2016 Carlisle Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley, USA, California, Wine Review

Always a consistently top Zinfandel. Purple in color with a thin ruby rim. The nose is nice with black cherries, raspberries, slight bramble, and char. Full bodied. The fruit seems a bit darker on the palate. Black raspberries with some plums. Delicious. Tight but unwinds in the glass. Long finish. This seems like it still needs a bit more time, even for those who like their Zins big and fruit forward. Maybe another three to five years and it should drink well for seven to ten after that. This drinks great on its own and will work great with bigger foods and also comfort foods like Mac and Cheese.

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Vintage:

2016

Current Price:

$58.00USD

Top Ten California Zinfandels - 2016

I tend to taste and drink a lot of wine over the course of a year. I am in a few tasting groups, sometimes the wines are consumed at various local wine store tastings and a number drunk with friends and family.

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Napa Valley Wineries with the Best Zinfandel

Napa Valley Zinfandels are celebrated for their easy drinking allure and bold juicy flavors making this varietal a total crowd pleaser. Zinfandels made in the Napa Valley are iconic, although some may say a little forgotten, however, it’s a flavor profile known for intense black fruits and spice which render Napa Valley Zinfandels as the most epically jammy varietal produced. The Napa Valley’s warm California climate is fundamental to winemaking and Napa Valley Zinfandels are a great example of how winemakers utilize that heat, skillfully harnessing the temperatures to produce some of the most intense wine the Napa Valley has to offer. Zinfandels crafted in the Napa Valley region, especially old vine Zinfandels, have exploding flavors that ripen outrageously giving life to wines that create an exceptional food and wine experience. When you find a way to always have excellent Napa Valley Zinfandel around it’s sure to illuminate any meal because Napa Valley Zinfandel is, more than anything else, a food pairing wine. These Napa Valley wineries with the best Zinfandel are recommendations specifically known for their outstanding, award-winning Zinfandel.

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Wines to Go Buy This Week: "Comfort Wines" - A Zinfandel by Glenn Hawk and Tulip Hill's Cabepulciano (yeah you read that right)

I live in San Francisco and January weather here means 50 degrees and rain. Constant bone-chilling rain, or so it seems. And before the rest of America emails to remind me how good I have it and how freaking cold it is in New York or Ohio or whatever other frozen tundra they call home, I'm just gonna say that when you are cold, you are cold, and comfort food -and comfort wine- goes a long way towards warming your heart when Old Man Winter starts to have his way with you. So with this in mind, I bring you two comfort wines you should go buy this week. Glenn Hawk Zinfandel - I typically don't gravitate to Zinfandel. I associate Zins with "cocktail wines", that is, wines that are delicious for a few sips of a single glass but can be a bit too fruity and overwhelming for those of us who tend towards enjoying multiple glasses. So I don't recommend many Zinfandels simply because I don't drink many of them. Every once in a while I stumble back down the Zinfandel path and am reminded of how good the varietal can be. I recently tried the 2009 Glenn Hawk Zinfandel from Livermore Valley (just south of Napa in the shadow of Mt. Diablo).

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Dashe Cellars: Making Zinfandel in Oakland

The wine business is a fickle mistress. Winery owners and winemakers chase elusive scores, the public makes buying decisions based on movies, hype and price, and critics seem to applaud fruit laden, high octane wines. So where does that leave Dashe Cellars in Oakland, CA? Right where they want to be.

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2018 Carlisle Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage:

2018

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Grade:

Another winner from Carlisle. I am sure these will age nicely, but I just can't keep my hands off of them young. Ruby/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is great with black cherries, spice, blueberries, and cedar. Full bodied. Lovely, almost lush texture. Good acidity. Light tannins. On the palate, black cherries, black raspberries, with slight char underneath. Long finish. Just delicious. This is great on its own and will drink well for another ten years. It also will work well for spicy and bigger foods. Besides pizza, this would be great with ribs off the gr

2016 Carlisle Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley, USA, California, Wine Review

Food and Wine Pairing Tool

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Top Ten California Zinfandels - 2016

Napa Valley Wineries with the Best Zinfandel

Wines to Go Buy This Week: "Comfort Wines" - A Zinfandel by Glenn Hawk and Tulip Hill's Cabepulciano (yeah you read that right)

Dashe Cellars: Making Zinfandel in Oakland

2018 Carlisle Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley, USA, California, Wine Review