I don’t know what it is about me and Lodi Zin. I did a series on Lodi old vines Zin a few months ago and only really liked 1 out of 5. Zinfandel has always been one of my favorite grapes, but maybe my palate has shifted away from what these moderately-priced examples can deliver – maybe especially from a hot climate like Lodi. Yet, I keep wanting to give it another chance so I picked this one up recently. Apparently Parker gave this one a 90 and it was around $12 so I thought it was worth a shot. The gimmicky name should have helped me steer clear, but alas, it did not.
Producer: Michael~David Winery
Grapes: Old vines Zinfandel “blended with small amounts of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot” (no %s specified).
Appellation: Lodi (AVA, California)
Vineyards: Blended from 7 Lodi growers.
Winemaking: aged in American oak barrels
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: Around $12
My tasting notes: Bright, sweet, candied berries on the nose with a little mint or menthol (or maybe its just the alcohol showing). Smells a lot like when you walk into a winery – a little overpoweringly ripe. On the palate it’s fleshy with very extracted black fruit with a touch of earth. No structure or acidity to speak of – and it suffers for it.
Overall assessment: This is just too fruit-bomby for my taste these days. C
Free association:
More info:
A wide range of responses to this wine from bloggers and others: Cork’d (avg. 88), CellarTracker (avg. 85), TasteWine, WineLife365, Wine Belly, La Jolla Mom and Goût Goût !! 味之道 (which is in Japanese so I have no idea whether they liked it or not, but I include it in case you read Japanese – plus, I just like seeing Kanji on my blog)
The back label has the following poem…
I’m raging with ire, an ocean of fire,
My Wrath is the path to all I desire.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
I’m inflated with pride, near-bursting inside,
A self-centered repenter, Vanitys’ bride.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
I’m mired in mud, inert as a slug,
Sloth is the cloth that’s woven my rug.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
I eat day and night, consuming all in my sight,
A Glutton with nothing but a huge appetite.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
My will I ignore, my Envy’s a chore,
Over zealous and jealous, I want so much more.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
I’m ravenous to feast, an insatiable beast,
I concede to the Greed demanding release.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
I hunger for trust, my craving’s a must,
My sin is the Zin enslaving my Lust.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
— Kevin Phillips
Not exactly Shakespearean, but I commend the effort. Better than “Drink with hearty meat or pasta dishes.”
Also on the label: “Seven of Lodi’s Best Growers gave their souls to produce this one of a kind sinful blend of seven old vine deadly zins.” Sorry – bad trade.
I had this wine a few times in my “nascent” wine drinking days, and liked it fine. But, just like you, nowadays, I find it to be too “fruit-bomby” and big. Isn’t it weird how your palate changes and adjusts to whatever you decide you like most? Look at the bright side though–only 14.5% alcohol is kind of low for California Zin, near as I can tell. At least you didn’t end up completely trashed after a couple of glasses!
Ha! The cheesy poem isn’t even Suessian.
I tried this wine a while back to and would only really score it a 86 tops. It is much sweeter and has less character than the good Zinfandels out there. What is your favorite under $15 Zin, oh wise sage? 😉
Josh @nectarwine
Jeff: With all my not-so-positive posts about Zins lately, part of me wondered if I was being influenced by the act of blogging. Was I tricking myself into not liking them because I thought a “wine expert” ought not like this style of wine – he/she ought to like more “challenging” wines. But honestly, especially with this last one, I really found it unappealingly overripe and “sugarfied” as Gary V likes to say. Drinking it with dinner (at home), I actually felt awkward – like if I had ordered a Nehi with my entree at a nice restaurant (thus the free association).
Todd: Yeah, the poem reminds me of one I wrote in 8th grade for a class assignment about the Statue of Liberty that had a line that went something like:
For a hundred years, there she’d sit,
Pelted by rain and pigeon shit.
I changed that line to something like this before handing it in:
For a hundred years, she’s stood the weather,
pelted by rain and pigeon feathers.
I’ve also seen this version of the poem in different places online, so maybe they’ve changed it recently:
Schulenburg’s vines, grubby with GREED,
Embrace Lodi’s soil, to drink and to feed.
Oh Lord, forgive me my zin.
Secure in it’s strength, weathered with PRIDE,
Standing like soldiers, the forest of Snyde.
Oh Lord, forgive me my zin.
Hearts filled with LUST, ole Maley’s trees.
Court Lodi’s sun, and flirt with it’s breeze.
Oh Lord, forgive me my zin.
Good Bishofberger did raise some GLUTTONOUS beast,
Vines fattened like turkeys before Thanksgiving feast.
Oh Lord, forgive me my zin.
With the tilt of the glass, I commit seven zins,
Oh Lord, with your help… I’ll do it again.
Indulge!
Josh: Well the best one I’ve had in recent months is the Ravenswood Old Vines Zin 2006 Lodi (around $12), which I reviewed here: https://www.vinegeek.com/2009/09/lodi-old-vines-zin-part-2-ravenswood/ It’s got more earthiness and spice and grip, and the fruit isn’t so over the top.
I’ve also liked the Cline Ancient Vines Zin pretty consistently (though I’m not sure if I’ve tried the most recent vintage yet).
There are others I’m sure, I just haven’t had many in the last 6 months or so. If anyone wants to make other suggestions, please add them in the comments.
I love this wine!!.screw these people that are talking trash keep making this amazing wine and I love the poem I can definitely relate.
I agree ..although they are entitled to their opinion however wine snobby it may be! Love the wine. I have lived in Italy for a few years and really am more of a Merlot lover. This I a good overall fruity and full bodied wine. Not bad.
I am new to the sport of wine tasting, and have found some that I defiantly do NOT like…(and yes, I meant what I spelled….) However I do like this wine, much better than Nehi soda I might add…
I bought some from the winery in 2011 and didn’t get around to drinking it for 18 months (where it spent the time in my wine cooler). My guests and I found it very enjoyable, Although we are not youngsters, it could be our palates are not sophisticated.