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$30.00 at Rosenblum Futures
Rosenblum Cellars of Alameda, California is most famous for its big, bold Zinfandels--its pioneering founder, Kent Rosenblum, led a coalition of vintners for twenty years to establish Zinfandel as capable of producing a quality wine--contrary to the sorry memory of the student wine White Zinfandel. There are now more than 300 makers of fine Zinfandel in the United States thanks to his efforts.
Rosenblum's favored style for its Zinfandels (and many of its other red wines) is fruit-forward, even jammy; intense and dense with flavor, otherwise known as "highly extracted," a deep color so dark you could sign the Declaration of Independance with it, and high in alcohol (this one is 16.5%). Kent likes to leave the grapes on the vine as long as possible, picking just days before the fall rains comes -- the result is an intensity of flavor that can be rivalled only by the most aggressive Syrahs made in California.
Of all Rosenblum's Zinfandels, those from the vineyards of Rockpile Road, on the side of a steep hill in the famed Dry Creek Valley area of Northern California, produce the most intense, biggest, and boldest. Only Rosenblum's Snows Lake Zinfandel, or its rare Rosenblum Cullinane Vineyard, can rival it. It regularly sells out in futures, so it's hard to come by. If you ever see a bottle on a retail outlet, snap it up.
I bought this as a case of futures at a discount price of $28. Current releases sell for $45 if available.
Bottom line: This is one of the finest wines made, and if you are a Zin enthusiast, no Zinfandel can surpass it.
If you are more accustomed to light, food-friendly reds, this wine will knock your taste buds sideways; it takes getting used to. (I recommend in that case that you try Rosenblum's Cuvee Zinfandel, which is Zin with trainer wheels--I mean, it's a light, approachable, very tasty but not at all nasty, Zin; even I like it.)
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$30.00 at Rosenblum Futures
This is one of the biggest, boldest of Rosenblum's big, bold Zinfandels, and from a relatively new source for the winery. (2004 was the first vintage from Snows Lake for Rosenblum).
Tasted in April 2008, this wine was rated best of 17 Rosenblum wines tasted that evening by 18 members of the SF East Bay California tasting group The Pompous Twits. The 2004 Rockpile Road Zinfandel (Rosenblum's biggest Zin of all) was initially ranked best, but the Snows Lake, it turns out, opened up while we were drinking it; and at the suggestion of member Tom TIlley, we retasted it half an hour later--and it indeed had opened up quite a bit and now edge out the Rockpile.
Compared to the Rockpile, it was as big and jammy and dense and intense, and as high in alcohol (16%+), but it had a subtlety and nuance that put it in front -- I know subtlety and nuance aren't terms commonly used with big-style Zins, which made this a wonderful surprise.
Tilley suggests that this wine still have some aging to do. We have among us 5 bottles, so we will taste a bottle each spring for the next few years to see how it develops!
This wine cost just under $30 when bought by the case as a futures; current vintages list at $35. See www.rosenblumcellars.com.
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$1.99 at Trader Joe's
As you may know, the Two-Buck Chuck wines vary in quality from shipment to shipment, making rating very hard. The case of this 03 Merlot I bought two years ago at Trader Joe's and it was harsh and hard on first opening. I just opened a bottle this week (June 2007) and it has settled down and opened up very nicely.
The wine is milder, more approachable, with nice fruit -- it's turned into an entirely acceptable vin ordinaire, which is a victory for a wine priced at under two dollars.
If you bought any cases of Charles Shaw reds and you didn't like them when you bought them, give them a couple of years and take another taste. They bought some firesale juice from some good vineyards back during the wine glut, so it's worth experimenting.
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