1998 Rosenblum Zinfandel Richard Sauret Vineyard (Paso Robles)
From my dad’s cellar.
Another really bittersweet moment here, as this was my dad’s favorite Zinfandel. He went through a ton of this wine from probably 10-12 different vintages until he couldn’t find it anymore. Whenever I saw any I would buy it and give it to him. When I visited Rosenblum in 1998 I bought a case of whichever vintage was current (IIRC it was the 1996) and shipped it to him.
This bottle is not at all dead, but it is on borrowed time. There’s a lot of bottle sweetness but not much structure. The decay creeps in around the edges but does not overwhelm the wine. Good to have caught this now, before it crossed the River Styx.