Monday, September 7, 2009

Review: 2007 Murrieta's Well Zarzuela

A couple of weeks back, ZinfanHubby & I ventured to the Livermore wineries for the first time. Having grown up not far from the region, it still seemed odd to me that this neck of the Bay could behold anything more than farmland and windmills (Wiki entry: Altamont Pass). Alas, ZinfanGirl now stands corrected, and happily so.

We were besides ourselves with this whole new viti-world that was not any further away than the more popular Napa & Sonoma regions. And when I say besides ourselves, I mean that we walked away with a lot of booty. And I am happy to add yet another region to my ever-expanding list of "Where I've Tasted" wineries.

We hit up the trifecta of Wente, Murrieta's Well and Tamas Estate. According to some friends, we need to check out the "off the beaten path" wineries (which ZinfanHubby & ZinfanGirl much prefer) next time we go, and offered to show us their favorite hidden gems. Huzzah for ZinfanFriends!

Commercial or not, all three wineries scored some points in my book. While Livermore valley Zins are not as-- attention-grabbing, for lack of a better term-- as our beloved Napa juice, they offered plenty of interesting blends and varietals. I am already looking forward to going back!

ZinfanGirl's first Livermore Valley victim-- er, review-- comes from Murrieta's Well. Zarzuela, wha?? Meaning "operetta" in Spanish, this wine is a blend of Spanish & Portugeuse varietals: Touriga Nacional, Tempranillo, Souzao and Touriga Francesca. I'd only ever heard of Tempranillo-- ZinfanGirl clearly needs to get with the global wine program! But the instant I tasted it, I was reminded of my time in Porto, Portugal. Obviously this wine is not port (you will soon learn the ZinfanGirl is not a port fan, and you will rarely see it mentioned here), but the texture immediately revealed its heritage. Unlike many reds, this is a perfect wine for a sunny afternoon and would pair perfectly with light tapas and a siesta. Purple hues and a light mouth are the first noticeable qualities of this wine; a lovely mix of a delicate fruit forward and strong spice finish make it a wine worth remembering. It is, to say the least, a complex wine, one that is sure to delight even veteran wine drinkers who perhaps have given up on finding anything new. And at $30 a bottle, it is a hell of a lot cheaper than a trip to Europe!

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