It is the time of the year where every wine blogger publishes their lists of Wines of the Year or Values of the Year, etc. Although I try to blog about all the wines I taste it is clear that Zinfandel is definitely a favorite grape of mine. With that in mind here are my top 10 Zinfandels of 2014. The link for each wine will take you to the detailed Bottle Note on Zinfandel Chronicles.
- 2004 Turley Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard – 95 point
- 2009 Carlisle Zinfandel Montafi Vineyard – 95 points
- 2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard – 94 points
- 2004 Williams Selyem Zinfandel Forchini Vineyard – 94 points
- 2006 Carlisle Zinfandel Montafi Vineyard – 94 points
- 2005 Williams Selyem Zinfandel Bacigalupi Vineyard – 94 points
- 2006 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard – 94 points
- 2011 Ridge Geyserville – 93 points
- 2008 Black Sears Zinfandel – 93 points
- 2012 Wonderment Wines Zinfandel Burton Ranch Vineyard – 93 points
As I reflect on the list a few things jump out at me:
- I am surprised there is only a single entry from Turley
- Zinfandel clearly has the capacity to gain complexity with bottle age
- Keep an eye on Wonderment Wines
What was the best Zinfandel you opened this past year?
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For me- 2011 Bedrock Papera Ranch.
Papera is always on the money whether it is Carlisle, Bedrock or Williams Selyem.
2009 Ridge Lytton Springs. Put away 2 mags in the cellar for the long haul. Keep an eye on this vintage of Lytton, Tom, it’s special…
I have a magnum of the 03 Lytton Springs that I’ve got my eye on near term. Might have to tee it up for a Super Bowl Party.
I tried so hard to get the 2009 Ridge Lytton at auction but kept getting out bid. I should have prevailed.
Ridge is so consistent from year to year I’d look for anything from ’07 on.
You missed one of my all time favorites. Biale makes excellent Zins from the black chicken to the single vineyard specialty bottling. Give them a try.
Thanks Mark. The 2012 Biale Black Chicken was my Zinfandel of the Month in August. Great wine…just not quite as good as the wines on the list.
Tiny Ramona AVA winery Chuparosa, near San Diego. Four acres now in production. Delicious Zin, at a mighty 13.8% alc. 2010. Yummmy. And my tongue didn’t die or go into a coma.
One of my favorites outside of Bedrock, Turley, Carlisle was the Limerick Lane Bedrock Vineyard. Definitely a winery to watch, and some decent scores from Parker.
Looking forward to the upcoming Limerick Lane mailer.