Category Archives: Sobon Estate

2007 Sobon Estate ReZerve Primitivo

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2007 Sobon Estate ReZerve PrimitivoPrice: $24.00 @ Sobon Estates

What They Said:

Per the bottle “Big, rich ad full bodied; with toasty, jammy aromas and forward fruity flavors. Genetically related to Zinfandel, but strikingly different in balance and intensity.”

What I Think:

This is a wine that twitter made me crave, too bad their search doesn’t work or I would show you why. Fresh off the Rocky Top Zinfandel I loved I had to get this one. In a rare episode where it seems I am living the dream Sobon Wines offered to send a bottle my way, lucky me! My experience with Primitivo from Italy (from where it hails) does not run all that deep but this is only the 2nd I’ve tried stateside (the other is Perry Creek but I didn’t record any tasting notes, shame on me!). Anyhow let’s get to it…

With pizza in the oven this was an easy choice. If a bottle were to be judged solely on its weight this one would be liquid gold as it is super heavy. On opening the nose was smoky, hot and dusty and the palate was heavy on oak, a bit surprisingly given it was aged in 1 to 2 year old oak. This all blew off with some time and became toasty with a nose of cooked/stewed plums showing a small hint of green. Once it cleared the palate showed nicely balanced fruit and hearty acid, the combo hardly indicate the high alcohol content (15.3%). The end shows tart fruit, white pepper and tamed tannins leading to a finish of great tangy notes that last and last. This last paragraph is really my best guess. This wine is hard to figure out and keeps you guessing. A challenge for sure, but one that I look forward to taking again, just be sure to give this one some time to open up. Next time I want to taste this one side by side with an Italian bottling to better assess the different styles between the continents. Kudos to Sobon for not only working with Primitivo but Sangiovese and Barbera amongst many other uncommon varietals here in the states.

By the way, have I mentioned everyone should be visiting Amador County? For the record, I haven’t yet. They are bottling a ton of unique grapes that few other work with here in California. Those that read often are tiring of hearing me say this so here is my promise to you, before the end of August I will make a visit to Amador County happen. You heard it here first! Stay tuned…

Rating: Pricey

2006 Sobon Estate Rocky Top Zinfandel

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Price: $12.99 @ K&L Wines

What They Said:

2006 Sobon Estate Rocky Top Zinfandel Per K&L Wines “Rocky Top Tennessee may be home sweet home to Lynn Anderson, but Rocky Top in Amador is home to some fine old Zinfandel vines, and that’s good news for all of us! A very shy producing vineyard with soils of volcanic ash and boulders, this site produces old vine Zinfandel of immense proportions. The very floral, vanilla and raspberry jam aromas are very forward and inviting. The flavors match the aromas, with a rich juicy component. The finish is long and velvety-rich.”

What I Think:

For those that say twitter doesn’t sell wine like Steve Heimoff, here is a firm example of where it does. After coming across @sobonwine hearing about their wines my curiosity was piqued. This led me to K&L Wines where I paid for this bottle of Rocky Top with money. Wow a real example of selling something on twitter… Oh, by the way Dell also made a little bit of money via twitter. But I digress, let’s get to the wine.

This wine is 92% Zinfandel, 4% Petite Syrah, 2% Carignane and 2% Barbera. K&L nicely describes the terroir of this wine above. On the nose you are greeted with rich aromas of dark berries and dusty mocha chocolate. On the palate you are greeted with more purple fruits; plums and blackberries, with a slightly tart cherry component that along with the tannins keeps this wine in perfect balance. The finish was long, velvety and delightful. This is the best Zinfandel I have been introduced to in a while and another reminder that I need to get out and visit Amador County (and Lodi too!) soon. There are a ton of interesting wines coming out of the area that are friendly on the pocketbook. This one is a great example of that and I highly recommend it for Zindependence Day. What are you drinking tomorrow?

Rating: Wow!