2007 J Dusi Dante Dusi Zinfandel				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$32	The Wine Vault	11/22/09
	A medium-deep, ruby-colored wine with tinges of purple on the edges. The nose is very aromatic with notes of ripe berries, cherry and hints of earth and spice. One of those wines I could smell for quite some time. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied with well-balanced acidity and low tannins. The mouthfeel is round with jammy berry, black cherry and earth with notes of sweet spice on the lengthy finish. Despite it's 15% abv (which is fairly low for Paso), this is a very elegant wine without the over-the-top heat and overripe fruit on many Zins produced these days. The winemaker, Janelle Dusi, is a member of the fourth generation of owners/growers of the Dusi vineyard and she clearly knows how to get the best from their land. A must-buy for zin lovers as this wine delivers pure varietal characteristics without the usual alcoholic punch and heaviness. Great QPR for what I paid ($26). Haven't enjoyed a Zin so much in a long time.

2007 Trader Joe's Coastal Zinfandel				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Central Coast, CA	$4	Trader Joe's	6/10/09
	A medium-colored bright ruby wine with lovely aromas of brambly red fruit, sweet spice and hints of pepper. The palate took a few minutes to open up, but once it did it showed ripe black cherry and raspberry flavors with notes of vanilla, smoke and pepper on the surprisingly lengthy finish. This medium-bodied wine was well-balanced and zippy with just the right amount of acidity. It's hard to believe a $4 wine could be so enjoyable, but this one is vinified and bottled by Castoro Cellars, one of Paso Robles best, affordable Zin producers. At under 14% abv, this is a wine that went really well with our pasta with meat sauce, yet was just as good on its own, giving true varietal flavor without the usual heat. A great wine for a BBQ that will please the palate as well the pocketbook. Get it before it's gone. Glad I bought 2 bottles.

2007 Zynthesis Old Vine Zinfandel				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Lodi, CA	$15	BevMo	10/1/09
	A deep, ruby/purple colored wine with a moderate, youthful nose of black fruit, smoke and sweet spice. The palate was medium to full-bodied dominated by flavors of blackberry, black cherry and vanilla spice along with notes of coffee on the medium length finish. Not very complex, but more enjoyable than many zins made these days because it wasn't slap-you-in-the-face fruity or alcoholic. The additions of Syrah and Petite Sirah (could not find out how much) brought depth and savory qualities to the wine that I quite liked. At only 14.8% abv it could almost qualify as a sipper. Not sure I would have said it was a Zinfandel if I tasted it blind, but perhaps that's a good thing. Popped and poured, the wine did not really change much as the night went on.

2006 Croad Vineyards Zinfandel				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$32	@ the Winery	1/12/09
	This medium-bodied, ruby-colored wine has a deep nose of ripe red and black berries, spice and pepper. The body had low tannins and good acidity with a smooth mouthfeel and flavors of blackberry, blueberry, black pepper and hints of cola and vanilla on the moderate finish. As their second effort this bottle showed good structure and elegance for a Paso Zin. Despite an abv of 15.5% the wine was well-balanced and had nice unity of fruit and spice. Almost three stars, but it needed a longer finish and a bit more depth of flavor. Not quite worth its price tag.

2006 Joel Gott Zinfandel				*
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	California	$15	BevMo	2/22/09
	A medium-deep, ruby-purple wine with a moderate nose of ripe briary fruit with notes of oak, sweet spice and pepper. The palate is medium-bodied and started out quite acidic, taking almost an hour to smooth out. The flavors were more subdued than I expected with black cherry, plum and raspberry with hints of smoke, earth and pepper on the short finish. I've had better Zins in this price point and I liked it more as the night went on, but overall just wasn't that impressed. Should have aerated it, which might have helped deliver more pleasure earlier.

2006 Layer Cake Primitivo				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Puglia, Italy	$15	Private Dinner	9/18/08
	The wine is opaque and purple-colored with a nose of jammy black cherry and blackberry fruit, earth, oak, and spice. Warm and rich in the mouth, with soft tannins and acidity. The wine has good structure though with a touch of heat on the finish. A lot of ripeness for a wine that not only come from Italy, but is only 14% alcohol. Pleasant, but not complex.

2006 Minassian-Young 1000 Vines Zinfandel				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$22	@ the Winery	1/19/09
	A bright ruby, medium-bodied wine with an aromatic nose of brambly red fruit, sweet spice and hints of pepper and earth. The palate was initially tight, but quickly smoothed out into an intense and well-blanced wine with the alcohol nicely incorporated with the ripe fruit. The flavors are black cherry and blackberry with notes of cola, earth, maple syrup and vanilla on the lingering and lush finish. This wine only got better and deeper as the night went on. Could age for at least another year, but at this price why wait?

2006 Seghesio Vineyards Zinfandel				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Sonomaa, CA	$20	Private Tasting	3/14/08
	A ruby-colored medium bodied wine with distinct and bright, almost candy-like red fruit flavors on the nose and the palate which is filled with ripe berries and cherries, soft tannins and hints of spice and briar. It is youthfully exuberant and somewhat juicy in character with not much structure or balance. It bit more time might help to integrate it's rambuctiousness. A wine with upfront flavors and little else. For true Zin lovers only.

2006 Tobin James "Ballistic" Zinfandel				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$18	@ the Winery	2/27/08
	This wine is a lovely ruby red with a big, ripe berry-filled nose with just a touch of black pepper. The fruit-forward palate expresses blackberry, cherry and currant flavors with verve, followed by hints of pepper, spice and smoke. Nice acidity makes this a great food wine. It was a touch alcoholic with our lightly spicy food, but well-balanced and elegant afterwards. A good value wine.

2006 Vie Winery Beatty Ranch Zinfandel				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Napa Valley, CA	$40	@ Red Carpet Wines	4/26/08
	A medium-purple colored wine with upfront aromas of berries and cherries, earth and spice that follows through in the mouth with medium body and additional notes of vanilla and oak. While the wine is pleasant on the palate the finish was shorter than expected and filled with a tinge of herbaceousness that conflicted with the ripe fruit. While well-balanced it just failed to excite.

2005 Buehler Vineyards Zinfandel				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Napa Valley, CA	$16	Gift	1/17/08
	Bright brambly fruit wafts out of the glass and follows through on the palate. A bit tight and alcoholic in the beginning, but the wine quickly balanced out, with ripe raspberry and cherry on the finish. HInts of vanilla and spice in the mid palate add some elegance to the obvious fruit. A good example for the price, though nothing I'd seek out again. OTHER RATINGS: WS:90

2005 Kynsi Winery Barn Owl Vineyard Zinfandel				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$26	@ the Winery	10/4/08
	A medium ruby-colored wine with a nice nose of brambly red fruits with earth and tobacco notes. The palate is light-bodied and elegant for a zin with good structure, raspberry and strawberry jam flavors along with some sweet spice, cedar and cola notes on the finish. The ripe fruit is not quite integrated with the other elements, which makes the palate a bit disjointed. A good effort that delivers true zin flavors without the heat and heaviness of many current versions.

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