2003 Valley Of The Moon Estate Old Vine Zinfandel

Last spring my son's school had a "camping trip" where we all went to a group camp in the Valley Of The Moon and afterwards we used the opportunity to drink some local wines. The eponymous winery has a reputation for producing "Premium Jug Wines". Given the oxymoronic reputation, I did not expect much, but really wanted to visit it as it is one of the oldest wineries in California, and features prominently in my 1979 edition of the Sunset Guide to California Wine Country, as being a former Parducci property, and indeed even the personal vineyard of the Hearst's.

It has a good presentation. It comes in an attractive silk-screened zinfandel bottle properly labeled. It has a real cork. The mention of "Old Vines" on the label in this case means something as the estate vineyard was planted in the 1850's; and while I do not doubt that most of the vines have been replaced over time; the term "Ancient" might be appropriate here.

It had a real cork that smelled of cherries and left no tattoo.

Given my previous experiences with VOTM wines, I opened it a and walked away from the bottle to take care of my kids and let it breath a little before tasting it.

It had a good colour and berries on the nose. A swirl brought out more berries and a hint of leather. It had minimal legs.

A dark charcoal taste made it better than the previous VOTM that I opened.

The Vinturi brought out raspberries on the nose with a hint a jam.

The Verdict:

It was good.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel
Appellation/Terrior:	Sonomoa Valley AVA, California
Vintage:	2003
Vintner:	Valley Of The Moon
Alcohol:	14.8% by Volume