Ottimino
2004 Von Weidlich Zinfandel
Zinfandel •Von Weidlich
California: Sonoma County: Russian River Valley
Mission Briefing
Little Big Eight
Ottimino Zinfandels have become a Wine Spies Operative favorite, setting sales records and selling out, each time we showcase them. We have had the great fortune to get our hands on newer vintages of their wines so when I was offered the special opportunity to raid their cellar, I was just thrilled!
Today’s 2004 Ottimino Von Weidlich Vineyard Zinfandel is astoundingly great. Rich, sweet, multi-layered and ultra-delicious, this juicy wine is showing beautifully. And, we expect it to become even better in the bottle, for the next couple of years.
This perfectly-aged Zin is a true masterpiece and we offer it up with our heartiest recommendation. If you’ve enjoyed Ottimino’s Zins in the past, you will be absolutely delighted by today’s offering. Pair this very food friendly as you would your favorite Zinfandel. We enjoyed our review bottles with BBQ ribs, right off the grill and slathered with a spicy BBQ sauce.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Dark ruby red with glinting maroon edges. Color is perfectly concentrated through its slightly darker, crimson heart. Heavy and bouncy looking, when swirled, this wine continues to spin long after you stop swirling it. When it settles down, it leaves behind slow-moving, chubby, wine-stained tears. |
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| Smell: | Bold intensity and deeply aromatic with spicy black cherry, ripe plum, ripe blackberry, tobacco, leather and sweet spice. As the wine opens up, follow-on aromas include wild fennel, butterscotch, cigar box and black pepper. |
| Taste: | Ultra flavorful, delicious and very juicy, with bright red cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry and boysenberry. Beneath these are red plum, tobacco leaf, supple leather, blueberry, soft exotic spice, white pepper and flinty black pepper. |
| Finish: | Ultra long, juicy and filled with sweet red fruit flavors. As fruits fade, tobacco, leather and spice appear along with a flinty black pepper at the very end. |
| Pairing: |