1999 Rancho Zabaco Dry Creek Valley

[newsguy]

NOTE: this was actually the 1998 vintage

($14.99) this is the first rancho zabaco zin i've had other than their old sonoma heritage vines bottlings, which i've loved.

my wife and i were VERY impressed with this wine. deep ruby/purplish color. strong nose and deep flavors of very ripe dark red fruits (mostly raspberry i'd say), mocha (very strong), zinberry spice, alcohol (14.5 percent) and oak. soft tannins and a solid finish. i think this wine might actually improve for a year or two, but is drinking wonderfully now. another great rancho zabaco zin (to me, head and shoulders above 99 old sonoma heritage vines). i'm going to try and pick up a case of this.

as with all RZ zins, decant for at least an hour before drinking. it's definitely worth the wait.

(FYI: this paired perfectly with marinated steak and shrimp kabobs - my tropical thanksgiving main course.)

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 12-03-2002).]

[newsguy]

ok, so now i finally did try a bottle of the 99... and was very disappointed. this wine delivers nose/flavors of tar, earth, raspberries and spice. but first and foremost, tar. doesn't really taste much like a zin to me, rather some sort of cross between something from bordeaux and languedoc regions. for me, the tar overpowered the fruit. medium tannins and a good finish, but i simply didn't like the flavor. guess i'll be looking for another 99 zin to buy. thought it very interesting that i liked the 98 (an inferior vintage) much better than the 99.

[eskinnyc]

I completely agree with newsguy. Cracked open the 99 RZ Dry Creek last night ($17), funky nose of tar and earth, some fruit buried an unpleasant "barnyard" midpalate, nice finish but a poor taste. Burning hot in the throat due to the whopping 15.6% alcohol.

Should have checked the board BEFORE I brought this bottle home. Oh well.

Avoid this one.

[wondersofwine]

See my note a couple down the thread on the 2000 version. I think you would probably like that one.