What's the deal?

[mrdutton]

Here's the wine: 2000 Anfora Puglia Zinfandel, Indicazione Geografica Tipica. Bottled by Poggio Il Pino SRL Italia. Imported by American Wine Distributors, Inc., San Francisco, CA.

Alcohol 14% by volume.

Label says: From fruit sourced from old vineyards in Puglia's winegrowing regions, this wine was aged three months in barrel to enhance its lush Zinfandel expression and to preserve and smooth out its lively character. Both complex and fruit forward, it is already a charming table companion.

Very dark red almost purple color with enough clarity to read through it, this wine exhibits hints of plums, raisins and currants to me along with an earthy, lead pencil, tobacco/cigar wrapper taste and nose.
It certainly is not fruit forward on first and subsequent tastes, although there is fruit present on the nose and the palate. Frankly I think the earth and the tobacco beat out the fruit just slightly. Acid is there for sure along with a somewhat strong, astringent, tannic end to the swallow with finish that is tobacco and earth and then fruit. Holding the wine in the mouth causes the earthy tobacco side of the wine to flow back into the nose. There are enough of these smells and tastes to keep the 14% alcohol from becoming an issue.

I really don't think I'd be able to guess that this was Zinfandel had I not seen the label before I opened it..........

This wine has some of the characteristics I'd associate with an old world Italian rather than a new world Cali........ based on my limited experiences.