The 1994 Old Vines Zinfandel screams from the glass, in a reassuring rather than frightening manner. The wine boasts an opaque purple color, followed by a phenomenal nose of overripe black-cherries and raspberries doused with high quantities of sweet, toasty, smoky oak, with plenty of licorice and pepper in the background. Superbly rich, smoky, hedonistic, and decadent, this wine is supple and velvety ... like eating your favorite candy in liquid form (with plenty of alcohol). This spectacular blockbuster Zinfandel will last for 7-8 years, but it is best drunk in its first 4-5 years to take full advantage of its exuberance. St. Francis is making monster, pedal to the metal, full-throttle Zinfandels that are likely to score last in terms of subtlety, but who can ignore these opulent, lavishly rich, thrilling wines? I am not sure I could sit down and knock off a bottle of either of these wines, but a glass or two sure is enjoyable. These flamboyant, ostentatious Zinfandels succeed in pushing richness and new oak to the limit. If actors Robin Williams and Jim Carrey were winemakers, is this the type of Zinfandel they would produce?
These are amazing Zinfandels. There are other 1994 Zinfandels that are just as rich and full-bodied, but there are none as ostentatious as this duo.
NOTE: All the wines in this article were tasted in May, 1996.
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