2007 Green & Red "Chiles Canyon Vineyard" Napa Valley Zinfandel

One of the SF Chronicle's Top 100 Wines of 2009. 92 points Wine Spectator: "Ripe yet sleek and briary-just about everything you want in a Zinfandel. Offers aromas of cherry and smoky sage, with flavors of wild blackberry, loam and licorice that finish with lively tannins. Drink now through 2015." (09/09) Green & Red has long been one of my favorite under-the-radar producers in California. Way out in the boonies of Chiles Valley, which parallels Napa to the east, the estate vineyards are planted to a mixture of red iron and green Serpentine soils perched on a bench that ranges from 900 to 2,000 feet elevation. This particular wine comes from the winery's three mountain-top vineyards overlooking Chiles Canyon. Aged in half French and half American oak for 14 months, this is one superb Zin - far from the IHOP blueberry pancake syrup that most people are trying to pass off as Zinfandel today. The nose shows a pleasing meaty character of carpaccio and pot roast bolstered by blackberry, dusted black pepper, crushed chalk and a note of Hoisin spice. Bright and lively on entry, it has a great attack and is very much alive with flavors of raspberry, Bing cherry, clove, whole black peppercorns and earthy richness. This is sure to warm, not burn, on a cold winter night, its long finish resonating with spice and building fruity richness as it goes. (Bryan Brick, K&L)