Cline Ancient Vines Zin. and Bianchi Malbec

label used for reference. wine sampled was 2004, california.

Tonight we opened a bottle of 2004 Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel ($). I am not usually one for Zins, and this one was no different. I found the taste to be too sharp and difficult to distinguish. Mo found it to be "sweet" and said it, "goes down easy". Wine Spectator gave it an 89, so you might want to listen to Mo on this one, as my opinions tend to be very biased. The Wine Cask (another blog) calls this wine, "big in every way" and describes the tannins as "plush". They also refer to a "unexpected blast of mint" after some 'air' time.
I had hoped for a better impression of this bottle, as these grapes come from vines that are 80-100 years old. That in itself is damn cool from a California wine.
I'm willing to admit this bottle may have seen better days, as it came from the stained rack.

Lacking the patience to completely dissect this wine, I opened a bottle of Elsa Bianchi Malbec 2004 ($) from Valentin Bianchi in Mendoza, quickly returning to the Argentina kick I've been on. Plum and raspberry in a medium bodied wine with ripe fruit and good balance from a South American producer with Italian heritage. This Malbec leaves you with a butterscotch finish that lingers, but not for too long.
This wine is cheap and good, 'nuff said.