The Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 is selling for $7.99 at Costco and in the $ 15-plus range elsewhere.
The Story
Amador County wine country is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and this is where the Gold Rush occurred.
It is east of Napa and north and east of Lodi. There are many ancient Zinfandel vineyards that are often older than 100 years.
Renwood was founded in the early 1990s and offered excellent Zinfandel until they were caught in the economic downturn of 2008.
They were purchased from bankruptcy by a large South American Wine group in 2009. They hired all the wine staff who had been let go and paid all the suppliers.
In 2019, Rombauer of Napa Chardonnay fame purchased the winery and the tasting room, along with a vineyard. That left the brand name and a vineyard for the South American group.
The Renwood brand still carries on, but not as a stand-alone winery. The California Wine Cola (they approve wine labels) shows the winery of record as Infinity Bottling who package wine, not make it. A company named Flying Blue is shown on the back label, and they appear to be importers.
Renwood wines still receive positive grades in wine reviews and still come from 100-year-plus vineyards.
The back label mentions a subtle use of French oak barrels and fine tannins.
The alcohol content is 14.7%.
The Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 Tasting Notes
The color is a black cherry red with black highlights. The nose is rich black cherry, plum, and herbs, with a little vanilla and cold coffee. The Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 is rich, fruit-forward, and spicy.
This Zinfandel tastes like raspberry jam (not sweet), a nice slap of spice, plum, pomegranate, oak spice, a little vanilla, and tart cranberry. And a little nectarine and tangerine.
The tannins are smooth and the acidity is nicely controlled.
The Summary
- The Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 is a tasty, well-made wine and a total bargain at Costco’s $7.99 price.
- Zinfandel has not been doing it for me lately; it was once a favorite, but this Zin has rekindled my interest.
