A bit hot in alcohol, but rich and peppery, with flavors of roasted blackberries, cherry liqueur, chocolate and anise. Good with barbecue.——S.H.(9/1/2009)—— 84

Great price for a Zin of this purity and varietal truth. Dry and medium-bodied, but sweet in fruit, it shows wonderful flavors of wild forest blackberries, with complications from black pepper, orange peel, anise and Asian spices. The texture is sheer velvet. Best now and through 2010.——S.H.(9/1/2009)—— 90