X Winery Lake County Nova Vineyard Zinfandel

Over the past couple years I’ve become a full-fledged fan of X Winery.  They are consistently putting out some tasty wine at reasonable prices.  I won’t say their prices are ultra-cheap, but they are reasonable and the quality-to-price ratio tends to be excellent with X Winery.  This Zinfandel gives me another reason to love them.

And while I admit that I’m an X Winery fan, I should also make clear that I tasted this wine blind… so my affinity to the brand did not factor into my tasting notes.  The vast majority of the reviews here are tasted blind.  Every now and then we get a sample of a unique variety and can’t really taste it blind without knowing what it is, but most are blind.

The production of this wine only resulted in 224 cases of wine too.  So if you try this one, you’ll be tasting something that is somewhat unique, as 224 cases is a relatively small production volume.  So it’s affordable, it’s small production… oh, and it’s made from organically grown grapes.  Yep… it’s a California Certified Organically Farmed (CCOF) wine, it’s awesome and it’s only 20 bucks!

The aromas from this Zinfandel remind me of a coffee drink I used to get which consisted of Pepsi, espresso and caramel syrup.  I’m getting those same aromas from this wine: cola, coffee and caramel, but wait there’s more.  I’m also getting some black cherry, cedar and a touch of smoke.  On the palate it’s filled with juicy raspberry and strawberry fruit, as well as some some white pepper and nutmeg to make it spicy.  The mouth feel is so smooth, it’s almost velvety.  This is an outstanding Zinfandel—90 points worth of outstanding!

Wine: X Winery Nova Vineyard Zinfandel
Variety: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 90
Price: $19.99

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.