah Valley white zinfandel. closed nose, pale peach
color, simple, thin, almost watery. Drinkable but no character.
1984 Souveran Zinfandel Blanc.
Deep pink colors, soft and fruity, light on the acid, simple and
unexciting.
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dave bauer (303)538-4482 AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
ihnp4!druxv!dlb 11900 N. Pecos St., Room 30J28, Denver, CO 80234