I picked this up while browsing at Spec’s when I saw that it had Viognier in the blend. It’s not very common for white and red grapes to be blended together – the biggest exceptions being old-school Chianti and Côte Rôtie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Zin/Viognier blend. Let’s see what it’s like.

Producer: Renwood

Grapes: 85% Zinfandel, 11% Syrah, 4% Viognier

Appellation: Lodi

Vineyards: The Zinfandel grapes are from “middle-aged” vineyards (30+ years old)

Winemaking: Interestingly, only 15% of the blend was aged in oak, and used oak at that. There is no indication on the tech sheet as to whether the Viognier was co-fermented or blended later, though based on the color I’m assuming it was blended.

Alcohol: 13.6%

Price: I paid $10 or $11 on sale at Spec’s in Austin (I think the regular price is closer to $13-14).

My tasting notes: Fairly light in color, surely due to the dose of Viognier (a white wine, for those who aren’t familiar with the grape). It has a pretty nose. I get the floral note from the Viognier and loads of raspberries, but not in a jammy way. There is also a wet-earth quality and a bit of sweet oak as well.  On the palate, it comes across as a relatively light-bodied wine, with more red fruit, slightly earthy flavors and a smooth, silky texture.

Overall assessment: A modest style of Zinfandel, which is less and less common these days. A nice quaff, if you don’t require a wine from the “These go to eleven” school of Zin. B-

Free association:

Question: Have you ever tasted or seen a Zin/Viognier blend?

More info:

Thanks to Renwood for emailing me the tech sheet which wasn’t available online.

I can’t find many reviews/tasting notes of this wine online. Wilfred Wong of BevMo gave it an 87. And there’s one review at CellarTracker. That’s all I could find.