Saturday, December 7, 2019

2007 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Zinfandel

Happy Cellar Saturday!  It's that magical first Saturday of the month, where I peruse the cellar to find something to open that's at least a decade in the making.  Tonight I've opened a bottle that a friend gave me quite a few years ago, so it literally has been in my cellar for a while, the 2007 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Zinfandel.  Normally, Zinfandel is not seen as particularly age-worthy, certainly not as much as a fine Cabernet, but since I've opened this bottle, it will be interesting to see how the wine has progressed over the past dozen years.

2007 Grgich Hills Napa Valley Zinfandel

The wine is a bright garnet color in the glass, with a hint of auburn along the edges.  The nose is an interesting affair, with some earthy notes of leather, charcoal and spice interspersed with hints of floral aromas.  The taste is a rush of jammy ripe fruit, blackberry, cherry and plum, classic for a Zinfandel, that transition nicely to some flavors of smoke and tart cherry midpalate.  The tannins are somewhat mellow, leading to a rather soft, but very dry finish with a bit of peppery spice at the end.

Barbecued beef back ribs, bourbon baked beans and potato salad

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's drinking nicely now, but I expect it would have been just as good a decade ago.  This wine would pair well with a variety of causal dinners, from pizza and tacos to barbecue.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic barbecue of slow cooked beef back ribs, finished off on the grill, with some Bourbon molasses baked beans and freshly made mustard potato salad.  Cheers!

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