Opaque blackish purple red with deep purple streaks going out into a fuchsia-pinkish, slightly crimson red rim definition with super high viscosity. On the nose, there is a smorgasbord of deeply layered and crushed black fruits of the forest, with dominance by brambleberry, then blackberries, oak references, alcohol, beef jerky, spice rack, black licorice sticks, plum jam, black pepper and mineral content. In the mouth, there is a massive spicy black fruit attack with underlying licorice root, reductive black fruit stew, ripe plums, peppery sort of notes, with subtle vanilla from oak, massive tannin structure and balanced firm mid-palate and a longish finish, still peppered with spice and some dissipating alcohol. Open at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours earlier. It is a young monster of a wine, yet does not have overly aggressive tannins, indicating a wine in balance with a harmonious structure.
Gnarly Head - The story behind the label goes like this: "My first impression, as the truck pulled up to the eighty year old Zinfandel vineyards, was, "Wow, those vines sure have some gnarly heads!" Thus began a fifteen year love affair with the Old Vine Zinfandel."The older Zin vineyards in California were planted before the use of modern trellising techniques and were "head pruned", meaning the shoots that eventually produce the grapes grow directly out of the head of the trunk. The resulting vines look more like a bush than the normally well-manicured rows of neatly trained along posts and wires – and they do have "Gnarly Heads".
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