I should have known better than to buy this wine. I generally avoid wines with such gimmicky names/labels. But a few months ago I was planning a series of posts on Lodi old vines Zinfandel and was picking up just about every bottle of it I saw. I realized later that this one doesn’t say old vines on the label, so I didn’t include it in the series.

Producer: Deep Purple

Grapes: Zinfandel (it’s not stated on the label or fact sheet if it is 100%)

Appellation: Lodi (on the website they note that Lodi is “a totally respectable wine growing area mentioned in a Creedence Clearwater song“)

Winemaking: 8 months in French and American oak.

Alcohol: 13.9% on the label (13.6% on the fact sheet)

Price: about $12

My tasting impressions: In terms of color, “deep purple” it is not. I’d call it light-to-medium color, certainly not inky dark. The first whiff of this wine takes me back to 4th grade. Did you have a slot-car track when you were a kid? Well, remember when, after about 50 laps around the track, you’d get this overheated, metallic smell? That’s what I thought of when I first smelled this wine. (An overheated blender smells about the same, but my mind when to that slot-car track first.) That blows off after a short while and the (somewhat candied) bright berry aromas come to the front. There’s a bit of vanilla and green pepper, too. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with plum and cherry flavors and a slight herbal edge. Needs some acid.

Overall assessment: In the end, I find this to be a rather simple wine. Expectations play a big role in how satisfied you are with a wine, I think. Based on the name Deep Purple and the wild label with words like “Monster Fruit”, “Exploding” and “Hedonistic”, I was expecting something much different. While it has plenty of fruit (if you don’t mind the candied sort), it’s not a big, bad, hedonistic experience. C/C-

Free association:

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

More info:

Other reviews at Cork’d, Gabe’s View (via Bullz-eye.com) and Top Wine Values.

This is Part 5 of my Lodi Old Vines Zin series. Part 1 was Spellbound 2005, Part 2 was Ravenswood 2006, Part 3 was Gnarly Head 2006 and Part 4 was Campus Oaks 2007. In the next few days I’ll post my overall takeaways (pardon the corporate-speak) from this series.

The last wine I picked up for this Lodi Old Vines Zin series turns out not to be from old vines (I just read the label wrong), so I needed to pick up a replacement. (I didn’t want to end on that Campus Oaks.) I ran into Spec’s and scanned the Zin selection for something that fit the series and wound up with this bottle. It’s a little over the initial price range I specified ($10-15), but I wanted to check this odd closure and was hoping I’d be able to end the series on a high note.

Plungerhead Old Vines Zinfandel 2007 Lodi

Producer: It’s actually a little confusing. The brand is obviously Plungerhead, but it’s from Don Sebastiani & Sons and also sits in their The Other Guys sub-brand.

Grapes: Zinfandel (no indication on label or website whether it’s 100% or a blend)

Appellation: Lodi

Vineyards: No info other than they’re old vines.

Winemaking/aging: No indication on label or website.

Alcohol: 14.9%

Package: Cool label and funky name, though certainly pushing the gimmicky angle. It has a Zork closure. This was my first encounter with a Zork. I must be dense, because I had a lot of trouble with it. You tear off this wraparound piece then you’re left with a plastic cap and a short little plastic “cork” sticking into the bottle neck. I don’t know what you’re supposed to do then. I tried just pulling it off to no avail. I tried wiggling it back and forth – nope. I resorted to jamming a knife under the lip of the cap and prying it up. Uh, if you aren’t going to use a cork, just use a screwcap, please. [Gary V. at WLTV did an episode on wines with a Zork closure and he had a much easier time than I did. Apparently, I’m just a doofus.] Also, since I hadn’t seen a Zork closure before, I assumed it had something to do with the brand Plungerhead. I mean, it’s a red rubbery cap – it seemed to be a part of their shtick. So I accepted it in that context, but I don’t think I’d like it, aesthetically, on any old bottle.

Price: $17 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: This wine has an aggressive nose of creamy red berries, cedar and sweet tobacco. Very oaky. The palate is loaded with more vanilla creaminess, like a cream soda mixed with dark cherry juice. Some spice shows up at the end and some heat, like cinnamon red-hots soaked in vodka.

Overall assessment: I’m going to coin a new term for this wine: it’s a “froak bomb” [fruit + oak – restraint]. Having said that, it’s tasty. It’s like deep-fried Oreos: you may not serve them at a dinner party (do people still have dinner parties?), but you don’t mind scarfing a few down at the fair. B-

Free association:

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

More info:

Winery’s tech sheet.

Other reviews at: Wine Drank By John Jaster, Tastings by Gary and Allison, Good Juice Bad Juice and Corkd

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

Producer: 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.

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.

This is Part 3 of my Lodi Old Vines Zin series.  Part 1 was the Spellbound 2005 and Part 2 was the (great value!) Ravenswood 2006. I have a few more bottles to try out so check back or subscribe to the RSS feed.  If you have some Lodi OVZ favorites, leave a comment.

Gnarley Head Old Vines Zinfandel 2006 Lodi

Producer: Gnarly Head

Grapes: Zinfandel (neither the label nor the website says whether it’s 100% or a blend)

Appellation: Lodi

Vineyards: 35-80 year old head-pruned vines in sandy soils.

Winemaking/Aging: Aged in not one, not two, but three types of oak: French, American and Hungarian. Neither the label nor the website says exactly how long it spends in oak or the % new.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: About $10-12

My tasting notes: Dusty dark fruit on the nose with lots of black pepper and a hint of green pepper. On the palate, I get spiced berries and plum. The  flavors are rich, but it quickly starts to feel a bit light/hollow. The finish is short and a bit hot.

Overall assessment: The flavor profile is fine, but the wine lacks the depth or intensity that I expect from old vines Zin. It’s pleasant, but not memorable. C

Free association: Lightweight and disappears quickly … like the Spin Doctors. (click for video)

More info:

Gnarly Head’s tech sheet.

Lots of other bloggers have posted on this, including: Daily Wine Tasting, A Bottle A Week, Wine For The Cheap and Gabe’s View.

Some notes at Cork’d.