REVIEW: 2000 Grgich Hills Napa Valley Zinfandel

Four bottles and FINALLY I do a Zin? If you know my tastes, you know this is a bit surprising.

The bottle was certainly tasty. Lots of fruit and it almost reminded me of grape juice - the good stuff, not that overly sugary crap. No one particular fruit stood out. I tasted - well, I'm saying tasted - some plum. I couldn't identify any particular berry type(s). Slight spice flavor that sneaks up on you late, almost as an afterthought. Nice body, but a bit thinner than I prefer my Zins. I like mine fat and meaty. Some tannins, but not over powering. I wish the finish lasted a bit longer. I'd call this a well balanced wine, but not stellar.

Before I score it, here are some more observations. There was a lot of sediment in the bottle, which was a first. I thought it was cool. That was the first time I remember a bottle filled with junk. Also, there were 'wine diamonds' on the cork. I don't know what causes it, be it sugar crystals or what, but the cork had some shiny flecks on it. Pretty cool!

So I Google this guy (http://www.grgich.com/html/2000_zinfandel.html) and that's the link I found. Turns out the sediment and 'wine diamonds' (their term, not mine!) are to be expected. It also recommends decanting, and with all that gunk I'd have to totally agree. It would also open up the flavors more... may have pushed this thing up a hair on the swig scale, too.

HA HA!!! THEY SAID PLUM! I TASTED SOMETHING!!!

It looks like $25 retail online, so for once we paid shelf price at a restaraunt! Not bad.

Swigs 3.5 Bang 2