The Heavyweight Old Vine California Zinfandel 2009 is one of the many labels produced by ADS Wines, which is owned by Scotto Family Vineyards. This wine is 82% Zinfandel, 14% Syrah and 4% Mourvedre sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA, this Zin was bottled in Lodi, California and it is reasonable to believe a good portion of the grapes came from Lodi. The bottle says Old Vines on the label and in California, Old Vines has no legal definition, Old Vines are old if the producer says so, but Lodi and several other Central Valley AVA’s have plenty of older Zinfandel vines. At 2,500 cases produced this is a relatively small production wine and the alcohol content is 13.9%. You should be able to find it for $10 to $14, depending on sale prices.
The color is a bright black cherry red. The nose is dominated by spice and red berries. This is a lighter Zinfandel, not Pinot Noir light, but on the light side for a grape that is often rich and jammy. It starts off smooth and soft and works its way up to a nice dose of spice. The flavors are black cherry, Snickers chocolate and a touch of French vanilla. The mid palate offers black pepper and Altoids spice and finishes with ripe plum. The tannins are soft and balanced and there is a long full finish.
The Heavyweight Old Vines California Zinfandel is not one of those hit you over your head Zins, it is more on the delicate and balanced side. With that said, delicate and balanced for a Zinfandel still has plenty of zip and this is yet another Zinfandel that would go down easy with a great rack of BBQ ribs.
