Friday, September 29, 2006

Fetzer Valley Oaks Zinfandel 2003 wine review–real time-- by (PB)

Came home tonight to the amazing aromas of Italian sausage steeping in tomato sauce with wonderful Italian spices. I went to the cellar and grabbed a 1999 Rioja and brought it upstairs but for some reason decided to go with this Zin from the folks who make my favorite Gewurtz.

It is sitting in front of me and is imparting incredible berry rich aromas even through the heavy ambient layer of home made spaghetti sauce. This gorgeous crystalline crimson wine is dense with jammy notes of raisins and blackberries that are so ripe they smell like you must eat them immediately or they’ll go over the top.

In the mouth the first blast is a shot of white pepper with a thin texture and heavy tannins. Unfortunately, the mouth presentation is less than promised through the nose. The finish is kind of a toasty white bread.

We’ll leave it sit now and see if air helps any of this.

An hour does open the flavors a bit but there is something that just isn’t quite right with the finish of this wine. It’s awkward and unpleasant. It was $8 and has a great bouquet but just doesn’t come together.

1 comment:

  1. The 2005 isn't better... less nose with uninteresting flavours and finish. That's at $15.25Can per...

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