Tantalizingly Close to Beauty

"welsh stewart" sonoma county zinfandel 2003

On the nose it's powerful. Significant alcohol with aromas of dark fruit jam(cherry, plum, cranberry sauce). The winemaker said it lacks prune flavors, but I definitely tasted prune (and liked it). Along with some clove.

The palate was strong- socked me in my grill. Alcohol and tannins grabbing a hold of my tongue. I felt like i was wrestling this wine a bit. I love wine wrestling. More cranberry- Slightly sour, slightly peppery. Only disappointment is that the finish of the wine had a mild sweet-syrupy finish. I think that some others might appreciate that. I didn't and I thought it marred an otherwise wonderful experience.

We paired this wine with roast pork from the chinese restaurant around the corner. I thought it would work the way a good Zin-n-ribs combo does. It didn't. I think the sweetness of the zin and the sweetness of the pork failed to achieve a balance. It made the Zin seem even more syrupy- a sad combination. I would look for a hot zin with no sweetness for my next bbq pork meal- or a pork without sweet in the sauce.

cork and demons interview with the winemaker: