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Rated XXX: Rosenblum Vintner's Cuvée XXX Zinfandel

This year, 2008, marks the 30th anniversary of Kent Rosenblum's foray into professional wine making under the Rosenblum Cellars label, hence XXX marks the vintage. The reference to adult cinema cannot be missed and is mentioned on the label: "Vintner's Cuvée XXX is not X-rated, but it is a spicy, overt and fruit-forward wine, filled with bright raspberry and cherry flavors."

This year the 60-something Rosenblum sold his label to Diageo, the international drinks giant, known for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Crown Royal, José Cuervo, Smirnoff, Bailey's, and many more. Their wine portfolio is one of the U.S. top 10 in sales. Not looking to get out of the business, Rosenblum agreed to stay on to oversee wine making and promote the brand.

This is certainly the trend of 2008: the big wine "houses" are getting bigger, and the small and medium houses have to mount a successful contra-marketing campaign to get noticed outside their tasting rooms. This parallels a trend towards more retail markets opening up wine sales to grocery stores and mass merchandisers, something currently being discussed hotly in Tennessee, my backyard.

Like it or not, gone are the days when oenological ideology and a small nest egg was enough to launch a competitive wine business. But like any trend, this one may reverse itself one day, the same way brewery consolidation eventually led to a rebirth of microbreweries.

Meantime, Rosenblum's Vintner's Cuvée Zinfandel is easy to recommend, and always has been for me, because the quality is consistently excellent for the money. Expect lots of dark berry cherry fruit plus overtones of spice and vanilla, all very well displayed to the senses, smoothly textured, on a youthfully muscular frame and finish. Let's hope Kent Rosenblum really hangs around for Cuvées to come.

In reference to this being Cuvée XXX, let me quote the venerable Poet Laureate Billy Collins from his book, Ballistics, his poem titled Pornography. Collins isn't describing a bottle of wine, but this poem immediately came to my mind for Vintner's Cuvée XXX.

"This is all I need to inject me with desire,
to fill me with the urge to lie down with you,
or someone very much like you,

on a cool marble floor or any fairly flat surface
as clouds go flying by
and the rustle of tall leafy trees

mixes with the notes of birdsong -
so clearly does the work speak of vanishing time,
obsolete musical instruments,

passing fancies, and the corpse
of the largely forgotten painter moldering
somewhere beneath the surface of present-day France."

In summary, I disagree with the label. This wine is definitely X-rated, which means I very much recommend it.

Price: $12 (Nashville). Closure: Noma/Neocork. Alcohol content: 14.6%.

Can the Circle Be Unbroken? Bogle Phantom 2005

In between the last sips of the last glass of this bottle of Bogle Phantom 2005, I pick up my blue guitar and strum a few measures of that old hymn and wonder what it means. What circle? The reason this tune is on my mind has to do with the seemingly imminent passing of an uncle. He's about to leave a gap in the circle here, and I suppose he will join the circle of those who left before. This is a favorite song of his and he is on my mind.

Whenever I play my guitar, there are phantoms in my head. One tends to play tunes written or performed by those who have already left the room. I first picked up a guitar as a point of entry into the head of one such person. You can learn a lot from those who pass before.

Bogle Phantom turns out to be a lush wine, offering up lots of fruit preserves flavors and aromas, wrapped in sweet spicy oak overtones. Plummy, cherry and currant fruit abounds. The spice is a bit along the lines of a Moroccan blend, and there's a touch of vanilla in there as well.

The blend is 55% Petite Sirah, 42% Zinfandel, with the balance being Mourvedre (Monastrell). The spicy notes are brought out through the time spent lying in American oak barrels. Bogle is known for giving a lot of wine for the money, and Phantom always sells out quickly. I guess that's why they call it Phantom - it's elusive - hard to get a hold of, so to speak.

Earlier in the evening, we paired Phantom with some barbecue beef, of the sweet tomato variety. Anything of that hearty stick-to-your-ribs sort of food will pair well. Now that the last sip is gone, I put down my guitar and let go of the day.

Price: $19 (Nashville). Closure: real cork. Alcohol content: 14.5%

Zins Off the Beaten Path: Girasole Mendocino Zinfandel 2006 and Renwood Sierra Foothills Zinfandel 2005

Among the reds, Zinfandel is the most primal and comforting. Often seen as outclassed by buttoned-down Cabernet, temperamental Pinot Noir, or blockbuster Shiraz, Zin dispenses with all the formalities, allowing you to find your Z-spot. It's like riding down the beach road, after the tourists have left for the season, with a sunset and tail wind behind you. Zin is the perfect wine for a slowdown, be it a weekend off or an economic meltdown.

Often brutally strong, going upwards of 16.5% ethanol, there are those Zinfandels that deliver lots of flavor at 13.5%. Everyone knows Dry Creek Valley, Napa, Paso Robles and Lodi are home to great Zins, but how about Mendocino or the Sierra Foothills? These are Zins off the beaten path.

Girasole Vineyards Mendocino Zinfandel 2006 is made from organic grapes, which adds to the comfort factor. Organic is getting popular on wine labels, but you don't see it on many Zinfandels. Expect aromas of blackberry cola with hints of earthy menthol and sage. Red-fruity, spicy-tart, and slightly earthy on the palate, the finish is quite dusty and gripping without being heavy.

Price: $12 (Shallotte, NC). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Renwood Sierra Foothills Zinfandel 2005 is loaded with cherry pie, mocha, and tobacco aromas. Lush and soft for a Zin, the red fruit is ample, and then soft tannins and a faint whiff of sweet pipe smoke lingers in the finish.

Price: $12 (Shallotte, NC). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Put something on the grill, raise a glass of either of these Zinfandels, and toast the quiet comfort that only comes from every third cottage on the street being empty and for sale.

2005 Peter Franus Brandlin Vineyards Mount Veeder Zinfandel

Before all the all the details and adjectives I have one thing to say - Wow.

I'm tipping my review hand here early by starting with the fact that the 2005 Franus Brandlin Zinfandel is an amazing bottle. It's one of those wines you want to tell all your friends about, a wine that you feel a sort of sadness as you pour the last glass.

So, yes, I liked it. If you caught my Klinker Brick review a few weeks ago you read that I don't have a long tasting history with Zinfandel. However, the Klinker Brick actually inspired me to start trying more Zin. The Franus was a little pricey, so it took me a little while to work up the courage to drop $40 on it. I think there's some psychological barrier everyone has at any particular price point. For me it's $30. Anything under $30 is a no brainer, I'll buy it; over $30 I'll have to give it a think.

First some background on Peter Franus - unlike many winemakers, Franus doesn't grow his own grapes or own his own vineyard, he's more of an artisan winemaker who works with various growers to produce the grapes for the wines that bear his name. Prior to striking out on his own, Franus was winemaker at several well known wineries including Chalone, Chateau St. Jean and others. He currently produces a half dozen different wines including two Zins, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, a Mourvèdre and a red blend. The two zins differ in origin: one is from Nape, the other, the bottle I had; is from Brandlin Vineyard on Mount  Veeder, northwest of Napa.

The 2005 Peter Franus Brandlin Vineyards Mount Veeder Zinfandel is 98% Zinfandel, 2% Charbono, Mourvèdre, Carignane. The Zinfandel grapes are from 80+ year old vines. The 2005 vintage was aged for 15 months in 40% new French oak. The production is only 668 cases, so get it while you can.

As I have taken to doing with pricey wines and all Zins, I decanted the Franus for about an hour before I sipped it. In the decanter and the glass it exhibits a glassy, ruby red color. The nose is, like all aspects of this wine, subtle but made up of wonderful aromas of blueberry and minerals. Unusually for a wine with almost 16% alcohol, there's very little heat. The most interesting thing I noticed first off was that the Franus didn't exhibit any of the jammy, strawberry preserve flavor I have come to expect from Zinfandel.

Often when I'm reading up on a wine and the tasting notes call it 'subtle' what they really mean is watery. The Franus Zinfandel is the exception, absolutely. It's definitely subtle, but in the best possible way. Your palate isn't knocked over by alchohol and fruit; there's just a wealth of flavors and tastes that surprise you and bring a smile to your face. There's dark red fruit, a hint of cherry and this great undertone from the oak.

I'll finish where I started - wow. I'll be buying more, for sure. For regular readers, I'll be working my way through the Franus catalogue this winter, I think. So stay tuned.

Price: $39 (Out West). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 15.9%.

Now and Then: Scott Harvey Amador County Zinfandel 2004 and Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois Red 2006

Scott Harvey is an overnight success in the wine business. If you believe that I've got a bridge to sell you. After 20+ years in the business, after achieving partnership in Folie à Deux, he championed the brand known as Ménage à Trois, which was since purchased by Sutter Home parent Trinchero. That fateful launch was some 10 +/- years ago, and now Scott, along with Jana (his wife, an industry "veteran" as well), have their own labels.

I didn't know this history of Scott Harvey Zinfandel until after I opened a few bottles of Amador Mountain Selection 2004. Actually it was a comment on a Winewaves post about Wingnut Amador Zin that revealed the connection to Ménage à Trois. But every label has a story, don't it? You think you're just drinking something you've never heard of, but that's almost never the reality once you awaken to the truth.

Scott Harvey is a pioneer in Amador, having traveled back and forth between the gold hills of California and Rhineland Pfalz in Germany in the mid-1970's. Over the course of three decades he has gilded his relationships with top Amador growers, and some people even credit Scott Harvey with putting the region on the map. He cut his teeth at Montevina and achieved early general manager status at Santino Winery (now Renwood).

Buying a bottle of Zinfandel you don't know, just because it's from Amador County, and expressly because you don't know it, and then having it turn out to be a real find - that's the thrill of the hunt. Especially if your find turns out to be made at a small local "liquor store" in your own neighborhood.

Scott Harvey Amador Mountain Selection Zinfandel 2004 has a nice piercing nose (I didn't say nose piercing!). It's plummy, raspby, lightly cedary, and there's a bit of forest floor earthiness to it, like a walk through Yosemite. The flavor is jammy but the character is deeper than jam, in fact it's deeper than you expect for about $15-20. You get a little of that all-spicy character joining the ample fruit on the tongue, and the finish is dusty, sturdy and yet ready for action right now. (The 2005 is the current vintage in release.)

Once we got around to pairing it with food, the wine was spot on for a natural pork loin chop with an heirloom tomato, sage, and vidalia onion reduction sauce and summer vegetable sauté. The rich natural sweet tart balance of the home grown tomatoes combined seamlessly with the wine.

Price: $15 (Nashville). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 14.5%.

We've come to know Ménage à Trois as a best seller at retail over the years, especially the red. Without apologies, it is now positioned as a red wine for people who normally don't drink much red wine. I must admit it seems to have become a little "watered down" over the past decade. Like many brands that come out of the gate and establish themselves behind a strong marketing premise and an over delivering execution, this one appears to have transitioned to resting squarely on its laurels. Yes, it's quite pleasant, but not as fit as it must have been in years past. The people want soft, and that's what they get. The blend of three, as it were, is dominated by Zinfandel (a la Scott Harvey's invisible hand), plus Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. There is a sweet jam character, plus herbal undertones. The body and backbone are rather light, a good wine to make the transition into drinking dry reds. It has its place in the market to be sure, but there are red blends on much firmer footing for the same price.

Price: $9 (Nashville). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

California Field Blends: Ten Mile Red 2005, Laurel Glen Lodi REDS 2006, Marietta Cellars Old Vine Red Lot 46

In California, before prohibition, wine growers planted their vineyards with mixed varieties, like quilt work. When it came time to harvest, they usually picked them all at the same time, even if all the grapes didn't have the same level of ripeness. And they co-fermented the crush, everything in the vat together. It was easier, and some people continue to say better, to get a blend to come together and reach a more seamless accord.

These "field blends" were Zinfandel dominated, because that was the star grape of the era in California. Other varieties typically found in these blends included Carignane, Petite Sirah (aka Durif), Alicante Bouschet, Peloursin, Syrah, and Barbera. There remain old vineyards, usually with head pruned vines, dotted around California, from Napa and Sonoma to Lodi. Once thought of as Zinfandel plantings, DNA testing has revealed many old Zinfandel vineyards include a supporting cast of other varieties. Each wine farmer planted their own proprietary combination, to produce a more harmonious and rounded end product in the barrel and bottle.

Alicante Bouschet was popular during prohibition because growers believed its thick skin made it a superior grape for transporting by rail to auction rooms in the east.

As an interesting side note, we can thank the White Zinfandel craze that began in the 1970's for preventing many old field blend vineyards from being ripped out in favor of the burgeoning Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay trade.

Now that we can determine what's in a vineyard, co-fermentation is not all that common. Most wines, even those that mimic old fashioned field blends, are picked and fermented in separate lots, then blended just before bottling. That gives the wine maker more degrees of freedom, leaves less up to chance, and it's just the modern way.

Just like Bordeaux blends have stood the test of time, so have these truly American Zinfandel blends. These blends also offer real bang for the buck, giving authentic personality to a casual everyday red wine. These are certainly amazing "spaghetti wines", and also do great justice to a seriously good pizza, anything mesquite grilled, or anything with a southwestern slant to it. And of course, they stand alone equally well.

Let's take a look at three that go beyond making the grade. All 3 of these blends share the same deep purple ruby color, almost opaque. They aren't drastically different in terms of aromas or flavors, either. They're all recommended.

Nine North Wine Co. Ten Mile Red 2005

Nine North Wine Company gives the 2004 vintage composition as 64% Petite Sirah, 18% Zinfandel, 8% Barbera, 8% Malbec and 2% Carignane.

This is the plummiest of the three, with lots of fresh cherry in the nose also. The undertones are spicy, in the direction of a Moroccan spice blend. The fruit is plummy and red on the tongue. You get that dusty structure, and a sense of licorice as the wine finishes.

Price: $15 (Nashville). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Laurel Glen Lodi REDS 2006
Laurel Glen says Reds is comprised of 60% 70-year-old Zinfandel, 30% 116-year-old Carignane and the balance Petite Sirah.

Reds displays a bright raspberry nose from the get-go. You also get some roasted undertones akin to chocolate or mocha, and a hint of ground pepper. The fruit is lush, with more cocoa and pepper evolving on your tongue. The nice dusty (but not overwhelming) structure asserts itself as the wine finishes.

Price: $10 (Nashville). Closure: Screw cap. Alcohol content: 14.5%.

Marietta Cellars Old Vine Red Lot 46
Marietta doesn't give out its proprietary blend. Like one's age, sometimes it's best to keep it a secret. They do say the blend is primarily comprised of Zinfandel, with Petite Sirah and Carignane and smaller amounts of Cabernet and Syrah and "various other Italian varietals" rounding out the blend. Is this the most authentic "field blend" of the three?

Old Vine Red is the meatier, that is to say smokier, of the three. It's not overwhelming in the smoke department by any means, but there's more there. There is plenty of fruit in the nose and on the tongue, definitely a Zinfandel-like fusion of raspberry and dark cherry. The flavors are well integrated and it's the "jammiest" of the three. This is the fullest bodied of the 3 wines, with very smooth dusty tannins, and finishing with a touch of vanilla.

Price: $13 (Nashville). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

If I had to rank the 3 wines, it would have to be put in context. None is a clear winner without a frame of reference. They're all recommended. But the Ten Mile Red would be my favorite with spicy food, along the lines of something with Moroccan spice, a curry, or cumin. Reds is my value priced favorite, if I'm on a tight budget, and it's my favorite to drink by itself  or with a piece of dark chocolate or similar dessert. Old Vine Red would be my hands down favorite for spaghetti, pizza, burgers, or most casual cuisine. No wonder every lot of Old Vine Red has been completely allocated since 1978.

If you're thinking about testing these wines with some spaghetti, here's a sauce that's also recommended. Dave's Gourmet Red Heirloom spaghetti sauce is worth looking for. You can buy it online, or discover it as I did, at Marshall's off-price department store. Our heirloom tomatoes aren't ripe yet, so this sauce caught my eye. I like any jar variety spaghetti sauce whose first ingredient is "tomatoes", not "tomato puree". I also like to see a low sugar content (4 grams per serving here), and I like the fat to be olive oil (extra virgin here). You might like it meatless, but we added lean and naturally raised ground beef and some sauteed onions and garlic (to season the meat). Serve it over thin whole wheat spaghetti.

Klinker Brick 2005 Old Vine Lodi Zinfandel

Let's face it, there is a lot of bad Zinfandel out there. And then there's that white Zinfandel stigma. So, buying Zinfandel can be a bit of a minefield. Here's a word of advice - if the name is a pun on the word 'zin' it's probably worth passing by. Any wine called Zin-cinatti or Zin-ammon. Is really trying too hard. Avoid it.

Based on the above, I haven't been a big buyer of Zinfandel. However, while browsing the wine section of my local gourmet market I ran into the big, gay proprietor of a (different) local wine shop and we got to talking about the selection. He pointed out that the two best things they had on the shelf that day were Klinker Brick's 2005 Zin and a retardedly unaffordable claret. So - zin it is.

The Klinker Brink should not be classed among those lesser zins, for sure. It's a really amazing example of Zinfandel - in fact, after the Klinker, just to see if my tasting was accurate I sipped a few others including the 2005 Terraces Zin. I was right the first time - the Klinker is a stunner.

It's from Lodi, California and harvested from a selection of vines ranging in age from 35-110 years old. One HUNDRED and ten years old! For reference that means the first vines in this bottle were planted in 1898. Other things that happened in 1898: The Spanish-American War started. New York City is divided into 5 bouroughs and the US annexed the Hawaiian islands.

Okay, enough trivia, onto the facts: The Klinker is 100% Zinfandel aged for 15 months in American oak. Harvested late, the 2005 yields were higher than average. It's $17 a bottle directly from Klinker, and if you are crafty (like me) you can find it for $15.

In the glass it's a pale rose purple with a very subtle nose, there's a lot of heat - the alcohol is 15.5% so...

I'd been informed that this would benefit from some decanting and some air, so I poured it and let it sit in the decanter for a good hour before I sipped it. The first sip was pleasant - fruity with a long, long complex chocolatey finish. Very decent. I had a glass and really enjoyed it, it's wonderfully fruity and complex. And, I'm going to break every rule in the wine world by admitting it - this stuff gets you drunk. So I had a couple of glasses left in the decanter, and I went out and did what I do on a weeknight and returned home about 3 hours later. I noticed the decanter and grabbed a glass wondering how it had matured throughout the evening.

Wow. WOW. The wine had matured into an amazing combination of ripe fruits and jammy complexity. The difference a few hours made was pretty stunning. In fact, the first sip I had after letting it air was so good I regretted drinking so much of it initially.

So - bottom line on Klinker Brick's 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel? Good stuff, great for the price, open it it early and let it get some air and you'll be pleased. Klinker Brick says, "Our Klinker Brick 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel may be the very best we have produced to date with full, juicy flavors of cherries and plums coupled with the perfect balance of oak and spice." I agree.

Price: $15 (Out West). Closure: Natural cork. Alcohol content: 15.5%.

Wingnut Amador County Zinfandel 2005

Smart money is looking to Amador County for Zinfandel. East of Sacramento and seemingly away from it all, this unpretentious wine country remains pleasantly off the radar. Here you can drive through golden grassy pastures, pass the past, and find some great Zin off the beaten path.

My first experiences with Zin from Amador were Montevina and Renwood. But now the really big wine marketers are making deals with Amador growers. Now the Three Thieves unit of Trinchero (Sutter Home) brings us Wingnut.

Loaded with fruit and not as over-the-top hot as many Zins these days, this is an easy drinker for anything grilled, especially burgers. Wingnut has that juicy spicy DNA that makes it perfect for Saturday night - or any night that we wish was Saturday. There is a definitive cherry character to it, reverberating between cherry cola and dried cherries. I never get tired of that in my casual quaffs, especially zins. More often that not, I'm not looking for a wine that's over my head, too complicated, or downright odd. This one is easy to get to know, without being monolithic or moronic. The fruit dominates, but it's rounded out by nice spice and some dusty tannins, and then it doesn't kick you in the gentleman's department.

As you contemplate your next burger, you can't go wrong pairing it with this Amador Zin.

Price (Nashville): $14. Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Biker Zin and The Road to Sturgis

My guess is a lot of bloggers have experienced what I'm going through. I find myself covered up in more lucrative work and the time left over for updating my blog suffers badly. Especially this summer, Winewaves has taken a back seat.

Take this week: I'm in the Sturgis, South Dakota area working for one of my "clients", a family company started by my brother and cousin, Diamond Gusset Jeans. G. Gordon Liddy interviewed me about our motorcycle jean called the Defender, which has Kevlar reinforcement to protect you in case that day comes when (heaven forbid) you hit the pavement. The Sturgis Rally is a spectacle for those not acquainted with it. There are hundreds of thousands of mostly Harley riders commencing on western South Dakota, with the little town of Sturgis being ground zero.

Shameless Promotion: Diamond Gusset Jeans are 100% American made, unlike just about any other jeans out there today, and they have a diamond shaped gusset sewn into the crotch for comfort and freedom of movement. I really like my pair of DG Carpenter jeans.

To get to Sturgis, I flew into Denver and drove up. I spent the night in Torrington Wyoming and discovered the Chicken Hut, which is a refreshing alternative to the national fried chicken chain restaurants. They purport to offer southern fried chicken, but I detected a hint of cumin which I've not come across down south. Still, the Chicken Hut makes truly outstanding fried chicken and it's worth going out of the way for. The crust isn't overly thick or greasy, and the meat is moist, tender and nicely seasoned. Even the typical side dishes: fries, cole slaw and a biscuit were tasty.

There is some wine involved on this trip, too. I brought a bottle of Four Vines Biker Zin 2005 with me. It hails from Paso Robles. I like the 2004 that I picked in Denver on the way to last year's Sturgis Rally, and I like the 2005 at least as much. I drank it in my hotel room with a really good carry-out bacon cheeseburger from the All Star restaurant in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Very nice value ($23). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 15%.

Style: Boldly fruit forward, unabashedly lush, with moderate oak spice and polished tannins.

Photo is from 2004 vintage, but the '05 looks the same.

Comment: To heck with the terroir-ists who say they want to do away with all high alcohol fruit bombs. Sturgis is all about freedom of expression and this wine expresses freely.

The other event that has put a damper on my blogging this summer was the passing of Opal, our feline companion who ruled the house for 18 years. She passed July 31st at 1:11 PM with my ear pressed against her chest the moment her heart stopped. She showed up on our door step back in 1989 and I can't believe she left us. Opal is sadly missed.

Four Vines Old Vine Zinfandel 2005

My idea of old is 16 to 50 years old, like the old vines in Four Vines Old Vine Zin. But because I'm approaching 50, I'll have to adjust that soon to include the over 50 vines (which I used to consider ancient vines).

Anyway, the Four Vines people are dedicated to hedonistic principles and you can get in on their more is better approach to life at the under-$15 level with their Old Vine Zinfandel. If you can afford to, by all means, spend a bit more and try out their no-holds barred offerings like Biker Zin and Loco. But if you only have $13 to spend this is a good place to spend it.

Christian Tietje and Company combined some good fruit from all over California with some rather decent small oak barrels before bottling Old Vine Zin '05. Forget about unique terroir, this is a happy-go-lucky mutt of a Zin.

Excellent value ($13). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 14.6%.

Style: Plump, fruit forward, tart with some oak spice.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Dark candy apple red with a slight haze. Aromas: Loganberry, framboise, raisins, cola spice and caramelized oak. Medium-bodied and sweet tart on the front of the tongue, the richly layered mature fruit flavors combine with cola spice and the finish kicks out a modicum of caramelized oak.

Comment: Decadent value.