Chateau Montelena 2005 Zinfandel Napa Valley The Montelena Estate

Tasting Notes - The wine shows a very good deep red color. It has many of the typical Zinfandel notes on the nose: spicy berry, subtle briar, and some dried fruit component. On the palate it opens with a nice big bowl of the same briar and berry flavors, and a spicy Zinfandel character. The overall body does reflect a cooler vintage, and the very slightly higher acidity gives freshness to the bright fruit and elegant texture. It is very much a claret style, food friendly wine, so unlike many huge high alcohol Zins thundering around nowadays, this will accompany an astonishing array of cuisine. On release it will clearly taste like a young wine, but over time its classic lines, nice berry fruit, and medium weight will make this a tasty dinner wine, and an easy sipper.