2012 Harney Lane Old Vine Zinfandel Lizzy James Vineyard

Here we are, the last wine from the Snooth.com virtual tasting, the big one, the one I've been anxiously awaiting, the 2012 Harney Lane Old Vine Zinfandel from the Lizzy James Vineyard in Lodi!  This was a nice one to taste since Kyle Lerner, the owner of Harney Lane was one of the guests in Lodi broadcast during the Virtual Tasting.

The wine is a lovely deep garnet color in the glass.  The nose is just fantastic, with jammy fruit, blackberry, plum and some earthy notes of leather and toasted oak.  The taste is surprisingly crisp despite the jammy fruit on the nose, with some notes of tart cherry, blackberry and plum and a hint of rosemary and vanilla.  Really nice complexity and great balance, with nicely structured tannins that provide for a long, smooth dry finish that dares you to take another sip.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's one of the nicest old vine Zinfandels I've had, and even though the price is a bit higher at $35, it's well worth it.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with thin crust pizza with roasted veggies, but unlike many Zins, I would by no means limit this wine to pairing with pizza and barbecue.  This wine would hold it's own with lamb or wild game meats, hearty stews or even some hearty seafood dishes.  The best part about this wine is that much of their business is direct to consumer, so you can order this one on their website at http://harneylane.com/  Cheers!