Fritz 2009 Estate Zin Dry Creek

Family Winemakers of California Pasadena tasting today, that Fritz was my wine of the tasting from the seemingly hundred or so wines I tasted out of the thousand or so available. Beautiful balance, rich ripe fruit in a very polished package, with neither oak nor tannin predominating. Nice complexity, though I wasn't in a position to contemplate the layers. Also impressive were Ken Brown's Pinots and Benessere Sangiovese. Overall, I got the impression of less emphasis on tannin and wood, more on balance. Though there were some very mediocre wines there. Another big impression is the prevalence of P.O. Box wines, brands owned by absentees, made by contract winemakers, hawked in the shotgun approach by brand owners who had nothing to do with the production of the wine, and who evidently couldn't care too much about it. But overall, proud brand owners brandished wines, though they clearly did not stand apart from the crowd.

IIRC, Craig, you've been attending this event for quite a while now, at least since Gan Eden used to be a participant. One my bigger regrets about leaving CA (apart from not being able to spend weekends in Yosemite and Point Reyes) is not being able to attend the Family Winemakers' events, as so many of my favorite CA producers are there. It's good to hear about your perception of less wood, etc. and I hope that this trend continues for a while.

Mark Lipton

Mark, I probably haven't attended one of these since 2003 or 2004, and at that time, I didn't really have the need to taste nonkosher wines, and just let my nose dictate my perceptions. This time, I tasted and spit and rinsed and spit, each time. As well, of course, as smelling. And this time, since I wasn't also pouring, I went through many more wines, though who could go through them all? Perhaps overt wood has been decreasing in use for as many as 7 years, and I wouldn't have known that. I found major changes compared to last time, but for all I know it has been a very evolutionary process. It was nice, though, that I didn't taste any monster wines in terms of tannins. But as far as wood, there was definitely still overuse in many instances, just far less than before. The Fritz
Zin, like many Fritz wines, really tries to get surface toast character without the wood tannins, and succeeds beautifully- not even the hint of a board in either the nose or mouth, and yet definite oak.

As far as Family Winemakers, it's a "must go" as a free trade tasting. Simply print up a business card showing trade status, and preregister free of charge. But, as my boss commented today, with that many wines available to taste, it's a steal even if one pays consumer rates.