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The Tom Hill Archives

The Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium presents the musings and reflections of Tom Hill. We think it's great that Tom, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his tasting notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Tom writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Tom writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Tom's notes from August 7, 2002:

Zinfandel

We tasted last night some Zinfandels:                      
  1. Tobin James Winery Paso Robles Zinfandel (14.8%; bd) 1987: Med.color; rather jammy/dried cherries bit overripe/raisened slight herbal old Zinfandel/cedary/cigar box some spicy/complex nose; tart jammy/overripe/raspberry/raspberry jam some dried-out light cigar box/spicy flavor; med.long bit hot/alcoholic/overripe raspberry jam some cedary finish w/ light tannins; bit overripe/ raisened and drying out, but some interesting things therein.
  2. Sky Napa Valley Estate Zinfandel (TW) 1984: Med.color; deep spicy/raspberry/blackberry cedary/cigar box bit dusty rather complex nose; tart some dusty rough/mtn Zinfandel/raspberry/blackberry spicy bit cedary/oak complex flavor; med.long spicy/raspberry cedary dusty complex bit tannic finish; still very much alive and pleasurable to drink; attractive mature mountain Zinfandel.
  3. Ravenswood Dickerson Vineyard Napa Valley Zinfandel (14.2%; 1350 cs) 1991: Med.dark color; strong minty/ menthol/eucalyptus spicy/raspberry light oak complex nose; tart bit dried-out strong menthol/ eucalyptus rather raspberry/spicy slight cedary/oaked flavor; long complex strong eucalyptus/ menthol/minty some spicy/raspberry finish w/ light tannins; loads of eucalyptus character and complex in the nose but drying out a bit on the palate; the least of these Rvnswds.
  4. Ravenswood Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Cooke Vineyard (14.9%; 520 cs) 1991: Very dark color; deep raspberry/ blackberry/peppery some perfumed/aromatic/complex light oak nose; soft/round/lush peppery/ blackberry very spicy complex light oak flavor; very long chocolaty/peppery/blackberry some smokey/hot dog finish w/ light tannins; a lovely/mature balanced Zinfandel.
  5. Ravenswood Sonoma County Zinfandel Belloni Vineyard (14.8%; 710 cs) 1991: Very dark color; strong chocolaty/ blackberry/boysenberry very spicy fragrant/complex nose; tart bright Zinberry/raspberry bit chalky fragrant/perfumed very spicy complex flavor; very long tart raspberry/Zinberry very spicy fragrant finish w/ light tannins; a lovely/complex/mature Zinfandel but a bit dried out on the palate.
  6. Ravenswood Sonoma Valley Zinfandel OldHill Vineyard (14.9%; 725 cs) 1991: Very dark color; deep chocolaty/ blackberry/boysenberry slight menthol/oaked very spicy dusty/old vines complex nose; soft/ round/lush chocolaty/blackberry/boysenberry slight chalky very balanced very spicy/complex flavor; very long very spicy/complex ripe/blackberry/chocolaty finish w/ light tannins; best of these Rvnswds; very balanced/lush/round and come together beautifully.
  7. Robert Biale Vineyard Napa Valley Zinfandel Napa Ranches (15.4%) 2000: Med.light color; lovely/fragrant bright/ spicy/Zinfandel/raspberry slight volatile/perfumed very fragrant nose; soft buttery/oaked/buttered popcorn bright raspberry/Zinfandel/fruity spicy flavor; med.long spicy bright/raspberry/Zinfandel some buttery/butterd popcorn finish w/ light tannins; ready to drink; loads of bright raspberry/ Zinfandel fruit; nice $18-$20 Zinfandel.
  8. Robert Biale Vineyard Napa Valley Zinfandel Black Chicken (15.9%; 825 cs) 2000: Med.color; much deeper blackberry/ Zinfandel/raspberry perfumed very fragrant slight volatile light oak nose; off-dry very ripe/overripe blackberry/raspberry/Zinfandel slightly hot perfumed light oak flavor; med.long off-dry very ripe/ raspberry/blackberry light oak finish w/ light tannins; a bit overripe but lovely fruit; a nice $25-$26 Zinfandel.
  9. Terraces Napa Valley Zinfandel (13.2%) 1993: Very dark color; very strong toasty/charred/Fr.oak menthol blackberry/boysenberry complex mtn/Zinfandel nose; rich very spicy charred/toasty/Fr.oak blackberry/ boysenberry aromatic complex bit rough/mtnZin flavor; very long some tannic charred/Fr.oak/ pungent rather blackberry complex finish w/ some tannins; holding well w/ plenty of fruit but showing lots of tannin yet; probably best to drink up; excellent example of mtn Zinfandel.
  10. Rosenblum Cellars San Francisco Bay Zinfandel Carla's Vineyards Contra Costa County (14.6%) 2000: Very dark color; intense licorice/chocolaty/plummy/blackberry/Zinfandel classic ContraCosta bit toasty/oak nose; soft/ fat/very fleshy chocolaty/plummy/licorice light toasty/oak flavor; very long soft plummy/licorice light oak finish w/ light tannins; ripe/fleshy/plummy very good ContraCosta Zinfandel.
  11. Rosenblum Cellars Mendocino County Zinfandel Eagle Point Ranch (14.8%) 2000: Dark color; some tomatoey/earthy  rich blackberry/spicy/Zinfandel attractive nose; soft/lush bright blackberry/Zinfandel/tomatoey light oak slight earthy/dusty flavor; long soft ripe/blackberry/tomatoey finish w/ light tannins; a pretty Zinfandel w/ good Mendo character but a bit on pricey side.
  12. Rosenblum Cellars Russian River Valley Zinfandel Alegria Vineyard (14.1%; 14% PS, 8% AlicanteBouchet) 2000: Dark color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/licorice dusty/old vines classic Rosenblum/lush nose; soft very lush/ripe  blackberry/boysenberry/licorice/Zinfandel aromatic flavor; very long ripe/ very lush blackberry/boysenberry/licorice finish w/ light tannins; very lush drinkable Zinfandel in a classic Rosenblum style; like this wine a lot.
  13. Rosenblum Cellars Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Samsel Vineyard/Maggie'sReserve (15.6%; 5% AlicanteBouchet) 2000: Very dark color; beautiful chocolaty/blackberry/boysenberry/cough syrup/licorice complex intense terrific dusty/old vines juicy nose; off-dry very rich/intense lush loads of intense blackberry/ boysenberry/chocolaty/licorice/pungent Zinfandel dusty/old vines complex flavor; soft/smooth rich/intense blackberry/boysenberry/chocolaty very complex finish w/ light tannins; a wonderful classic Samsel loaded w/ intense fruit; killer wine if a  bit pricey.
  14. Rosenblum Napa Valley Michael Marston Vineyard Zinfandel (13.7%) 1991: Dark color; very attractive raspberry/blackberry/ lush/Zinfandel fruit nose; tart spicy/raspberry/blackberry slight pungent/oak some complex buttery/oaked flavor; med.long spicy/blackberry/raspberry/Zinfandel rather buttery/Am.oak finish w/ light tannins; still an attractive Zinfandel but fading a bit; drink up.
  15. Rosenblum Cellars Napa Valley PS PicketRoad (14.8%; 80-100 yr old vines) 2000: Black color; very intense peppery/blackberry/loads of fruit slight bretty some pungent/charred/oak nose; soft ripe/blackberry/ peppery some buttery/oaked/pungent very lush loads of fruit flavor; long soft/lush peppery/blackberry light buttery/oak finish w/ some tannins; classic Rosenblum lushness w/ loads of peppery PS fruit; needs another yr or two & will last, terrific PS at a great price. $22.00
  16. Consilience Santa Barbara County PS (13.5%) 1999: Black color; huge black pepper/espresso/charred/toasty/ Fr.oak/coffee very NorthernRhone/roasted Graillot-like nose; soft huge/extracted very espresso/Northern Rhone charred/toasty/oak tannic flavor; very long/lingering toasty/charred/espresso/coffee extracted Graillot-like finish w/ ample tannins; not a lot of lush fruit but very NorthernRhone-like in character; one of the best PSs I've had in a long time; great wine for the price. $23.00 
And the usual nonsense from the bloody pulpit:
  1. SkyZins: I've followed LoreOlds' Zins from the very start (www.SkyVineyards.com). They have been one of my favorite examples of what I characterize has mountain Zinfandel; having a rather rough&rustic fairly tannic structured character to it. He has also made some pretty interesting Late Harvest Zins over the yrs as well. I used to buy them up in Colorado quite a  bit, but haven't done as good a job on keeping up with them over the last few yrs. I also seem to recall the vnyd had to be replanted because of phylloxera. More exciting, I see from their WebSite that they've also planted recently Syrah. Since the Parras Vineyard (JadeMtn) and the Lagier-Meredith Syrahs are so exceptional; I expect the Sky will also be likewise.
  2. RavenswoodZins: I've followed Joel Peterson's Zins from the very start... the '76 vintage. Needless to say, he's one of my favorite winemakers. Of the single vnyd Zins, the OldHill, not only because of that great name, has always been consistently, vintage after vintage, my favorite. It seems to show more dusty/old vine character, be more structured and tannic, and the best aging of the bunch. These '91's, three of which came from an auction, hence the high  price, were all fully mature or perhaps a bit beyond. They're lovely examples of how the  Ravenswoods can age.
  3. TerracesZins: I've followed the Terraces Zins from the very start, though not so much of late. They were always loaded w/ a burnt/charred/toasty Fr.oak character and lots of a rustic/rough mountain Zinfandel character. They are ones that seem to age quite well I think.
  4. Consilience PS: First wine I've had from Consilience and I was mightly impressed; one of the best Petites I've had in a long time. Reminded me a bit of the legendary Ridge YorkCreek '7Very Northern Rhone in style. Most of the grapes came from the Caffari vnyd near LosAlamos (the little one). The winemaker, Brett Escalera, is winemaker at FessParker. Looking forward to trying their other wines.
TomHill

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