Lodi Old Vines Zin Part 4: Campus Oaks

This is Part 4 of my Lodi Old Vines Zin series. Part 1 was Spellbound 2005, Part 2 was Ravenswood 2006 and Part 3 was Gnarly Head 2006.

Campus Oaks Old Vines Zinfandel 2007 Lodi

campusoaks_snapshotProducer: Campus Oaks (Gnekow Family Winery)

Grapes: 100% Zinfandel

Appellation: Lodi

Vineyards: The grapes are sourced from vineyards averaging 90 years old.

Winemaking/Aging: There is no indication of the oak treatment on the label or the winery’s website.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: I paid $14 at Central Market in Austin

My tasting notes: Whoa – the color on this is very light. It looks like a White Zinfandel that skipped a few showers. I literally could read the newspaper through it (trust me, I actually did it). Hmm, I’m worried. The nose has a nice raspberry creme note, but there’s a lot of sweetness coming through and a bit of the alcohol. On the palate, I get red fruit and even some overripe peach, wrapped in vanilla creaminess, but I find it soft and flabby and in need of some acid or tannic backbone. Definitely some residual sugar, too.

Overall assessment: Different strokes for different folks. This wine is not for me. D+

Free association: Seems like it would be a winner on a bachelorette party wine tour bus.

partybus

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clockwerx/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

More info:

Winery’s tech sheet for the 2006 vintage.

Mark over at 1337Wine TV tasted this wine recently.

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