Broke open a bottle I had purchased earlier in the summer on an upstate wine tasting tour of some of the wineries on the Shawagunk wine trail. I'll add the link to the adorable wine shop I purchased it at later on.
I was very much looking forward to opening this bottle. It's a beauty of a bottle - handsome, classic label, great shape. It speaks "classic, potent". The "Old Vines" on the label caused me to anticipate California style old-vine Zinfandels - big, meaty, powerful.
So...the reality was a little different. I didn't not like the wine. I won't say I am over the moon - but I like it. It has a strawberry cherry scent and taste going on. But most of all, it had a tang to it...that is the main characteristic that I really took away. I wonder if it is a matter of oxidation? Did I wait too long to drink it? Or is it an intended characteristic? It may be high acid, and that is what I am getting. Overall - pretty good. Not great, to my taste buds, but enjoyable and a nice way to cap off a lazy-ish Sunday evening.
Key Descriptors:
- Medium / full bodied
- Jammy - scent & taste of strawberry & cherry
- Scent of straw
- Slight sense of oxidation...or, high acid?
- Elemental (as in, I tasted an elemental metal - tin?)
Also - it's color was not brick red, but was duller than what I was used to...a result of oxidation or, again, intended? It caused me to think - I wonder if there is some idea around creating a Pantone-esque color categorization system for wine...the seed of a thought...maybe it is more than color...maybe it is a multi-sensory reference system...have to think about more...
