Ridge Zinfandel East Bench 2008 - $25

Wine #200. Whoo-hooo!

David: Magenta in color. Not too dark. Nose of briary fruits, scorched earth, typical zin-foxiness. Some minerality, big black pepper. Medium to full bodied. Some sweetness and some fruitiness but quite earthy and peppery. Big alcohol but not hot. Low acidity. Pretty good balance. Nice long finish. Overall, quite a tasty zin.
Score: 4.1/5

InZinerator, Scott Harvey 2006 - $15

David: Color is light purple. Typical zin nose: black briary fruit, lots of oaky vanilla, a little muchiness. The sweetness comes through even on the nose. Very syrupy sweet on the palate. Full bodied. Low acidity. Huge fruit. Big tannins. Just too sweet for me.
Score 3.2/5

Scott Harvey Zinfandel Mountain Select 2004 - $17

Our second Scott Harvey wine after the Barberra .

David: Beautiful light reddish copper color, showing the age. Nose is briary but not showing huge fruit. More earthy. Herbs like bay leaf are present. Some light coffee or cocoa. On the palate, it shows good cherry, black berry fruit. Some sweetness. Firm tannins. Showing a hint of oxidization. Perhaps it doesn't have many years left. Long finish. A classy Zin.
Score: 3.9/5

Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel 2007 - $11

David: Beautiful dark red/purple color with highlights of magenta. Nose is black cherry fruit, burnt rubber, vanilla and nutmeg. Huge body which coats the tongue with medium to low acidity. Big time dark cherry, plum fruit with syrupy sweetness and big alcohol but it never gets too hot, especially on the back end where it can be annoying. Overall quite delicious. Not the most complex wine but I can't imagine anyone not liking it. Just a yummy, versatile food wine. Bogle scores again.
Score 4.2/5

Jessica: Delicious drinkable. Yum. Fruity, sweet like candy. But not over the top. Some subtle smoky tobacco and nutmeg lies behind the fruit, which is tart cherry. Simply delicious.
Score: 4.4/5

David: Tried this again, same vintage, and it was very different. Lighter colored, lighter bodied, less concentrated and overall worse. Would have given this as 3.8. I will average and call it 4.0 but should try it again to see what is going on.

Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel - $18

The nose is weak but opened up a bit after an hour or so revealing currants, vanilla and spice box. Medium body, decent acidity. Currants, blueberries start it off sweetly giving way to round tannins and then to spiciness with plum and blueberry jam remaining in the finish.
Score: 3.9/5

Jessica: Hits the palate soft; dry but not too much pucker...vanilla stands out...velvety layers.
Score: 4/5

Rosenblum Zinfandel - $10

David: Color is purple/red. Nose reveals berries and currants with a hint of coffee. Medium bodied with berries and some spiciness. A little flat. Alcohol a little hot on the throat at the end. Not very exciting, not offensive.
Score: 2.7/5

Jessica: This wine was easy enough to drink but rather bland. Not much stood out, no sharp tones but no bright, distinctive flavors either. I did not dislike this wine, but it struck me as generic and just boring.
Score: 3.2/5