Robert Craig Amador County Zinfandel 2004 with BBQ After Family Day at Sox Park
I write often herein that BBQ ribs and Zinfandel are an ideal food-wine pairing. Everyone should keep a few bottles of hearty Zin in the cellar for such occasions.
After our annual family White Sox baseball outing, we brought home bar-be-cue ribs, served with baked potatoes and a caprese salad, along with Linda's decadent baked brie cheese in filo dough puffs with puree'd berries, toasted almonds and drizzled honey - a perfect setting for Zinfandel. So, we pulled from the cellar Robert Craig Amador County Zin.
We're huge fans of Robert Craig wines. His extensive portfolio provides quality wines for almost all occasions. While he's known for his broad selection of Napa Valley Cabernets, he typically also offers a hearty Zinfandel, whether it be from his estate domicile on Howell Mountain, from the Central Coast Paso Robles region, or from the notable Zinfandel appellation Amador County in the Sierra Foothills.
This is from the 24-acre Bowman Vineyard in the Shenandoah Valley of the Sierra Foothills, an area known for exceptional Zinfandel fruit. The rocky, well-drained soil stresses the vines to produce small, flavor-packed concentrated berries. Sitting at 1500-foot elevation provides ideal sun exposure, while the eastern mountains deliver cool evening breezes. This fruit is from 30-year-old vines.
I write often herein that BBQ ribs and Zinfandel are an ideal food-wine pairing. Everyone should keep a few bottles of hearty Zin in the cellar for such occasions.
After our annual family White Sox baseball outing, we brought home bar-be-cue ribs, served with baked potatoes and a caprese salad, along with Linda's decadent baked brie cheese in filo dough puffs with puree'd berries, toasted almonds and drizzled honey - a perfect setting for Zinfandel. So, we pulled from the cellar Robert Craig Amador County Zin.
This is from the 24-acre Bowman Vineyard in the Shenandoah Valley of the Sierra Foothills, an area known for exceptional Zinfandel fruit. The rocky, well-drained soil stresses the vines to produce small, flavor-packed concentrated berries. Sitting at 1500-foot elevation provides ideal sun exposure, while the eastern mountains deliver cool evening breezes. This fruit is from 30-year-old vines.
Winemaker Tasting Notes: The 2004 vintage produced an intense, robust Zinfandel with distinctive 'Amador'
qualities of dusty spice, pepper and fresh, ripe berries. Picked in
small lots, the berries were fully ripe and deeply flavored, creating a wine with generous mouthfeel. Aging in French oak added
further complexity and layers of flavors.
This was dark garnet colored, up-front pepper and spice flavors lead with mouth-filling cherry and plum, turning to a zesty, broad-based finish of cherry-raspberry, interwoven with tobacco and cream. There was a layer of heat from the high alcohol content that detracted from the harmony of the fruit.
This was dark garnet colored, up-front pepper and spice flavors lead with mouth-filling cherry and plum, turning to a zesty, broad-based finish of cherry-raspberry, interwoven with tobacco and cream. There was a layer of heat from the high alcohol content that detracted from the harmony of the fruit.
RM 88 points.
Family outing at the ballpark ....
