Zinfandel has broad reach across California. It grows within the loamy confines of Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, among the mountain terroirs of the Sierra Foothills and everywhere in between and beyond. Zinfandel's adaptability to these diverse regions is key to its stylistic stamp, as recent vintages show. Our latest Tasting Highlights showcases just that, with wines from Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles and beyond, encompassing a mix of single-vineyard and old-vine bottlings as well as Zin-based blends.
Among the top scorers is a red from Zinfandel specialist Turley Wine Cellars. The winery makes upwards of 50 different bottlings from just about as many vineyards throughout the Golden State. While many of these wines are bottled individually, the Old Vine bottling taps more than 20 vineyards, the vines ranging from 50 to 130 years of age. The result is a gutsy version with zesty raspberry, cranberry and savory anise notes.
This lineup includes Brown Estate's Zinfandel Napa Valley 2023, one of the top scorers, which is zesty and vibrant with dark fruit and licorice notes. Read on to get our full score and expert tasting note for this fantastic California Zinfandel and seven others.
Tasting Highlights' wine reviews are fresh out of the tasting room, offering a sneak peek of our editors' most recent ratings—including scores and full tasting notes—to WineSpectator.com members.
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