Two Killer Zins, Each Under 300 Cases Produced

Here are two Zinfandels we've sampled recently that meet our criteria: small production, handcrafted and delicious. We don't have any fancy story about the winemaker or anything like that; it's just great Zin at a great price.

2005 Homefire Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Sonoma

$219/case, $18.25/bottle

(285 cases produced)

Here's one that we tasted and loved at the ZAP tasting in San Francisco a couple of months ago. It delivers plenty of classic old vine (in this case 50+ year old vines) Dry Creek Zin pleasure – zesty rich berries, nutmeg and mocha spice. The finish is lengthy and complex. To top it off, the price is refreshingly reasonable, given the ever spiraling price of what is purported to be "the peoples wine."

2002 Eric Ross Old Vine Feeney Ranch Zinfandel Russian River Valley

$333/case, $27.75/bottle

(250 cases produced)

Here's a real knockout. From the historic Feeney Vineyard (Carlisle also makes a Zin from here) comes this Russian River classic. It has a hypnotic nose of fresh tobacco, cedar, blackberry, spices, pepper and chocolate, with well integrated tannins. Sweet oak and dark fruit create a wine that's soft and balanced, with a long rich finish.

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Cheers,

Jon Kelvey

Russian River Wine Company
132 Plaza St.
Healdsburg CA, 95448
1-800-477-0490 Ext 16
Jonkelvey@gmail.com