Wine Recommendation
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Wine Recommendation

Mara Wine Group

2003 Zinfandel - Marquise Reserve, Luvisi Ranch - Old Vines
(Napa Valley)


Charles Mara, a New York wine merchant, has begun to make wine in California. With this Zinfandel, the Mara label should become one well worth paying attention to. And by using fruit from the 100-year-old-plus vines of the underrated Luvisi Ranch in Calistoga, notice too will be taken, when that AVA gets approval any day now.

The wine, from Luvisi’s dry-farmed vineyard, was made by winemaker Derek Irwin at Viansa in the Sonoma side of the Carneros district. The wine is big, juicy and inky, but everything being equal, it isn’t ready to drink. Come back to it in five years and then consume it over the next dozen years. The fruit is fabulous but more important, the tannins and acidity will keep it vibrant. Unfortunately, there were less than 400 cases produced. The price is $35.

Reviewed March 1, 2006 by Alan Goldfarb.

 

The Wine

Winery: Mara Wine Group
Vineyard: Luvisi Ranch - Old Vines
Vintage: 2003
Wine: Zinfandel - Marquise Reserve
Appellation: Napa Valley
Grape: Zinfandel

Review Date: 3/1/2006

The Reviewer

Alan Goldfarb

Alan Goldfarb has been writing about and reviewing wine for 17 years. His reviews have been published in the St. Helena Star, San Jose Mercury, San Francisco Examiner, Decanter, and Wine Enthusiast, among others. Not once has he used a point system, star system, or an iconic symbol to quantify a wine. What counts in Mr. Goldfarb’s criteria when judging a wine is: how it tastes in the glass; is it well-constructed; its food compatibility; and presence of redeeming regional attributes.