I tasted one of the best zins I have ever had on a recent trip to Healdsburg. 2006 Dark Horse Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Treborce Vineyards. small production Zin that was absolutely incredible. Any suggestions on other great zins to try?
Yes - another Dry Creek - Hamilton Vinyard done by Klick. Nice medium body style - not the over-ripe fruit and alcohol bomb style at all. Klick is located in Nice, California (I kid you not) and Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa sometimes has it.
While you are in Healdsburg, by the by, try the restaurant "Zin" - not surprisingly they have a large menu of zinfandels by the glass, including small producers, like Klick.
The first few years that Zin was open, their wine list was a great way to see the future of Zinfandel. About 80% of the list were wines that no one had ever heard of. They were the coming wines. They still have an open table every Wednesday morning that anyone can bring their wines for tasting to see if they should be on the list. Somehow, things have changed a great deal even though you will find cult wines like Rafanelli on their list. They don't seem to have the same enthusiasm that they once did. As for some Zins to try: Mauritson's Rockpile Ridge, Westphall Ridge, Jack's Cabin, Cemetery. Mauritson was the pioneer of the new Rockpile AVA and all four of the above Zins come from there.
Opolo in Paso Robles. Their Mountain Zin is outstanding. Huge! Wild Coyote in Paso. Their Zins are fantastic as is their Syrah. Karly in Amador. Numerous Zins to try but my fav. is Warrior Fire Seghasio in Sonoma. Big and bold Zins
The hard part about making suggestions is that as the Dark Horse is small production, few (if any) here have tried. Zin is made in a variety of styles,. I've liked Dry Creek Zins from Dashe, Coffaro, Ridge (3 Valleys is only DC one they have remaining I think- Ed or someone can correct if I'm wrong). Mostly made in a restrained (for Zin) style. Paso Robles or Amador Zins like Miles suggested are more likely to be "huge", if that's what you're looking for. Even within a geographic area there different styles, so hard to say without tasting the wine (or a description of what you liked about it, or other Zins that it reminded you of).
Thats true. I prefer big very complex Zins. In Paso area theres several styles from light bodied on up. I prefer other varietals for light to medium.
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