2008 Dry Creek Valley Castlebank Old Vine Zinfandel

This was a nice little wine that I picked up from WTSO (wine til sold out) online for $11 a bottle. We had this wine with homemade pizza and it was very nice with it. This is a single vineyard zin labeled from Guilia's vineyard. I don't know if this wine is available locally. The color was a dark purple garnet. The aromas were black cherry and a little vanilla. The flavors were cherry, blackberry, a llittle vanilla, and a touch of chocolate (I only got the chocolate on the finish). It was pretty light for a zin, with more acid than tannin. We couldn't help but compare this wine with the previous zin. It wasn't nearly as polished. However, it was an honest, straightforward wine that was pleasant to drink. I have 3 more bottles, and I'm looking forward to enjoying them.

2006 Cline Zinfadel

This was a terrific zinfandel from the Sonoma region in California. We had this wine with lamb chops smothered in onions, tomato, and olive. It was a lovely match with the lamb and may be the best zinfandel I've ever had. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where I got this wine. It probably came from either Bob's or Campbell Station, and of course, I'm not sure about the price. I'd guess this to be in the $20 to $30 dollar range.

The color was a deep, inky garnet with a bit of a brick red color at the edge. The aromas were of oak, blackberry, vanilla and chocolate. The flavor was of blackberry and cherry with the vanilla and chocolate previously described. On the palate it was very fruit forward, and had a wonderful smooth, rounded quality. It was very silky for a zin with well integrated tannins. The finish was smooth and lingering. It was one of those wines that was just delicious. This wine was excellent with the lamb, but would also make a great sipping wine. I think part of the success of this wine was the fact that it has a little age. This rounded out the tannins and integrated all the flavors. I will look for this again.