I went out to the Italian Affair restaurant here in Santa Rosa tonight, and saw this on the wine list (no vintage there) for $35.
Battaglini is on Piner Road a few miles west of my home. They're hardly ever open, and the only time I've tasted another bottle of their wine was at a Santa Clara University celebration a few years ago. It turns out that one of the Battaglini kids was contemporary with me at Santa Clara, and I'll be going down for the 50th anniverary class reunion this weekend.
So I bought it.
Turned out it was '01, and it's a pretty nice RRV Zin. The label brags, "Estate Bottled, "Old vines", and "Unfined". I don't see it as a brag, but it admits to 15.2% alcohol. (Actually, that's about par for the course.)
They have signs claiming that the vineyards were planted in 1887. Looking at some of those head-pruned Zin trees, I would believe them. (Of course, who knows how many "other" vines are in there?)
The tannins are resolved, the approach is smooth and sort of melodic, with fresh blackberry flavors melding into the mild dustiness of mature Zin. It has a medium long finish, with a lingering feeling of sweetness, but it's more like after you've been eating berries than something actually sugary. No heat at all, despite the alcohol.
I ordered sweetbreads and they were good, but not outstanding. I brought half the bottle home; we'll see how it survives -- I won't be finishing it this week.
John