Back in March I heard about an event that had my mouth watering just at the thought. Story Cellars was hosting a special event at their production facility in Woodinville featuring 7 zinfandel wines over a BBQ brisket dinner. Six of those wines were a 5 year vertical showcasing the style since the winery opened.
So why was this interesting? A vertical tasting showcases a winery with the same wine over several years. It is rare to get a chance to participate in them unless you do the purchases over years to set one up yourself. Some wineries will do a two-year vertical when new releases come out (providing the past release hasn't sold out). The idea behind vertical tastings is you get to see how different vintages impact the wine. Consistency in wine is a sought after trait - some big box wineries are so committed that they will chemically manipulate the wine to achieve that year-to-year. Generally smaller wineries what you see is how weather impacted to crop that year. In this case we got to try every vintage that he made including three unreleased vintages and the unreleased white zinfandel.
So what was in the line up?
2014 Zinfandel, 2015 Zinfandel, 2016 Zinfandel, 2017 Zinfandel, 2018 Zinfandel - Columbia Gorge, 2018 Zinfandel - Red Mountain, 2019 Zinfandel, 2021 White Zinfandel, and 2016 Zinfandel port-style.
White Zinfandel
We started off the night with a pre-release sampling of White Zinfandel. Alright I know what you are thinking - that is not the Zinfandel we thought you'd talk about here. You are right. When we think White Zinfandel our minds go straight to the vision of cheap, pink wine personified by bulk producers like Sutter Home or Ernst and Gallo. That wine is often easy drinking, unoffensive, and sweet. This is not that. The color is fuller, the body and the fruit carry the wine. I got a lot of intense berry, melon, and citrus off this wine. This will be a great summer drinker.
Brisket and the Zins
As some amazing smells lofted as the brisket and chicken from Richard's Too Good BBQ came out so did the line of Zins.
Up first was the 2019 Zinfandel from the Windhorse Vineyard in the Columbia Gorge. This newest vintage Zin (which is two years ahead of what is currently released) was intense with secondary and primary flavors. Aromas of red currant, blackberry, baking spice, vanilla, and toasted oak meet you in the glass. It was definitely youthful and developing. This one will benefit from some more bottle aging.
The next two pours over dinner were from the 2018 vintage. The two bottles come from different AVAs - Red Mountain and Columbia Gorge - to give us a peak into how terroir (climate, soil, nutrients) impacts the style. The 2018 Zinfandel from the Columbia Gorge is a very approachable wine coming in with medium intensity, body, and finish. Cherry and red currant reflect both the aroma and taste of this wine. The vintage from Red Mountain was more assertive with stronger aromas, soft higher tannin, a full body, and a long finish. Blackberry, red currant, vanilla, baking spice, and a hint of strawberry aromas meet you. When you take a sip I got strawberry followed by blackberry, baking spice, and vanilla. This vintage is still youth and developing.
The 2017 Zinfandel is the combination of two vineyards (one in the Columbia Gorge and the other in Red Mountain). This Columbia Valley Zin is an attention getter. This was the first wine I ever tried of Tim's and it is impressive. This will get a full write up by itself soon. The fruit and oak influences hit you hard in the aroma and taste. Notes of blackberry, red currant, baking spice, and a hint of vanilla are there. This complex wine stays with you (medium + finish) and unwinds more notes with time. I am curious to see where this goes over time. It is definitely ready to drink now, but has some potential for aging.
The 2016 Zinfandel is the booziest of his vintages. This rings in with an 18.4% ABV (well above what you typically find). This vintage owes that characteristic to a hot summer that produced intense fruit. This wine has intense aromas and flavors of jammy cherry, red currant, sweet herbs, and vanilla. Let this one decant for 30-45 minutes to fully reveal the expressive fruit.
The 2015 Zinfandel has intense aromas and flavors, but rings in less hot with an ABV in the 15% range (which is still hot by wine standards). 2015 was also a hot vintage which lent this jammy red currant and toasted oak profile. This opened up some in the glass as I ate dinner. This hot vintage still has years of potential and benefits from a good hour of decanting.
We finally got to the first vintage they made - the 2014 Zinfandel. Like the 2018 Columbia Gorge bottle, this wine is very approachable and largely medium across the board. It shows jammy red currant with a hint of blueberry. This vintage however was starting to lose that youthful fruit that the others still exhibit. It is a drink now and enjoy the first bottling.
While all of this was going on, BBQ brisket and chicken was served. Corn on the cob, beans, and cornbread accompanied the meal. The fruit and oak characteristics of the Zins really paired well with this Kansas City styled BBQ. The fruits highlighted the sauce while the oak characteristics highlighted the smoked meat. If you are looking for a good summer pairing, this lines up nicely.
Dessert
The event offered up chocolates and custom-made cigars to pair with the final wine - a port-styled Zinfandel. Sweet matched with sweet is a safe pairing. This certainly did not disappoint. The wine was jammy red currant with a hint of blueberry. Sugar levels were pronounced in contrast to the dry wines that proceeded it. The bitter chocolate balanced and enhanced the port-style. For me port is always a small pour as the intensity and sweetness can overwhelm. However it was a great end to the event.
Wrap up
One of the great things about being in the Seattle area is the close access to a myriad of wineries in Woodinville. This event was a prime example of that access. I am certainly glad I did not miss this opportunity. This events tend to be more on the off season and require you to know what is coming. If you head out wine tasting at wineries, I encourage you to subscribe to their mailing list or follow their social media if you like some of their wine. Those are the best ways to find out about this unique events.