June 30, 2012 Issue
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Alphabetical Listing
Posted: June 30, 2012
Blogs
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Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Arista Winery's McWilliams family buys Russian River's Martinelli Road vineyard
Posted: April 9, 2012 By Tim Fish
One of California's best sweet spots for great old-vine Zinfandel is a remote little valley in western Russian River not far from Forestville. The best-known vineyard there is Jackass Hill, which was first planted in 1889 and is notably bottled by Martinelli Winery.
Just down the hill, and once part of the original Giuseppe Martinelli ranch, is the 18-acre Martinelli Road Vineyard. It's not nearly as well known as Jackass Hill, but Turley bottled it under the Rancho Burro designation for many years, and Mike Officer at Carlisle launched a single-vineyard Martinelli Road in 2009, which I rated 94 points on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale. Last week, the McWilliams family of Arista Winery purchased the vineyard for an undisclosed sum. It sounds like the vineyard is in good hands.
Blogs
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Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Once the upstart, Turley is now one of the undisputed kings of California Zinfandel
Posted: April 4, 2012 By Tim Fish
Back in the mid 1990s, there were three kings of California Zinfandel, the Three Rs we called them: Ravenswood, Ridge and Rosenblum. The snotty young punk in Zintown was Turley. Fast-forward almost 20 years and things have sure changed. The Three Rs continue to make fine Zinfandels—Ridge most frequently—but only Turley is on top of its game.
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That's my takeaway after tasting through the winery's most-recent releases. I've been drinking Turley since the first vintage, 1993, and, taken as a group, these are some of the best Zinfandels that Turley has made. The group included 2009s from the winery's top single vineyards as well as early-release 2010 from its value-oriented blends.
News & Features
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Tasting Highlights
New reviews of great red values from across the state in a range of styles
Posted: March 19, 2012 By Tim Fish
News & Features
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Tasting Highlights
New reviews of good value Zins from recent vintages
Posted: February 27, 2012 By Tim Fish
Blogs
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Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Notes on my favorite wines at the annual San Francisco event
Posted: February 1, 2012 By Tim Fish
Wine Spectator associate editor Tim Fish attended the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP) Festival in San Francisco this past weekend. It was an opportunity for him to get a first impression of the difficult 2010 vintage, as well as taste more wines from the outstanding 2009 vintage. Here are his notes from the festival and scores for his top 10 favorite wines.
Blogs
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Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Winemaker Jeff Cohn returns to his roots and proves he still has the touch
Posted: January 11, 2012 By Tim Fish
Winemaker Jeff Cohn was the man behind Rosenblum’s stellar Zinfandels during that winery’s heyday, so when he launched his own winery, JC Cellars, he focused almost exclusively on Syrah and other Rhône varietals.
“I wanted some separation,” says Cohn, who launched his winery with his wife, Alexandra, in 1996 and departed Rosenblum in 2006. “But I missed Zin, and I feel like the water has cleared enough that I can do what I want to do.”
The sluggish sales of California Rhône wines played a role no doubt, but I’ve always thought Cohn had a gift for Zin, so I’m glad to see him returning to his roots. And his new releases from the 2009 vintage certainly prove the point.
News & Features
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What We're Drinking Now
Michael & David Phillips Zinfandel Lodi 7 Deadly Zins Old Vine 2008
Posted: January 5, 2012 By Kim Marcus
Learn Wine
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Ask Dr. Vinny
Posted: January 4, 2012
News & Features
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Tasting Highlights
New releases in a range of styles, from bold and ripe to supple and elegant
Posted: November 28, 2011 By Tim Fish
News & Features
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What We're Drinking Now
Buehler Zinfandel Napa Valley 2009
Posted: November 21, 2011 By Tim Fish
Nov. 15, 2011 Issue
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Features
California’s old-vine Zinfandels stand the test of time—and then some
Posted: November 15, 2011 By Tim Fish
News & Features
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Tasting Highlights
New reviews of an assortment of budget wines priced at $35 or less from the Golden State
Posted: October 24, 2011 By MaryAnn Worobiec
News & Features
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What We're Drinking Now
Ridge Zinfandel Sonoma Valley Pagani Ranch 2009
Posted: September 23, 2011 By Tim Fish
Blogs
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Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Retrospective tasting of 1991 and 2001 prove the contrary
Posted: August 24, 2011 By Tim Fish
Zinfandel ages well.
There! I said it. You wanna make something of it? Huh?
Because I’m not flapping my gums just for the breeze. I have proof. Sure, folks will tell you that Zin won’t get better with age, that you should drink them fast before all that snazzy fresh fruit fades into oblivion.
BLTs for me are in the same wine-pairing pool as a hamburger with all the fixings. You can’t simply be guided by one ingredient; there’s a potpourri of flavors and textures to consider, from sweet and acidic to smoky and creamy.
Blogs
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Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Veterans of this unsung wine region are being joined by a new generation of winemakers
Posted: August 10, 2011 By Tim Fish
Whenever I write about the Sierra Foothills, I always call Bill Easton because he’ll tell you what he thinks, not what you want to hear. In these salad days of online news media, the rule seems to be “decide the story first, then fill in the blanks.” Chalk it up to my nights covering mayhem and BS at a daily newspaper, but I like being thrown a curve ball. That’s when you learn something.
Easton took umbrage—and he’s an umbrage taker from way back—when I said the Foothills were like the Finger Lakes and Long Island wine regions in New York, well-regarded by those in the know but largely undiscovered by the wine masses. He asked: Why compare? “Bordeaux may be like Napa may be like Barossa Valley may be like Stellenbosch.” Easton said. “It is what it is.”
Blogs
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Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Getting all philosophical while walking in a 120-year-old vineyard
Posted: August 3, 2011 By Tim Fish
Note to self: Whenever you hear someone grumble that California lacks the wine pedigree of Europe, remember the day you walked through San Lorenzo vineyard with Pete Seghesio and his boys.
It was one of those mid-summer Sonoma County mornings when the fog scares off early and the heat rises at you like exhaust from the dirt. Joe and Will were chasing each other in ATVs around the outskirts of the vines as Pete showed me the oldest patch of grapes in San Lorenzo, a 7-acre parcel near the Russian River in Alexander Valley.
"The deed for the ranch goes back to 1896," said Seghesio, whose great-grandfather Frank Passalacqua paid 10 gold coins for it. The copy of the deed is framed on the wall of his house, which overlooks the vineyard, and it refers to "seven acres of young vines."
June 30, 2011 Issue
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Tasting Reports
Now 10 and 20 years old, some of the wines taste surprisingly youthful
Posted: June 30, 2011 By Tim Fish
June 30, 2011 Issue
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Tasting Reports
After uninspiring early returns, the 2008 Zinfandels show they have what it takes
Posted: June 30, 2011 By Tim Fish
News & Features
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Tasting Highlights
New reviews of big California reds perfect for pairing with meats from the grill
Posted: June 20, 2011 By Tim Fish
