ZD Wines – 47
Friday, March 18th, 2005
ZD is one of those places that I drive by twice a day on my way to work. I’ve always admired their gold-gilt sign which is a good thing because the building structure is slightly sunken below the roadway and driving by, most of what you see are rooftops. I had no idea that ZD was the brainchild of two aerospace engineers, Norman de Leuze and Gino Zepponi back in the late 1960s. The de Leuze family runs the show at this point and I was dutifully impressed – at the reception, the facilities, and the wine.
The tasting room is of moderate size, neither too large nor too small, and quite comfortable. Some art is seen scattered about, but not overtly so. A fireplace offers warmth and a hominess in the corner. The pouring staff are tremendously helpful and exuberant. They are obviously here because they like what they are doing and they like the wine they are pouring — something that is surprisingly rare in the industry.
2002 Chardonnay, California – I love a non-ML chard and this one definitely peaked my interest. This wine did see ten months of American oak, which is ever so slightly discernable. Pale in the glass with light aromas of apricot and a hint of floral. Engaging fruit entry that zings into a balanced, even acidic mouth feel. Hint of toast on the finish. $30.00
2002 Reserve Chardonnay, Napa Valley – Eighteen months in American oak, this offering definitely produced complex creamy tones. The apricot aromas seemed more ripe than the previous wine and expanded in the mouth adding to the pear and vanilla qualities. Pleasant, punctuated acidic finish. $48.00
2002 Rosa Lee Pinot Noir, Carneros – Very bright in color and in aromas. Distinctive wild strawberry bouquet complements the strawberry mouth-entry which blossoms into slightly darker, cherry tones. Very engaging with a bit of a smoky, mineral finish. $20.00
2002 Pinot Noir, Carneros – Ten months in French oak give this wine an incredibly rich, dark nose of elegant, jammy berries. Integrated fruit flavors in the mouth produce a bright mid-palate that hints at vanilla but teases only long enough to ultimately produce a mineral finish. $30.00
1998 Pinot Noir, Carneros, Library Selection – Bricky, orange in color, this lovely wine is more Burgundian in its offering with earthy strawberry aromas that give way to a hint of mint. Very balanced, bright flavors with some floral and lavendar flavors and a distinctly cinnamon finish. $40.00
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley – Exuberantly dark purple in color, this wine explodes with plummy cherry tones that suggest a little earthiness. Deep and balanced, the brighter entry transforms into muskier tones of tobacco and vanilla but finish with floral qualities. A full metamorphosis in one sip. $42.00
2001 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley – Three years in American oak, this is an intensely elegant wine. The aromas of earth, berry, and tobacco just play with you before the soft, even entry explodes with fruit and dark spices that whisper of black licorice. Immensely concentrated, the long, long finish never gives up. $115.00
ZD Wines ~ 8383 Silverado Trail ~ Napa ~ CA ~ 94558 ~ 800-487-7757