Zinfandel Wine Review for a Classic California Zinfandel

Where to start with this California Zinfandel? Perhaps with the minimalist label that was written on a label maker — you know the ones. They make labels in strips perhaps a half an inch wide on plastic tape that has a peel off sticker on one side. That’s the front label – just the word “Saldo”.

You have to go to the back label to find out it’s a Zinfandel wine made by Orin Swift Cellars in St. Helena, California. And that’s the appellation, California zinfandel with a 15.5% alcohol.

In a previous blog entry, I mentioned that the wine tasting experience begins with the packaging. This bottle of zinfandel wine was big, heavy with lots of glass. It looked very inky and with that minimalist lettering “Saldo” on purple plastic tape, I just knew it was going to be a big, jammy zinfandel.

Zinfandel Tasting Notes

When I opened the bottle and poured it into the glass I knew immediately it was a zinfandel. It had a bright purple on the edge and while the color of the wine was a deep purple, it was not trying to overpower you. A classic zinfandel nose with cloves, violets and berries, strawberries, black cherries and raspberries.

It is a style of zinfandel I particularly like. It had bright fruit, lots of depth and a pleasant, lingering finish. Good acidity there to support the fruit. Not overpowering, the winemaker seemed to let the fruit do the talking. Yet this is a wine that I think will continue to improve with time.

Inquiring minds wanted to know more about this wine so a Google search later, I find out that this is the first vintage for this wine and it made up of zinfandel (85%), Syrah (10%) and Petite Syrah (5%).

California Zinfandel Wine from all of California’s wine regions

The winemaker must have scoured every California appellation that produced Zinfandel because the wine comes from the all of the following California wine regions:

• Sonoma (54%),
• Napa (16%),
• Mendocino (15%),
• Amador (9%) and
• Contra Costa (6%)

And the meaning of “Saldo”? It means balance and that could be a more succinct and accurate descriptor for this excellent Zinfandel.

 I recently was looking for a zinfandel wine and picked up a bottle of red Zinfandel 2007 from Frei Brothers in Sonoma, California.

Actually the label identified it as a “reserve” but then, I am pretty sure that all of their wines are labeled “reserve”…but that’s another blog entry!

The label also identified it as Dry Creek Valley and I do love Zinfandels from Dry Creek. Plus, at $15.00 a bottle, these Zinfandel grapes are priced right! Dry Creek area is great for growing zinfandel grapes.

So, corkscrew in hand, off I went to give the Frei Brother’s a try.  

I was not disappointed. 

First thing I noticed was that it had a deep purple color with a brightness on the edge that suggested some youth. Flavor components were blackberries, cherries and probably some other berries. I also noticed the forward spices and thought I detected some cinnamon, a flavor component that I particularly like. 

The Zinfandel is listed at 15% alcohol and it tasted a little hot, but then it was a Zinfandel. I thought the alcohol might blow off a little with some time in the glass if I could just be patient. But patience is not a strong suit. I would not characterize the wine as lush, but it was complex with some excellent layering of fruit that generated a very pleasant, long finish.

I went to the Frei Brothers website and could not find a reference to Zinfandel anywhere on their site, except as it is used in blending. So, if you can find this wine, you might want to buy it. Not made to be a collector’s item, it would make a great conservation starter at a party.

Frei Brothers has been owned by the Gallo family since 1978, but the winery and the grapes have been around since 1890. Good soil, California air and a long family tradition makes this red zif wine worth a try.

I’m going to get myself another few bottles of the Frei Brothers Reserve Zinfandel 07 before it’s gone for good.

Last night I went to “wine wall” in my house – a large rack where I keep reasonably priced wines I want to try and review. I closed my eyes and reached out, blind.

I pulled out Buehler’s Zinfandel 2007 from California’s Napa Valley.

It’s been awhile since I had a Buehler and I remember them for their zin. For some reason, the name Buehler also has made me chuckle, reminds me of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. Oh, that was Frau Blücher. But I digress.

The Buehler Zinfandel actual label said the alcohol was 14.5%, though the winemaker’s notes on Buehler wine website said 15.3%. Could this be a long-lost Amador zin? Dry farmed from thirty-seven year old vines. I was expecting a monster Zinfandel. That’s not what I got.

(more…)