Once & Future Wines
Teldeschi Vineyard Frank's Block Zinfandel
Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA
After seeing a couple notes on CT claiming this was ready and didn’t need much of a decant, curiosity got the best of me. Woof...maybe my bottle was an outlier, but this is NOT READY.
I followed this over two days. Day one I gave this about a two hour decant. Very tannic and shut down on the palate. A wall of miscellaneous red and black fruit followed by a seriously tannic finish. I re-corked, then decanted another hour and a half on day two and it made all the difference in the world. Much more open knit. The aromatics were classic Dry Creek zin with maraschino cherries dipped in fondue, cedar, baking spices and a mix of red and black licorice. On the palate, the acidity remained high over both days and came across very high toned...lots of red and black fruits (rhubarb, fleshy black cherries, raspberry infused dark cocoa) alongside kirsch, boysenberry jam (just a hint) and more cedar and sandalwood. This zin master has crafted another fabulous zin, but like many Ridge zins, this needs a good bit of time (and that’s coming from someone who enjoys a good amount of flavor). Hold for 3+yrs, or decant 4-6hrs.
After seeing a couple notes on CT claiming this was ready and didn’t need much of a decant, curiosity got the best of me. Woof...maybe my bottle was an outlier, but this is NOT READY.
I followed this over two days. Day one I gave this about a two hour decant. Very tannic and shut down on the palate. A wall of miscellaneous red and black fruit followed by a seriously tannic finish. I re-corked, then decanted another hour and a half on day two and it made all the difference in the world. Much more open knit. The aromatics were classic Dry Creek zin with maraschino cherries dipped in fondue, cedar, baking spices and a mix of red and black licorice. On the palate, the acidity remained high over both days and came across very high toned...lots of red and black fruits (rhubarb, fleshy black cherries, raspberry infused dark cocoa) alongside kirsch, boysenberry jam (just a hint) and more cedar and sandalwood. This zin master has crafted another fabulous zin, but like many Ridge zins, this needs a good bit of time (and that’s coming from someone who enjoys a good amount of flavor). Hold for 3+yrs, or decant 4-6hrs.
A very good and fun wine. I was once told that old Zinfandel aged a lot like CA Cabernet, and this finally proved it to me.
A very good and fun wine. I was once told that old Zinfandel aged a lot like CA Cabernet, and this finally proved it to me.
Jan 15th, 2025