Aging Zin vs. Cab Franc

I'm trying to decide between a drinking a 2007 Groom Zinfandel (Barossa Australia) or a 2005 Larkin Cabernet Franc (Napa). Which one (zin or franc) would get better with age? I'll drink the other one.

Thanks -- Dave

[David M. Bueker]

While I have been known to age zin, the odds are that modern style zin (i assume such) will not age as interestingly as cab franc.

Disclaimer - the above is complete generalities. I have no experience with either wine.

As a side note, how much experience do you have with these wines? Did you only buy two bottles or have you been tracking them over the past few years?

If these are the only two bottles you have, why not just drink both of them now. Why age single bottles if you have no idea what to expect. Plus, neither Barossa Shiraz nor Napa Cab Franc sound like wines that are particularly backwards, so I'm sure they'll both be fine now, even if they might age further.

But like David, I must admit complete ignorance of the actual wines. So take that for what it's worth.

I've tasted the Groom Zin and was not overly impressed with the wine or the thought of aging it. The other wine, no experience

We have a 2006 Groom, Barossa Valley, Shiraz that was a gift, with the recommendation to drink it in 2011. Having said that I would expect the Shiraz to have longer legs than the Zin.

I ended up drinking the Groom Zin. I'm not a huge fan on zinfandel; checking my wine journal I haven't had any in over 2 years.

It was certainly an interesting wine: the first sensory impression upon each sip was that it was going to be a fruit bomb (slight sweetness); however it immediately relaxed into a smooth and silky wine with an interesting flavor, like nutmeg. Upon the finish, there some slight tannin taste. Very different from what I was expecting (I expect zins to smack me upside the head) and not the best match for the steak I was having (I wanted something more powerful).

The bottle had a sticker indicating it was rated 90+ but I don't know whose rating that was (perhaps my former wine club that charged me $40 for the bottle).

[David M. Bueker]

One guy on CellarTracker gave the 2007 Groom Zin 95 points!

One guy on CellarTracker gave the 2007 Groom Zin 95 points!

Maybe that's where the 90+ points rating came from!

Sounds like you made the right choice.

Another reason I quit my wine club: they charged me $40 (plus shipping) for the Groom Zin, while I see on wine access that it retails for about $25, including my wine club that is now selling it for $23!

The final straw was the $50 Sauvignon Blanc from I don't know where except it was part of the "International Selection". I doubt any SB is worth that much. Heck, the 2007 Merry Edwards SB, rated 96 and #9 on WS Top 100 of 2009, is only $29.

Another reason I quit my wine club: they charged me $40 (plus shipping) for the Groom Zin, while I see on wine access that it retails for about $25, including my wine club that is now selling it for $23!

The final straw was the $50 Sauvignon Blanc from I don't know where except it was part of the "International Selection". I doubt any SB is worth that much. Heck, the 2007 Merry Edwards SB, rated 96 and #9 on WS Top 100 of 2009, is only $29.

"didier dagueneau silex"

The final straw was the $50 Sauvignon Blanc from I don't know where except it was part of the "International Selection". I doubt any SB is worth that much..

"Worth" is a tricky concept, but the Dagueneau, Cotat, and Vatan 'sauvignon blancs' have been pretty comfortable above that price bar, and compete pretty well with other similarly-priced wines. IMHO. Even if one is not always in the mood to shell out that much cash.

That said, I'm not sure what kind of wine club you joined, but it sounds like the price included part of the 'service' of finding wines and shipping them to you, so you wouldn't have to worry about browsing retail shelves, reading wine publications, etc. Probably not the right kind of club for most people here, but it also probably serves a need for some folks.

"didier dagueneau silex"

I check at home what I bought - I doubt it's anything close to that league!

Rashan - you are exactly correct in that it was great to have someone do all of the work for me. After a while, I realized I was getting wines that suited the tastes of the wine club "sommelier" and not necessarily mine. It was fun while it lasted (wine presents every month!) but was time to move on.

The wine in question is Lomond Sugarbush Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Cape Agulhas

Retails for about $15 in South Africa. The wine club charged me $50.