Dined last evening with friends at Millennium, a well respected vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco. To accompany our meal I brought the following wines (both served immediately on opening, without decanting):

2000 Brown Estate Zinfandel ($30, 14.9% alcohol) – Dense purple in color with a powerful, explosive nose right out of the gate. This is one muscular Zin, but also very much in balance. Ripe brambly fruit is balanced with bright acidity and well integrated tannins. This stood up to some of the spicy dishes much better than the Turley. An excellent wine, and one of my favorite Zins from the 2000 vintage so far.

2000 Turley Juvenile Zinfandel ($20 on release, 15.2% alcohol) – Reluctant and closed at first pour on both the nose and the palate, this really opened up and improved over the course of the meal and time in the glass. Lighter robe than that of the Brown with a clear red appearance. Not as muscular as the Brown, but elegant and refined, with ripe berries, pepper, and a touch of smoke on the finish. Spicy dishes tended to overwhelm it, but it was a fine match to the milder dishes.

The table was nearly equally split on which Zin came out on top, with the Brown coming out slightly on top. Both are excellent wines for near term consumption.