Pick My Next Bottle – 2018 Old Vine Zinfandel

The December Installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 2018 Old Vine Zinfandel. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on New Year’s Eve and a Bottle Note will be published later this week.

2018 was a great vintage for California Zinfandel. The wines have been beautiful from the get go. The producers and vineyards below are the best of the best but I wouldn’t wait too much longer to enjoy any of these bottles.

The Contenders:

• 2018 Bedrock Wine Co. Bedrock Vineyard Heritage – Heady, yet refined and polished, with boldly expressive black raspberry, orange peel and spice box flavors. This is full of additional nuances and builds toward big but fine-grained tannins. Zinfandel, Carignan and Mataro. Drink now through 2030. 94 points from the Wine Spectator.
• 2018 Carlisle Zinfandel Mancini Ranch – Damp earth, leafy herbs, cedar, plum, and spice-laced blue fruits all emerge from the 2018 Zinfandel Mancini Ranch, another incredible Zinfandel from this estate. More cigar and tobacco notes emerge with time in the glass, and it’s medium to full-bodied and flawlessly balanced, with good acidity and a great, great finish. 97 points from Jeb Dunnuck.
• 2018 Turley Zinfandel Pesenti Vineyard – The 2018 Zinfandel Pesenti Vineyard is one of the most distinctive wines in this range. Intense, deep aromatics give the 2018 so much of its personality. Inky dark fruit, wild flowers and exotic spice all abound in a perfumed, expressive Zinfandel endowed with tons of power and depth. 95 points from Vinous.

 Loading ...

Thanks for voting! I’d love to see a comment below on why you picked one bottle over another. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions for the January installment of Pick My Next Bottle.