Just picked up two bottles of this as well, to go only with 2 btls of their '01 chard, wanted to know what I may expect from their Zin!

TIA-

RRV

What you must realize is that there is no spoon...

I don't have notes for you but I think you'll be pleasently surprised. I've always found Rombauer's red wines to be considerably underrated. If I'm remembering the right zin I think the 99 had really nice fruit but masked a lot of it with heavy tannins. After a glass or two I gave it a day to open up and it really went downhill. I'd still give it a much better review than the WS 84, maybe a 89-90 (I'm a sucker for zins).

Tell me what you think.

I recall it being extremely fruit forward, sweet and extracted with lots of heat. Everyone we tasted it with liked it.

I have tasted Rombauer zinfandels numerous times. Before I describe the flavor, a little note -- I think they might age quickly. I have been on the 2000 for a while, and I noticed that the last 1999 I tasted was much weaker than the first few times I had that vintage.

Anyway, Rombauer zinfandels are one of the most distinctive (some might say bizarre) wines I have ever had. And I drink a lot. They tend to be incredibly sweet, rich, and thick. Think prune flavors instead of berries. They are the sweetest dry reds I have ever had (except perhaps for some Amarones). The sweetness can be wonderful but the wine lacks some complexity and dryness on the finish. Which is not to say that it's just syrup -- there is real richness of flavor -- but there is a lack of complexity.

This can verge on being a dessert wine, frankly. The best wine/food match I ever had with a Rombauer zin was brownies. Seriously, this is a great wine with chocolate brownies. Needless to say, you might find it too sweet for some other main course type matches, although if your dinner contains some stewed fruits that's another great match. (Say a lamb tagine with prunes or dates).

If you like this kind of style, you'll love this wine. If you don't, then you will dislike it. I've had people love this wine and people really think it was lousy. Either way, it will definitely make you sit up and take notice.

El Dorado is another Sierra Foothills appellation that seems to grow several of these big Zins with R.S. Give the Zin from a little winery called Clos La Chance a try. It's actually been from the same vineyard as the Rombauer, and I think it still is (Twin Rivers Vineyard) but in my opinion is more well balanced. Rombauer Chardonnay is a yummy, fat thing, but their Zin technique is not to my liking.

I used to like this zin, thought it was very under rated. Then my tastes in zin changed when I started exploring more zins.

Thanks for the notes -- I'll be looking forward to trying one of these in the coming months.

RRV

What you must realize is that there is no spoon...