2007 Moss Roxx Lodi Ancient Vine Zinfandel

So now that I'm back from vacation, it's time to get back to the hum drum life of cooking and blogging about wine!  And a nice treat for tonight is a bottle of 2007 Moss Roxx Lodi Ancient Vine Zinfandel, what I think will be the perfect compliment to my Paula Deen inspired dinner (time to put some South in your mouth!).  For those hoe know me, you know I love a good zin, and the best in my view come from Lodi, and this one is even more interesting as it comes in a really huge heavy bottle (I think I might hang onto this one to fight off any future burglars!) even though I'm not normally impressed by packaging.

The wine is a lovely deep, inky purple color, transitioning to bright ruby along the edges.  The aroma is a blend of anise, ripe plum, and a lovely bit of sweetness that I find very hard to pin down.  The taste has a good bit of smokiness, oak and sweet, ripe fruit on the front end, though it's certainly not the explosive "fruit bomb" that so many zins have become today.  The taste is well balanced throughout and provides for a wonderfully smooth, mellow finish.  Certainly, a more classic zin somewhat in the style that used to be more common in the 1990s, that makes it such a delight for pairing with food.

And what am I pairing tonight?  A southern inspired meal of maple bourbon glazed pork tenderloin (with maple syrup fresh from the upper penninsula of Michigan), some sweet potato fries and sugar snap peas!  The smoky flavor that permeates this wine just accentuates the sweet, smoky maple flavor of the tenderloin, without overpowering it.  Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8, a wonderful wine at a great price too, since I bought this one at World Market for around $13.  As Paula might say, Cheers Y'all!