Wine Recommendation
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Wine Recommendation

Muccigrosso Vineyards 2005

Muccigrosso Vineyards

2005 "Lyn Zin" Zinfandel
(Santa Clara County)



Michael Muccigrosso names this wine for his lovely and indefatigable wife, Lyn, who keeps asking year after year: “are we making any money yet?” She loves the wine, but honestly, do the math. For this hardy mountain couple, so typical of the diehards you find here in the Santa Cruz Mountains, it’s hard to quantify success in terms of dollars. They so love the whole camaraderie of the high altitude vine life. There’s such an extreme challenge involved in growing grapes in this terroir, with its wild and crazy swing that can see temps go from 114 to 20 in a 4-month period. At the estate vineyard, Michael is typically harvesting Zin late, late and even later. Sometimes not at all.

Lyn Zin is composed of a tiny bit of fruit from the Muccigrosso Estate, which is in the “banana belt” of the Santa Cruz Mountains, with the majority of it coming from Wayne Weidman's Vineyard on the backside of Hecker Pass in Santa Clara, as well as some from Stan Moniz’s vineyard on the east side of 101 in Morgan Hill. This is a great marriage: the Wiedeman Zin produces notoriously high acid fruit, the Moniz Zin, from head-trained per-Prohibition vines, contributes sweet molasses, while the Muccigrosso Zin is naturally high in acid and filled with lovely pepper.

Winemaker Jake Kaufman says that all these ingredients make for a rich naturally acidulated Zinfandel that offers a everything you like about Zin, with none of the downsides. This is one Zin you can drink without burning your nose hairs.

Reviewed April 2, 2008 by Laura Ness.

The Wine

Winery: Muccigrosso Vineyards
Vintage: 2005
Wine: "Lyn Zin" Zinfandel
Appellation: Santa Clara County
Grape: Zinfandel
Price: 750ml $20.00

Review Date: 4/2/2008

The Reviewer

Laura Ness

A wine writer and wine judge for major publications and competitions around the country, Laura Ness likens wine to the experience of music. She is always looking for that ubiquitous marriage of rhythm, melody, and flawless execution. What is good music? You know it when you get lost in it. What is good wine? It is music in your mouth.