The second round in the Trader Joe’s bracket of the inaugural Grape Madness tourney kick off with the (1) 2006 Rosenblum Paso Robles Zin ($16) vs. the (2) Bogle Old Vine Zin ($10).

Once again if you need a refresher on the rules you can find a recap here. The main one two keep in mind here, per the picture above, that these were tasted blind (again I know… single blind). Before we jump in, let’s look back on the first round match-ups to see how these two got here:

• The Rosenblum defeated the Old Moon handily 83-71.  My notes hightlighted that this game was won before the wine hit the glass.  Nice  robust dark fruits on the nose and a palate with a dry, chalky backbone.  With the finish being intially slightly tart and a bit hot but improving with time to leave a warm, comforting tannic tickle lingering.  That said, I mentoned it made me nervous come the second round and that it better bring its “A game”.  Let’s see if it did…
• The Bogle found itself in a shoot out with the Ravenswood before pulling out a 83-78 victory.  fMy notes here show mentions of range and character with the palate being smooth and well balanced. The mouth-feel was silky with dark, rich fruits with earthy (almost dirt-like) notes. The finish is bold with heavy notes of plum and lasts nicely. It sure sounded like a winner.

With pregame covered let’s get to the real action via my twitter news feed:

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