It was dig deep night tonight ... that means I looked deep into my cellar for a bottle of something interesting that had some age on it - and I found this. Not sure where I got it, probably acquired during a trip to the states years ago and being intrigued by the grape combination I picked up a bottle. The only other time I have seen this grape combination spelled out on the label like that was from Fetzer years ago, these days blends like this have funky eye catching names like Menage a Trois or Californication, but in 2000 they were not couching the fact that they were blending Zinfandel with anything. A 76% Zin and 24% Shiraz, sounds nice on a label, the only question remained, could this be any good after more than half a decade. I am happy to report that yes, it was quite tasty, though at first I found it a little odd. The nose was pleasant with black plums and a spicy element ... as it opened in the glass the smells turned dried fruit and herbal. In the palate it seemed to have a funky element to it - I attributed it to the plastic cork, so I gave the first taste to the God of the lake (it went down the sink). Spices, black fruit, vanilla with a dried fruit aftertaste that at first was not at all pleasant, but it seemed to smooth and mellow with time (or I just got used to it), the beginning and mid-palate more than made up for the funky finish - which actually became quite delicious with each passing sip.
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