Tried this last night w/ my fresh tomatoes & buratta (and, of course, bacon):
1. JCCllrs Zin IronHillVnyd/SonomaVlly (14.8%; www.JCCellars.com) JeffCohn/Oakland 2009: Very dark/near black color w/ scant bricking; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe Zin rather dusty/OV some toasty/charred/oak bit licorice/pungent slight cedary/pencilly/mature bit complex nose; bit soft strong toasty/charred/oak intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/ripe some dusty/OV pungent/licorice pencilly/mature Zin fairly intense flavor w/ modest ripe/mature tannins; very long/lingering soft/rich/ripe strong toasty/charred/oak bit pencilly/cedary/mature very strong ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin some dusty/OV finish w/ modest smooth/ripe tannins; starting to show its maturity but plenty of rich/ripe Zin fruit there; a dead ringer for a Rosenblum Maggie'sReserve Samsul Zin. Showing no signs of oxidation or falling apart but does show some maturity. Unlikely to get much better, I suspect.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I have, of course, followed JeffCohn from the very start...when he was the winemaker for KentRosenblum. There in the renovated locomotive repair shop on the Alameda NAS. It was always fun to visit and barrel taste w/ Kent & Jeff. Oftentimes GeorgRumpf/StGeorgeSpirits would be running his still and the wnry would be filled w/ pretty exotic smells. Many a Zinfandel & GoodEats event at that place. Back in the glory days of ZAP.
Jeff eventually went off on his own and started JCCellars near JackLondonSquare there in Oakland. I belonged to his wine club for a number of yrs, but then dropped off when his wines got to be a bit pricey for me. He makes a big/brash style of red, but his whites are also quite good.
Tom