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Aging potential for Zins

ademello

By ademello
in Wine

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RobInAustin

RobInAustin

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I think Lancelot nailed my sentiments exactly. Even those Zin's from producers who's wine will age STILL are totally unpredictable. I have had different bottles of the same wine from the same case be different. One was great so we opened a second, which was gone. I find aging Zin to be such a crap shoot that it isn't worth it.

Cheers,

Rob

"When I lived in Paris, and champagne was relatively cheap, I always enjoyed a half-bottle in the middle of the morning and another half-bottle at six or so in the evening. It did me a tremendous amount of good." - Gerald Hamilton.
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Brad Ballinger

Brad Ballinger

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I shared a 91 Lytton Spring earlier this year with friends and it was magnificent.

In February I had both the 91 Lytton Springs and the 91 Lytton Estate ATP. Both were singing and the Estate was still on the way up.

We cannot employ the mind to advantage when we are filled with excessive food and drink - Cicero

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liamdc

liamdc

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I am a lover of Rafanelli zins. With respect to the '02, I think it could stand about 1-2 years in the bottle at least. I tasted it on a recent trip to the winery. It seemed a little young as compared with the 2000 and 2001 vintages at a similar age.

Liam

Eat it, eat it

If it's gettin' cold, reheat it

Have a big dinner, have a light snack

If you don't like it, you can't send it back

Just eat it -- Weird Al Yankovic

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winesonoma

winesonoma

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I am a lover of Rafanelli zins. With respect to the '02, I think it could stand about 1-2 years in the bottle at least. I tasted it on a recent trip to the winery. It seemed a little young as compared with the 2000 and 2001 vintages at a similar age.

If only you could get them. Barrel tasting weekend and getting on the list seem to be the only way.I have a friend on the list so I always get a little of it. :laugh:

Bruce Frigard

Quality control Taster, Château D'Eau Winery

"Free time is the engine of ingenuity, creativity and innovation"

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

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  • 2 months later...
madziast

madziast

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having a 2001 ridge zin sonoma station right now and it is lovely. quite powerful, actually. sat in the wine refrigerator for a while... does anyone know whether it would have lasted or improved in a year or more?

Alcohol is a misunderstood vitamin.

P.G. Wodehouse

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ademello

ademello

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having a 2001 ridge zin sonoma station right now and it is lovely.  quite powerful, actually.  sat in the wine refrigerator for a while... does anyone know whether it would have lasted or improved in a year or more?

I took Carswell's advice and I read Zin: The History and Mystery of Zinfandel. Now I feel much better about owning, holding, and ageing the quantity of Zin that I have!

As always, balance is important. I recently tried some "old" Ridges including a 1976 Lytton Springs, a 1993 Pagani Rach, and 1994 Geyserville. All were singing. I suspect that the Geyserville still had some more time to go and the Lytton tasted very little like a Zin, much more like a refined Bordeaux but was full of rich, dark fruit.

My personal feeling is that the Zins with some Petite Sirah thrown in will age well. I also think that Ridge and Turleys both age better than the 'standard' Zins by design. There are probably more like this, but I haven't experience them. This depends on the style of the Zin, and I find that the Ridge zins especially of more recent vintage, are more refined in style than the typical over-extracted fruit bombs. If you love the latter style, it's probably best to drink yoru wines a bit younger.

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madziast

madziast

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My personal feeling is that the Zins with some Petite Sirah thrown in will age well. I also think that Ridge and Turleys both age better than the 'standard' Zins by design. There are probably more like this, but I haven't experience them. This depends on the style of the Zin, and I find that the Ridge zins especially of more recent vintage, are more refined in style than the typical over-extracted fruit bombs. If you love the latter style, it's probably best to drink yoru wines a bit younger.

you are certainly right about Turley, gave one time and it was super delicious. guess i could have sat on the Ridge - might get a bottle for a test... thanks for the Carswell tip!

Alcohol is a misunderstood vitamin.

P.G. Wodehouse

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jackal10

jackal10

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having a 2001 ridge zin sonoma station right now and it is lovely.  quite powerful, actually.  sat in the wine refrigerator for a while... does anyone know whether it would have lasted or improved in a year or more?

More like ten years...drinking it now is infanticide

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