2006 Seghesio "Old Vines" Zinfandel

92 points Wine Spectator: "This is what great Zinfandel is all about. Ripe but balanced with lively acidity, jammy but concentrated and well-structured. Offers fresh wild berry, raspberry, vanilla and cracked pepper notes, but with layers of intriguing sage, lively mineral and smoke accents. Drink now through 2014." (Web Only, 2009) 92 points and two stars from the Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine: "Very much cast in the very ripe, very extracted manner that has come to be the Segehsio stamp, this dramatic wine offers up a broad sweep of blackberry fruit highlighted with suggestions of chocolate, sweet oak and jam. It is absolutely mouthfilling stuff, and it shows a slight trim of heat at the finish, but it is marked first and last by its very powerful fruit and will shine as a partner to savory pork roasts." (01/09) Ted Seghesio says that 2006 was the winery's latest vintage since 1981, which helped develop the wonderful acidity that balances out this wine's rich, jammy fruit. A combination of French and American oak add toffee, cinnamon toast and clove spice aromas and flavors. There's lots going on here under the surface, so while this old vine zin is wonderfully enjoyable now, it has more personality to reveal if you give it time to age.