Winery - Zerba Cellars
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
There is a pleasing creaminess to the mouthfeel, yet the wine retains well-defined green apple and citrus fruit flavors. Where many Viogniers are bitter and hot at the finish line, this one is like sucking on a creamsicle.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Like most Washington Sangiovese, a bit nondescript. You won’t mistake it for Chianti, but it doesn’t have the ripe strawberry and tobacco punch of the best versions from this state. It’s light, herbal, and has gentle tannins with suggestions of cracker and grain.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A strong scent and flavor of vitamin pill mixes with tight red fruit, stone, licorice and earth in this Rhône blend that includes small amounts of Grenache and Mourvèdre. Give this wine time to breathe and let the fruit come forward before you drink it.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This 100% Tempranillo, coopered for 22 months in American oak, is impressive. The fruit flavors coalesce around raspberry/strawberry hard candy, with juicy natural acidity and a hint of tanned leather—not sweaty saddle, but real leather. It’s got fine, dusty tannins, and excellent persistence.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Petit Verdot as a pure varietal wine is not only rare, it’s difficult. This is a classic blending grape, that can seem quite thick and tannic when tasted alone. Yet here, despite alcohol topping 15%, it is a beautifully proportioned and detailed blockbuster of a red. Along with the ripe blackberry fruit you’ll find tar, toast, cedar and chocolate, layered nicely and unfolding through a long finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Barbera are tossed into the blend. The result is a rather generic mish-mash, pleasant but unfocused, that turns vegetal and stemmy in the finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is quite minty and light, with a bright, sharp edge to it. The fruit is just ripe enough, but retains a fair amount of herb and green character. Where does that mint note come from? It adds a racy element that some will enjoy more than others. The tannins have been corralled a bit, so the wine has a harmonious finish. It’s simple and plain, but drinking pleasantly.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Very firm and tannic, this gently earthy Merlot-dominated blend also includes 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Cranberry and pomegranate red fruits are softened with buttery oak, and the wine shows more polish than in previous vintages.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a Cabernet-dominated Bordeaux blend. It’s got muscle and meat, plenty of red and black fruits, and interesting suggestions of fennel. The fruit and herb are nicely balanced and matched, giving the tannins an appealing herbal character that is not too green.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Zerba’s crowd-pleasing Wild Z blends Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah about equally, with a splash of Cabernet Franc to finish it off. It’s a ripe, full, forward, chocolaty mouthful. It keeps the red fruit tart and tantalizing, while loading in the barrel flavors (French and American) to round off the finish. A fine follow-up to the excellent 2006.
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