Zinfandel Unbound

As if to prove that California wines can be, should be, and sometimes actually are complete, I am enjoying the 2003 Caparone Zinfandel. A mucklet of sediment splats onto my countertop when I pop the cork, and as I pour I see that the wine suggests fall, a pale rose petal color that foreshadows brown. It even smells slightly autumnal, like a redwood forest on the coast, an aroma that plays well with the smell of fresh red berries, cherry medicine, tar, wood smoke, and black pepper. As I breathe it in I think of a potlatch in a plank house, which in turns makes me think I should have paired this wine with smoked salmon rather than grilled pepper steak, although that was a nice match.

Too many zinfandels founder on the shoals of thinness on the starboard side and, more often, cloying obsequiousness on the port side (pun intended). The Caparone quietly, effortlessly, sails up the middle of the strait. It serves up nice cherry fruit, bright acidity, brown earth, good presence and depth at midpalate, and solid structure. As with the (even better) Caparone aglianico it's not complex but it is complete, nicely priced in the mid-teens, and at 13.3% abv plays well with food. Even more importantly, it's comfortable in its own skin; it is not tamed; it is unbound.

The 2004 Caparone Aglianico is Terrific

Calling Dr. Debs and her fans! For $14 to $18 the 2004 Caparone Aglianico from Paso Robles is a hell of a wine, muscular and pretty like a gymnast. The aromas are exciting and intense: leather and violets for days, a beautiful Northern Rhône-like perfume. The wine shows excellent balance on the palate, with muscular and masculine tannins, robust and true acidity, good minerality, and exactly ripe black fruit — some fleshy plum, some sweet berry. There's even some cool mint here, which makes me suspect that cabernet sauvignon plays a bit part. Overall, this Caparone Aglianico shows complete presence from the front of the palate to the back. And it went well with the lamb kefta I brought home from Sultan's.

Did I mention that this clocks in at a mere 13.2%? Yep, even in Paso Robles a winemaker can produce powerful, complete wines at relatively low alcohol levels, if s/he is intelligent, wise, and blessed with good terroir and harvest conditions.

Now, this wine ain't profound. It ain't even complex. It also lost just a bit of steam by night two, so I'm not sure that you should keep this around longer than 3 to 5 years. But this wine does have a lot of unconfected character, and for that I have a smile on my face.