Tried this the other night:
1. Cabot Zin-Tributary KlamathRvr/HumboltCnty (15%; 100 cs; http://www.CabotVineyards.com) 2004: Very dark color; strong earthy/minerally peppery/spicy/blackberry/Zin/black cherry light toasty/oak bit alcoholic nose; tart somewhat hard/austere/tannic quite spicy/peppery/blackberry/Zin/black cherry rather earthy/minerally very light/toasty/oak flavor; med.long hard/tannic licorice/black cherry/Zin/very spicy rather minerally/earthy finish; needs 2-6 yrs; a very unusual/interesting very terroir-driven wine. Attractively priced at $22.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This was my first experience w/ JohnCabot's wines. A month ago, he responded to CaseyHartlip's Weather blog and I noticed he was a grape grower up in HumboltCounty. It's not everyday that you see somebody growing grapes up that way. Went to his WebSite, it looked pretty interesting, so ordered a mixed case to try. Still have his 3 Syrahs to try yet.
I liked this Zin quite a bit because it was quite unusual and not a mainstream Zin, yet still spoke of that grape variety. It is a very terroir-driven wine and for those of us who are terroirists, this is our kind of wine. It reminded me a lot of Trentino/AltoAdige Toreldego, some of the Occidental Zins, a bit of Friuli Refosco. It had a hard/austere character on the palate, what the Britishers call "grip". John indicated that the ripening of the grapes was very erratic, with some 10degrees difference in sugar in berries within the bunch. So the underripe berries are probably what gave it that hard character on the palate. Other than a faint whiff of alcohol in the nose, it carried the 15% very well and not a trace of overripe/pruney character.
For those who like terroir and are tired of overripe fruit-bombs, this is your kind of Zin.
Tom