2007 Girard Napa Valley Old Vine Zinfandel

Happy Labor Day!  I know, I technically missed Cellar Saturday as I was driving through the north woods of Minnesota, but thankfully it's a holiday weekend so this will still count as my Cellar Saturday for September, even though it's Monday.  Tonight I've decided to open an old bottle of 2007 Girard Napa Valley Old Vine Zinfandel, which is a bottle with a somewhat interesting story.  I bought this wine back in 2011 when the famed 1913 Room restaurant at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids was closing.  They were selling a lot of different items, silverware, china and other things (I think I have a couple butter knives) and the contents of their wine cellar.  So I bought this bottle for $18.50 along with a few others that are probably around here somewhere, and it's been in my cellar ever since.  So let's see how this one has aged!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, classic for a nice old vine Zinfandel.  The nose is chock full of sweet cherry, vanilla, oak and peppery spice, just what you might expect from the varietal.  The taste is a rush of cherry, fig and vanilla at the outset, which transitions to come green olive notes midpalate.  The classic Zinfandel peppery spice comes in right at the end, and lingers with the somewhat mellow tannins for the long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's still a very nice wine, but my sense is this was just a few years past its peak.  Like most Zindandels, this wine would pair very well with a variety of more casual, end-of-summer cookout fare, which is a good thing as tonight I'm enjoying this wine with some barbecued baby back ribs along with some coleslaw and corn on the cob.  The spice in this wine does wonders against the sweetness of the barbecue sauce.  Cheers!