Tasting - The Federalist

The basics:

• Grape Variety - Zinfandel
• Country of Origin - United States
• Region of Origin - Lodi, California
• Vintage Year - 2019
• Price - $18.99

Wine Enthusiast Review:

"Made in a big, ripe style with a tannic bite, this wine is creamy and thick on the palate, sanguine with accents of blackberry jam, iron, and black olive." (Virginie Boone)

Wine Folly Reference (189 - 190):

The wine is fruit-forward, bold, and loved for its jammy fruit and smokey, exotic spice notes.  The fruit is originally from Croatia and has notes of blackberry, strawberry, peach preserves, cinnamon, and sweet tobacco.  The Lodi Zinfandel has special notes of raspberry jam, peach preserves, blackberry bramble, hickory, and star anise. 

My Review:

Before I drank the wine, I poured a glass and let it aerate and warm up for a few hours while I was finishing some other work.  The wine's color is a pretty rich red with a slight magenta tint. I don't have to stick my nose too far into the wine glass to smell the wine, which smells quite tannic and rich - hinting of blackberry, blueberry, and clove-ish spice (and oddly metallic/iron as commented in the review).  The wine is quite rich on first taste and easily coats my mouth.  The blackberry and strawberry taste come out as well as the strong tannins which made the drink taste quite strong (14.1% alcohol by volume).  Finally, the metallic and cinnamon notes appear with a sweeter finish.  No food was consumed before tasting, though I did add it to some beef stew I was reheating and it made the meat and sauce more complex with hints of bitterness while enhancing the flavor of the beef.  

This wine had a lot of flavor notes that made the wine quite rich and almost overwhelming in flavor at times.  I wonder if the wine would taste any different when being eaten alongside food, but I think this bottle is too rich and complex for my palate at this time.