Scott Harvey "Vineyard 1869" Zinfandel 2012

On opening, it was all brambles and herbs, with the Amador flavor behind it.
I'm at a loss to describe the differences, but Amador, Dry Creek Valley, Humboldt County each have distinct patterns that other zins don't have.
As the meal (grilled ribeye, baked potato, green salad) went on, the zin-berry and sour cherry flavors (Amador County!) strengthened, and then the sour cherry muted into a more normal (for Zin) blackberry flavor.
By the end of dinner, the entry was smooth and the mid-palate was beautifully balanced and long. The finish was long and only faded slowly.
Old vines or not, this was very delicious Zin.
It's hard to pick out what makes Zin from older vines distinctive. There's usually a sort of dusty feeling around it, and usually the herbal flavors are stronger than Zin from younger vines.
This bottle shows little dust, but a lot of herbs.
My nephew Philip Hughes gave me this bottle. He's the (I don't know the official title) manager of the tasting room and events and so forth at Scott Harvey winery. Thanks. Philip!
Edit: Oh yeah. The vineyard was planted to Zin in 1869. I rather doubt that all the vines are that old, but it is claimed to be the oldest Zinfandel vineyard in California.

Lovely TN. I can almost taste Zin!

[Jenise]

John, I really like Amador zins and have enjoyed some Scott Harveys in the past. I probably prefer Amador to any other zin-producing area. To me the flavor is very Frambois-like with, as you say, herbs. Delightful when the alcohol isn't too high.

My nephew Philip Hughes gave me this bottle. He's the (I don't know the official title) manager of the tasting room and events and so forth at Scott Harvey winery. Thanks. Philip!
Edit: Oh yeah. The vineyard was planted to Zin in 1869. I rather doubt that all the vines are that old, but it is claimed to be the oldest Zinfandel vineyard in California.

Yup, John. There is some "Tractor Blight" there in GrandPere & Terri has had to replant some. For vines that old,
they are pretty brittle/fragile and it doesn't take much of a whack ("knick knack/paddy whack...give the dog a bone...this old vine came rolling home") (not quite sure why that popped into my mind!) from the cultivator by a careless tractor driver to knock out a vine...
"tractor blight" they call it. But just eyeballing GrandPere as I drive by, it doesn't look like a whole lot of vines have had to be replaced.
Tom

The oldest vineyards I've actually seen and have a more or less reliable age for date from 1920 to 1924. Those old head-pruned vines are truly gnarly. As you well know, it's also common for vineyards that old to have several different varieties planted in them. Having walked around and looked, you'd have to be more expert than I am to differentiate between the very old vines. Younger ones, even I can often tell by the leaves and the growth habit.

I finished off the 1869 tonight. It had become sweeter and softer. Still had the long finish. Didn't die at all. (Of course the bottle isn't old, except by modern grocery-store standards.)