WTN Edmeades Mendocino County Zinfandel 2005

At my local Winestyles. $20ish.

Mixed reviews on this. On the positive side, this is a quite light tasting Zinfandel, with nice red zinberry fruit, some tobacco notes. Not heavy or thick or over-rich/jammy at all. I prefer this style to many Cali Zins.
The flavors, color, etc are quite enjoyable
On the negative side, without sounding like Darryl Corti, boy this is HOT HOT HOT. 15.4% alcohol, and the lighter style of wine can't fully handle this. Luckily, winestyles is four blocks from home, because the alcohol was apparant on the nose and even the palette. It left me a little light headed. Went well with a Sonoma County "Potugese" cheese that's bascially a combo of parmesan and jack.

This is a case where the alcohol does make a difference. This would be a four star wine, perhaps, at 14% abv. At 15.4%, I might say **.5

[Jenise]

I wonder if, at the industry level, there's actually any proof that the majority of wine buyers actually WANT these alcohol monsters. I just don't remember, 15 years ago when I started paying attention to such things, this being the rampant problem it is today. Today, when even Rod Berglund (Joseph Swan) puts out a zin that's almost 16%.

I don't know, Jenise. Another person at the bar (in the industry, even) tasted the wine and said that he did NOT find it particularly hot at all. Myself, when I sniffed the wine it was like sniffing aquavit-to my nose and palette. Maybe I'm just sensitive to alcohol. I know, in fact, that I remain a "lightweight."

I also notice that Wine Enthusiast gives the Edmeades wines quite high scores (for a Zinfandel). 88-90. And, when it comes to flavors and palette texture, it deserves recognition. It's just that I felt a little bit like I was drinking gin, not zin

[Jenise]

I get what you're saying: the alcohol levels aren't being singled out as problematic, and so they're essentially getting rewarded for it.

Yeah re the sensitivity. Apparently it comes and goes. I loved a 2004 Alto Moncayo grenache two months ago with it was part of a group of wines, but a month later couldn't stomach the alcohol in a bottle by itself. And I recently couldn't drink the Swan Stellwagen because of the alc, but Jim Dietz said he'd had the same wine very recently and he didn't notice the high alcohol at all. Situationally, I guess we're all capable of being both sensitive and somewhat blind to it.

Brian,
The wine (head's up Jenise) is NOT what I'd call an alcoholic MONSTER. Nowadays, 15.4% alcohol is not at all that unusual and many of those Zins CAN carry that alcohol well. But it doesn't have enough extraction & intensity to put into the monster category, bearing in mind that "monster" is always in the eye of the beholder.
I found the wine much as you describe it Brian. Lots of pretty/bright/zippy raspberry/Zinberry fruit. But I also found it quite hot/fumey/alcoholic/burney on both the nose and the palate. Sorta like a pretty/petite ballerina doing SwanLake whilst on speed.
The single vnyd '05 Edmeades Zins, in the mid-$20's, at similar alcohol levels, didn't show the heat that the regular Zin shows and I liked them quite a lot better.
This '05 is probably as good a poster child for using RO as one can find out there.
Tom

[Jenise]

Good distinction, Tom, I'll be more careful using that word in the future.

Thanks, Tom. I'll look for the single vineyard wines, then, because as I said, the flavors were more enjoyable than many zins I've had.

Tom, I haven't had this Edmeades wine, but Nalle is a huge favorite of mine, and it usually comes in around 12.5 - 13% or so. I could not even fathom it in the 15% range and will quit buying it when it reaches that stratosphere. I would for sure think a Nalle at 15.5% an alcoholic monster. Do we not encourage the winemaker when we post findings such as yours?

I don’t think that posts like Tom’s encourage winemakers to produce “high alcohol” wines. If the grapes are harvested at their “optimum ripeness level” (the Brix to TA ratio is somewhere near 30-35 to1 or if the equation Brix times pH squared is in a certain range for a particular wine- goal for white wine approximately 200; goal for red wine approximately 260) than a fairly “balanced” table wine can be made with very little manipulation.

Salute

Do we not encourage the winemaker when we post findings such as yours?

Bob,
I seriously doubt that posting notes praising Zins that weigh in at 15+% alc encourages winemakers to make such wines. I don't think they pay one bit of attention to what we say. Now...not buying those wines and their sales languishing...THAT they'd pay attention to I think.
I'm fairly alcohol tolerant in Zins, even for an old guy. I've had plenty of Zins at 15+% als, some even 16+%, that carried the alcohol well; were not the least bit hot/fumey on the nose or the palate. I'll often chill down such a Zin to cut back on the fuminess in the wine.
To me, labeling a Zin an alcohol monster refers not only to high alcohol, but also high fruit intensity, low acid, and high extract. This Edmeades did not fit the bill on my description. Like I said, it was not Frankenstein ambling across the countryside wreaking death & destruction. It was a SwanLake ballerina on speed.
Tom

Excellent reply Tom, you do it so well. I agree with almost everything you stated. However being an amateur winemaker when it comes to dry extract, I like to distinguish between sugar extract and non-sugar dry extract. Yes, high alcohol, low acid, high intensity of fruitiness, and “fairly” high RS content makes a ‘monster Zin”. When it comes to non-sugar dry extract, which adds to the texture and body of the wine (making it more full bodied and chewy), I think helps the wine carry that “extra bit” of alcohol. In other words, IMO wines with low levels of non-sugar dry extract makes that “extra bit” of alcohol seem out of balance (definitely out of place).

Salute