So tonight I've decided to open a bottle of Zinfandel since I'm looking for something a little more jammy to balance out my spicy dinner, after all, it's taco night! And for this Zin we've traveled north into California gold country, Amador county in the foothills of the Sierras for the 2008 Renwood Fiddletown Zinfandel. Now apparently the Fiddletown appellation is the oldest AVA in Amador County, and the vines tend to be at higher elevations than other vineyards in the county, about 1,800 feet higher in some cases, so let's see what that does to the wine.
The color is somewhat lighter than your typical Lodi Zin with a certain amount of opacity. The nose is rich in fruit, with sweet ripe berries intermingled with cherries and plums, balanced by a bit of dusty spice. The taste is surprisingly not as fruit forward as I would have expected, in fact it's like a delayed fuse as the first taste seems to be dominated by smoke, cedar and some spice, then an explosion of fruit midpalate, with rich plum and blackberries, fading into some peppery spice note on the finish. The tannins are pretty big in this wine, supporting a very tight, dry finish. This wine is a bit high in alcohol at 16%, but you'd never know it from the aroma or taste (I suppose that can be a good thing!).
Overall, I would rate this one a solid 7.5. I'll be the first to admit that on the first taste I wasn't very impressed, but as the wine breathed a bit, it got its footing and was quite nice, and a good value as I think I bought this at World Market for about $9. And tonight I'm having this with my favorite classic chorizo and frijole tacos, ole!
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