Went 2 fer 6 on my "orphan" stash last night as I broke into a case of Zins. Four went down the drain; two brought pleasure:
1. LyttonSpringsWnry Zin SonomaCnty (14.5%) 1991: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; slight volatile/overripe strong blackberry/Zin/spicy bit dusty/OV light smokey/vanilla/Am.oak slight licorice/peppery/pungent rather complex nose; soft rich/lush very strong blackberry/peppery/Zin/licorice some dusty/OV slight metallic/tangy/dried out light vanilla/Am.oak slight cedary/tobaccoy complex flavor w/ light bitey/tangy tannins; med.long soft some blackberry/Zin/spicy/licorice slight tangy/metallic light Am.oak/vanilla finish w/ light dried-out/tangy tannin; still shows that peppery/blackberry LS Zin fruit but drying out some on the palate. $15.50 (K)
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2. Sky Zin MtVeeder/NapaVlly (LateHrvst; 17.7%; SaH: 33.5 Brix; EB) 1989: Dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong pencilly/cedary/smokey intense blackberry/boysenberry/framboise slight lateHrvsty/pruney bit alcoholic some licorice/plummy/pungent rather complex nose; soft very ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/plummy/Zin some chocolaty/licorice/CherryMash slight earthy/dusty quite dry/no RS complex flavor w/ light smooth/ripe tannins; very long/lingering intense boysenberry/blackberry/Zin/framboise slight overripe/plummy/lateHrvsty some earthy/dusty/OV near dry complex finish w/ light ripe/smooth tannins; does not show the alcohol much at all; reminds me some of the Mayacamas LatePick '73; still in great shape and great drinking.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Ridge purchased LyttonSprings in 1991. So I'm assuming this was a Draper-made Zin, using the old LS label. The winemaking was a bit different than they used on the Ridge LS. They continued that ugly black label for some 3-4 yrs, then dropped it.
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2. Sky: You don't hear much of LoreOlds Sky label and I haven't had any recent ones in the last 15 yrs or so. They were always pretty big/rugged mountain-style of Zins.
I was quite impressed by how this LH had evolved. It was not at all alcoholic & fumey w/ only a hint of heat (I served it fairly cool to minimize that). Usually, with 20+ yr old LateHrvst Zins, they've lost all the fruit and have turned into a pruney mess of stewed fruit. This one had plenty of fruit showing and was not that overripe/LateHrvsty at all.
Tom