This is made from grapes on the terrace just south of the winery. At age 21, it is drinking beautifully. Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is nice with black cherries, cassis and spice. Full bodied. Light tannins. On the palate black cherries and cassis. Clean. Nice complexity. Long finish. This should drink well for another five to eight years. It will work well with Lasagna.
A. Rafanelli has built up a loyal following of fans and supporters for the Zins and Cabs (and other wines) and with good reason. At age 15,. this wine is in a prime spot. Deep ruby/purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is deep with cassis, leather, spice, slight herbal note and tobacco. Full bodied. Bright cassis fruit over spice and tobacco. Complex and deep. Nice balance. This is showing some maturity but should easily go another ten to twelve years at this level. It went great with eggplant parmigiana and would work just as well with a roast.
Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly clear and bright. The nose is very nice with black cherries, cassis, slight spice and slight black olives. Medium to full bodied. Light tannins. On the palate, this is still fresh and vibrant. Tasty. Some depth and complexity as it unwinds in the glass. Great balance. Good finish. Drinking well now, it should go another five to seven years with no trouble. Nice on its own, but better with food. It worked well with eggplant parmigiana.
Purple in color. The nose is very nice with cassis, a bit of barnyard, slight tobacco and dust. On the palate, this seems to be at peak. Plenty of fresh cassis fruit but some tertiary development is showing as layers of damp earth, and slight decayed vegetation (in a good way). Tannins are just about resolved. It did seem to improve slightly in a decanter as it opened up and blew off a bit of bottle stink. Nice finish. Worked well with a nice plate of pasta. It won't get better from here, and these should probably be drunk in the next five to ten years depending on how you like you
