I got an email from Coffaro Vineyards saying that they were starting a Friday Library Wine at the tasting room - a library wine every Friday.
They're serving bottles starting with the 2003 vintage when screwcaps became Dave's standard.
Today's was the '03 Bernier's Zin, which is from a neighboring vineyard, and has a bit of carignan and a bit of petite sirah in it.
It looked fresh in the glass, dark purple with no clearing at the edges and a very interesting nose - not as berry-fresh as a new bottling, but with plenty of fruit aroma and just a hint of what I can only describe as softness.
In the mouth, it was clearly an "older" Zin - comparable to an '07 opened from a cork-stopped bottle. And it was clearly a Coffaro wine, with lots of blackberry fruit.
For comparison, here's my note from December 2006: "75% Zin, 10% Petite Syrah, 10% Carignan, 5% Mourvedre, field blend. 365 cases. First whiff made me think of Cab (herbal). A bit hot and acidic. Very long. Dark and meaty."
I'd guess that the Stelvin closures cut the aging speed roughly in half. The bottles do age, and nothing bad happens in my experience.
Then I went down the road to Yoakim Bridge and talked to David Cooper and tasted what he had open. He was showing his 2007 Merlot from Gallaway Vineyard. Drinking really well in the tasting room. Here's my note from April; it will do, though the bottle in the room was a bit warmer and struck me as a bit riper by comparison.
"Taste on opening is very nice. A little dust, lots of depth, ripe fruit, a little bit of loam or mushroom. Excellent indeed with dry-aged New York steak. A bit of apricot in the finish, along with some soft wood tannin that reminds me of cinnamon or clove, but not really. White pepper. 14.1% alcohol."
A good way to spend part of a hot afternoon.
