Quivira Vineyards

As AppellationAmerica.com readers know, the 2003 vintage in Dry Creek Valley – one of California’s most favored regions for Zinfandel – was so hot that valley winemakers on our Appellation Discovery Tasting panel didn’t even want to find a signature for 2003 Zin. The vintage was that out of the ordinary.

2004 returned to form, however, and in Dry Creek that means Zinfandel with great balance and dimensionality marked by scents of violets and flavors of white pepper. Back in the days when Cabernet was made like claret – meaning a balanced wine of moderate alcohol – some of the state’s best Zin was made in the claret style. That’s one of the reasons people keep turning to Dry Creek for Zinfandel: it’s not only not over the top, it’s not about “top” at all: it’s about expansive, mouth-filling wine that doesn’t need a ton of sugar or alcohol to make its point.

A great example is Quivira’s 2004 Dry Creek Valley bottling ($20). When people talk about lip-smacking Zin, this is what they mean: it takes over your mouth with flowing berry/plum flavors and good-gripping grape tannins, so that you wind up chewing it and savoring it and wishing for more. A healthy dose of Petite Syrah adds to the weight and texture, but the wine’s still a comparatively low-alcohol Zin so it remains calm, cool and collected – a fascinating facet to bring to such a fun-loving grape.

Reviewed June 15, 2006 by Thom Elkjer.