TN: 2001 Davis Family, Old Vine Zinfandel

[WineMiles]

For an incredible Zinfandel, try the Davis Family Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel. Guy Davis purchased some property in Sebastapool for his home. On the property was a 20 acre 107 year old vineyard. It was in terrible condition. Overgrown with weeds and untended for many years. Guy was able to salvage 4 acres of of Zinfandel vines. He uses these vines exclusively in his Old Vine Zinfandel. I haven't tasted anything like it. The after taste is what really blows you away. The after taste of most wines is gone by the time your glass hits the table. Not so with Guy Davis' wines. The Old Vine Zin's after taste didn't even begin until 10-15 seconds after I'd swallowed.

A major concentration of flavors. There is all this great brown spice character brought up from the old vine roots. Blackberry and cherry flavors followed by black pepper and cumin on the back end.

If you can find it, buy it! They've sold out the last two years in a row.

Edited April 21, 2004 by WineMiles (log)

[futronic]

My first question is about the terms aftertaste and finish. Do you define them as one and the same?

If so, a 10-15 second finish on a wine is quite short in my opinion. It's not difficult to find wine that has a 30+ second finish, sometimes 60-90+ seconds.

The '89 Haut Brion that I had went on for minutes.

[WineMiles]

I would define aftertaste and finish as meaning the same thing. Another term used pretty often is back end.

Also I miss stated the after taste duration. What I meant was, the aftertaste didn't begin until 10-15 seconds after putting down the glass. Sorry about that. It was my first Tasting Note.

Edited April 21, 2004 by WineMiles (log)

[WineMiles]

Depending on the age at the time of drinking, I would expect something like an '89 Haut Brion's finish to continue for an extended period of time.

However, if your frame of referrence is current release Zinfandels, then the finish on this wine begins to stand out much more.

I'll try to remember to include those items of reference in my next tasting note.

[futronic]

Andy,

There's no need to apologize. I wasn't taking a shot at your tasting note, rather, I was simply asking for the context of the term.

It's a topic that has been discussed several times on other wine forums that I'm on. Knowing how different people use the term allow me to calibrate the way I read their tasting note, if that makes sense.

And about the '89 Haut Brion, I had it last summer. It was still young, but even after an hour in a decanter it was beautiful stuff.