Recommendation: Good inexpensive Zinfandel that is within everybody’s budget.
Winery/Producer: Alexander Valley Vineyards; Healdsburg, California.
Grape Variety: Zinfandel.
Geographic Region, Appellation: Sonoma County, California.
Vintage: 2012
Price: $10.50 (estimate)
Purchased From: The Village Tavern, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (at a wine dinner)
Paired With: Barbecue chicken and Maytag blue cheese slaw.
Tasting:
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He said: Opened 1-hour before drinking. Clear, dark garnet color with violet tint. Strong plum aromas with hints of cherry, smoke and dust. Powerful, dry, spicy fruit taste that carries through a slightly peppery bitter finish and a lingering aftertaste. Not bad Zinfandel…good bouquet, a taste that’s dry and not the least bit harsh and a medium-length mouth-filling finish. I was expecting less, but in the end it was clearly in the “not-bad” Zinfandel category. It wasn’t sweet and the balance of abundant fruit flavors went well with the BBQ and blue-cheese in the slaw. For a “week-day-wine” this gets a recommended buy from me…it’s good inexpensive Zinfandel that is within everybody’s budget.
She said: Ruby red color, translucent with lots of slender very zippy legs. Yum and supper yum! I love Zinfandel in general and this one in particular. The heavy red fruit aroma sucked me right in to the full bloodied delicious flavor that reflected all the good things that red fruit has to offer and more. The tannins were soft in the mouth but rose in the finish and complemented the fruitiness of the wine perfectly. I would buy this again in a flash, especially for a barbecue dinner like this one. Not a bargain wine, but absolutely delicious!
Alcohol: 14.8%
Bar code: 0 85798 07862 2
Imported by: NA
Photo from Alexander Valley Vineyards.