Yay, more zinfandel!
HammerSky made just 294 cases of this reserve Zin, a textbook example of California zinfandel that’s worth a look. Jammy with plums and cherries up front, it reveals an intricate structure underneath, with leather, tobacco, and some raspberry notes, too. A very easy-drinking wine but one which is decidedly zinfandel at heart.
A / $37 / hammersky.com
Zinfandel enthusiasts have a… how you say… an interesting reputation. I’m not sure if it’s the mystique of the wine or the generally heavy alcohol content, but Zin fans are unique among the wine enthusiasts of the world. Judging from some of the costumes at this year’s ZAP Zinfandel Festival (men in hula skirts, home-made Zin-themed dresses),
With some 300 wineries pouring at this event (spread out across two buildings in San Francisco’s sprawling Fort Mason), ZAP is one of the biggest wine events in the world. There’s no way to taste everything (though a lot of locals sure do give it a try), so I tried to focus on the most highly-acclaimed California zinfandels on the market — surprisingly few of which I’d actually had.
Some favorites: Downing Family’s chocolate bomb from 2006, and an early look at the 2008 Robert Biale Varozza Vineyard Zin, one of the most perfectly structured wines of the show. Perhaps best overall: Hartford Family’s full lineup, which featured solid A and A- ratings across the entire line, all balanced, full of fruit, and richly textured.
Total tally: 45 wines reviewed. Full ratings and limited notes follow. (Some prices were not available.)
2010 ZAP Zinfandel Festival Complete Tasting Report
2007 Acorn Winery Zinfandel Heritage Vines Alegria Vineyards / $35 / B+ / thinner
2006 Acorn Winery Zinfandel Heritage Vines Alegria Vineyards / $35 / A- / rich and big
2007 Beaver Creek Vineyards Zinfandel Lake County / $50 / B+ / no finish
2006 Bradford Mountain Winery Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley / $28 / A / big pepper notes
2006 Bradford Mountain Winery Zinfandel Grist Vineyard / $34 / B-
2006 Cakebread Zinfandel Snow’s Lake Vineyard, Kates Vineyard / $41 / A- / tastes like a blend
2007 Cedarville Vineyard Zinfandel Estate El Dorado / $20 / B
2008 Cedarville Vineyard Zinfandel Estate El Dorado (barrel sample) / $20 / B- / green pepper notes
2006 Chateau Montelena Winery Zinfandel Estate Napa Valley / N/A / A- / good balance
2007 Chateau Montelena Winery Zinfandel Estate Napa Valley / N/A / B / not ready
2006 Dancing Lady Wines Zinfandel Old Vine Della Costa Family Vineyard / N/A / B
2007 Dancing Lady Wines Zinfandel Old Vine Della Costa Family Vineyard / $27 / A- / peppery
2008 Dancing Lady Wines Zinfandel Old Vine Della Costa Family Vineyard / $24 / A / fruity style, very different and young
2008 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley / $24 / B / overly herbal
2007 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Florence Vineyard / $32 / A- / textbook, jammy zin
2007 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Todd Brothers Ranch Old Vines / $32 / A-
2007 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Louvau Vineyard / $32 / B+
2007 Deep Purple Zinfandel Lodi / N/A / C
2006 Downing Family Vineyards Zinfandel Fly by Night Napa Valley / $24 / A / chocolate notes
2007 Downing Family Vineyards Zinfandel Fly by Night Napa Valley / N/A / A- / younger version of the above
2007 Four Vines Winery Zinfandel Biker Paso Robles / $25 / A-
2006 Hartford Family Winery Zinfandel Russian River Valley / $35 / A-
2007 Hartford Family Winery Zinfandel Russian River Valley / $35 / A-
2007 Hartford Family Winery Zinfandel Russian River Valley Harford Vineyard / $55 / A
2008 Hartford Family Winery Zinfandel Russian River Valley Jolene’s Vineyard / $55 / A-
2007 Mauritson Family Winery Zinfandel Rockpile Cemetary Vineyard / $39 / B / vegetal
2007 Mauritson Family Winery Zinfandel Rockpile Ridge Vineyard / $35 / B+
2008 Mauritson Family Winery Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley / $27 / A-
2008 Mauritson Family Winery Zinfandel Jack’s Cabin Vineyard / N/A / A-
2008 Outpost Estate Wines Zinfandel (barrel sample) / N/A / A
2007 Proulx Winery Zinfandel Paso Robles / N/A / B- / licorice tinged
2008 Robert Biale Vineyards Zinfandel Grande Vineyard, Napa Valley / $40 / B+
2008 Robert Biale Vineyards Zinfandel Varozza Vineyard, St. Helena / $40 / A / one of the tops of the show
2007 Rombauer Zinfandel California / N/A / C+ / almost sweet
2007 Rusina Wines Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley / $30 / A-
2007 Rusina Wines Zinfandel Alexander Valley / $28 / A- / good balance
2007 Rusina Wines Zinfandel Triskelion / N/A / B+
2007 Sonoma Wine Company Zinfandel Zynthesis Cellars, Lodi / $16 / B
2006 Starlite Vineyards Zinfandel Alexander Valley / $42 / A-
2007 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Zinfandel Mayacamas Range Estate, Napa / $34 / A / big plum character
2008 Turley Wine Cellars Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard / $75 / A- / herbal but balanced
2008 Turley Wine Cellars Zinfandel Old Vine California / N/A / A
2007 Woodenhead Zinfandel Guido Venturi Vineyard / $34 / B
2006 Woodenhead Zinfandel Martinelli Road Vineyard Old Vines / $45 / B
2007 Woodenhead Zinfandel Braccialini Alexander Valley / $45 / B+
Our friends at Magnificent Bastard announced a contest to create a namesake cocktail for them late last year. After giving it much thought, here’s what I came up with and submitted.
I wanted to create something that’s very easy to make, uses relatively common ingredients, and, in keeping with the name of the website, is both magnificent and bastardized (the distant inspiration here being the Paloma cocktail). You got it.
The Magnificent Bastard a la Drinkhacker
Laphroaig 10 Years Old Scotch whisky (for rinsing)
2 oz. anejo tequila
1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
splash of agave nectar
Rinse a cocktail glass with the Laphroaig and pour most of it out. Add remaining ingredients to an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into the prepared glass. Don’t bother with a garnish.
UPDATE: My recipe made the finals in MB’s contest and is now in the bracket for competing against 31 other cocktails… check out how it does here! But hey, it’s an honor just to be nominated…
All day I’ve felt barely awake… so an “energy shot” was probably in order to feel awake enough to make it through the evening.
Allday Energy (their spelling) relies on L-Carnitine, L-Arginine, and D-Ribose — three things I’ve never heard of — to pump you up. Presumably lots of caffeine, too.
Naturally, that comes at a price. While the company claims it is delicious, Allday Energy is really quite awful, like cough syrup mixed with Kool-Aid… a difficult combination to stomach. I got it down eventually and, I’m happy to report, I finally woke up… but that might also have been thanks to the three pieces of pizza I sucked down. (And yet, I can still taste the Allday Energy, several hours later.)
Based on this limited testing, I can’t tell you if Allday Energy is any better at waking you up than other energy shots… but I can assure you it is one of the less delicious shots out there.
B- / $2.99 per 2 oz. shot / alldayenergy.net
First produced in Cuba, Matusalem now hails from the Dominican Republic (after a stint in the U.S. — presumably Puerto Rico), but claims to hold fast to its original Cuban recipe dating back to 1872.
This is the company’s top-end bottling, held for 15 years using the solera style of barrel aging.
As for the rum, it’s not as dark and rich as I’d have expected from such an old spirit, its green-tinted caramel color masking a spirit that’s still got a lot of heat to it despite weighing in at just 80 proof. Less sweet than you think, its wood notes are heavy, with a touch of charcoal and even bitterness in the finish.
Otherwise this is a surprisingly, shockingly even, simple rum. Fortunately, it’s very affordable — I’ve seen it as cheap as $20 on sale — and for that, you might find it perfectly acceptable for use as an everyday mixer.
B+ / $30 / matusalem.com
Our friends at BourbonBlog.com came up with this one, to be “unveiled” at la.venue in New York on Saturday, January 30. It is presented here without comment.
The Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ Cocktail Recipe from BourbonBlog.com’s Stephen Dennison & Tom Fischer
Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskey
Evan Williams Honey Reserve
1 Bottle of Hefeweizen beer
Bottle of Jack Daniel’s Honey Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce (for the “BBQ Water”)
1 Orange
For BBQ Water: Combine a full bottle 19 oz of Jack Daniel’s Honey Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce with equal part of steaming hot water in mixing bowl. Whisk until incorporated. Let sit to cool or refrigerate.
Combine Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Evan Williams Honey Reserve, BBQ Water and a squeeze of a quarter of an orange in a cocktail shaker and shake over ice. Strain and pour into martini glass.
Dry shake a fourth of a bottle of Hefeweizen beer (hold tight to shaker as carbonation may cause shaker to explode). Spoon beer foam over top of the cocktail to garnish.
A good, old 20 year old tawny port with a ruddy brick-red color, Sandeman’s affordable porto is an easy and accessible entry to the style. Port’s traditional raisin and prune characteristics are present, but they are considerably muted beneath wood notes, smoke, and some vegetal character — all at the expense of some of tawny’s traditional sugariness. It isn’t quite as ultimately harmonious as I might have liked, but for those looking for something a bit less sweet in an after-dinner wine, this one might do the trick. 20% alcohol by volume.
B+ / $45 / sandeman.eu
Posted in Port & Sherry, Rated B+, Reviews, Wine
DonQ is a huge rum brand from Puerto Rico. It’s now producing three flavored versions, two of which we were fortunate enough to review. Flavorings are natural and the proof level is rock bottom, so drink all you want.
DonQ Coco Rum is (obviously) a coconut-flavored rum (aged at least one year). Quite sweet and with merely moderate coconut character, it comes across, oddly, as a little bit chalky on the palate. This isn’t bad, but it isn’t a standout. I think Malibu or, better yet, Brinley Gold Coconut, are both quite a bit better. 42 proof (same as Malibu). B- / $17
DonQ Mojito Rum is not a mojito in a bottle but rather a mojito-flavored aged rum (see the difference?). Add club soda and you’ve got a mojito? Sort-of… It’s very tart and moderately, authentically minty — but the lime component tastes funky, which might be why lime is not mentioned on the bottle, only “infused with natural mint.” Like the Coco, this isn’t unpalatable, but I think the better solution to the mojito problem is to stick with an unflavored rum, add mint, lime, and soda yourself, and call it a day. 40 proof. B- / $17
Posted in Flavored Rum, Rated B-, Reviews, Rum
From the Jalisco highlands, 1921 is a line of 100 percent agave tequilas… plus a tequila liqueur. I tasted them all while trying to figure out what the symbolism of “1921″ was… and failed. The line is unusual in that the agave undergoes a double fermentation process, said to offer more smoothness and a wider spectrum of flavors than other tequilas. True? Here’s how they stack up. All 80 proof except the liqueur.
1921 Tequila Blanco is where we should see the most proof of 1921′s claims, and true to the marketing material, there does seem to be something unique about this unaged blanco. It’s a very creamy tequila, with minimal to no bite at all. Fans of the shoot-and-grimace method of drinking tequila should look no further, since this one goes down so easily. The flavor is a bit strange, though, with cantaloupe, salt, and, a bit further down the list, agave notes. Not unpleasant, but unusual to say the least. B+ / $40
1921 Tequila Reposado spends an indeterminate amount of time in oak, but it’s obviously not long. The very pale color offers much of the same character as the Blanco, plus some spicy, Bourbon-like character from contact with charred wood. This makes this tequila more interesting than the Blanco, but also gives it a bit of bite. I like it better; I figure most tequila fans will find it delicious, too. A- / $45
1921 Tequila Reserva Especial Anejo used to just be called Reserva Especial because it was aged for just eight months. Now it’s been relaunched as Reserva Especial Anejo, as it spends a full year in casks, giving it the official legal status to be called “anejo” on the label. Overall it takes the Reposado’s formula and adds more of that spiciness. The color isn’t dramatically darker, but it’s clearly smoothed out just a bit more with vanilla, wood, and other whiskey-like notes, leaving, as so many anejos do, the taste of agave behind. Very palatable, but a toss-up vs. the Reposado. A- / $50
1921 Crema de Tequila combines tequila and a touch of coffee to create a 30-proof sort of Bailey’s a la Mexico. Quite sweet and milky, it’s a dulce de leche kind of experience, with a little peppery kick to it, some cinnamon, and the barest hint of tequila. Cream liqueurs are all over the place now, and this one is a fine entry to that crowded field, and if your tastes run toward tequila rather than whiskey, you’ll probably find it’s a good alternative to the usual fare out there. Pricey, though. B+ / $30
For years Markham has been a standby of supermarket shoppers: Relatively reliable, affordable, and always on the shelves. The mass-market bottlings are nothing that will knock you over (I have a string of reviews in my notes, mostly B+ ratings, dating back to the 1990 vintage), but in a pinch, they’ll do fine.
Now Markham is moving upmarket with a couple of single-vineyard estate-grown wines. Can they pull it off?
2006 Markham “The Philanthropist” Cabernet Sauvignon hails from the winery’s Yountville Estate, and it’s a big and tannic number in keeping with wines from the central Napa area. A cab this young needs time in the glass to open up, and The Philanthropist is no exception, loaded with furry tannins from the get-go. Time with some air shows more of Phila’s charms, with leathery smokiness at play with kinky raspberry and blueberry character, unusual for Napa cabernet. The Philanthropist needs some time in bottle to find its feet, but in 3 to 5 years this should be a whole new animal. A- / $53
2006 Markham “The Altruist” Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Markham’s Calistoga Estate vineyard, but it shares a lot of The Philanthropist’s character: Needing plenty of time to open up before its charms become apparent. The Altruist is considerably fruitier than The Philanthropist, and it’s more ready to drink now. Once aerated, it shows more of a cherry/strawberry tone, with minimal earth/wood character to it. A touch astringent on the finish, I’d give it another year or two, but the adventurous might try it today. A- / $53
Incidentally, these wines owe their names to Markham’s “Mark of Distinction” program, $25,000 grants which the company gives to individuals or groups who engage in neighborhood charity programs. These two wines are dedicated to Table to Table (a food bank) in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey and to the Bartlett Arboretum (a tree habitat) in Bell Plaine, Kansas.
