97 Wines at ZAP - A Winning Vintage

[Bucko]

Just back from ZAP - a real winning bunch of wines overall.

My top wine? Ridge Geyserville by a slim thread over Rosenblum Annette's Reserve.

Bucko

[MikeE]

Hey Bucko, once again we're all envious of you who attend ZAP. How was this year's event compared to previous? Any other winners in addition to those you mentioned? Inquiring minds want to know!

ME

[Bucko]

ME, this year the event was not as crowded. Whether this was due to less ticket sales or tightened security, I cannot say. It WAS crowded, but not unbearable.

It was hard to find a bad wine this year - a lot of good Zin for 1997. Two wineries that were unpalateable for me were St. Francis and Turley. The St. Francis was horribly overoaked; the Turley was too much - too much fruit, oak, alcohol......

I'll post a lot of notes shortly,

Bucko

[MikeE]

Hey Bucko, glad to hear that it wasn't a total cattle call this year.

Even though I wasn't there, I feel the same was about St. Francis and Turley. I've felt that St. Francis was turning out excellent zins through the '93 vintage, but they've gotten increasingly oaky since then. And Turley is nearly port-like in it's extraction... not what I look for in a zin.

As always, looking foward to your notes and thanks for sharing your insights.
ME

[MikeE]

Hey Bucko, glad to hear that it wasn't a total cattle call this year.

Even though I wasn't there, I feel the same about St. Francis and Turley. I've felt that St. Francis was turning out excellent zins through the '93 vintage, but they've gotten increasingly oaky since then. And Turley is nearly port-like in it's extraction... not what I look for in a zin.

As always, looking foward to your notes and thanks for sharing your insights.
ME

[misterjive]

Having tasted the '95 St. Francis Old Vines Zin several times, I would agree that it is overly oaky. The cassis also carries the wine away, making it rather one-dimensional.

[Bucko]

If you can believe it, the 97 has more oak than the 95......

Bucko