And so comes the Hendry Block 28 Napa Valley Zinfandel which was recommended by my friends at my local tasting (a shout out to Tracy and Phil!). I started this with the Sunday effort, the ribeye and risotto, which demanded something big as a complement.
The Hendry enters the already crowded list of great zinfandels on my short list. But where... ah here lies the quandry.
http://www.hendrywines.com/current/zin05-blk28.htm
It is young, with these vines producing their first yield in 2005, this vintage. First taste shows this is a young zin, but as we all know, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The fruit is lighter but the finish is long and lightly peppery. All of the expected big zinfandel traits are present here, but perhaps on a smaller scale than I like. It is quite nice, however, this being a great complement to steaks or other large meaty dishes.
I will diverge on a slight tangent here much to the chagrin of the 2 or 3 of you who actually read this... zin is the wine I admire most. There.. I've said it. I love pinot... I treasure big cabs... I search for those Italian varietals with that large complexity... blah blah blah.. but in the end, it's zins I grade the hardest.
I am an American and with that comes the inevitable.. I love Zinfandel. The French blend it in to Rhones, the Italians call it Primitivo and bottle it as table wine, and the rest of the world dabbles in it as a secondary grape. But the Americans have made it an art form.
Turley Dusi is the one to beat. Ridge still holds the title for the common man's zin, Four Vines Biker is the @$$ kickin' upstart, but I am always game to try all the rest in hopes that someone else will pierce the top five.
Hendry is an up and coming with potential to get there, but not yet. T-Scale 89. Great, but a bit pricey considering Four Vines Biker is $9.00 less, Cline's Lone Oak, Big Break and Ridge Paso Robles and Lytton Springs are also less. Look for this to get big reviews in future vintages.
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