2009 A. Rafanelli Zinfandel

Community Tasting Notes (122) Avg Score: 90.9 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View barrytaylor's profile
  • Report Issue

  12/30/2023 - barrytaylor wrote: 92 Points

  What you expect from a Taf zin, ready

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View barrytaylor's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/15/2023 - barrytaylor Likes this wine: 90 Points

  typical Raf Zin, med body, deep color, ready

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View thesternowl's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/11/2023 - thesternowl wrote: 94 Points

  Something quite magical often happens to Rafanelli Zinfandel after 10+ years of bottle age. I can’t explain it…but these wines begin to take on more rustic, Old World feel. It’s as if they shift into an overdrive. The fruit is still big, beautiful and pure (no-doubt a testament to their rigorous selection) and yet they can often display a new energy about them which give them remarkable longevity. This bottle is perfectly representative.
  
  Opened to celebrate my daughter’s 14th birthday, the 2009 Rafanelli Zinfandel pours a deep, practically opaque garnet that becomes more turbid the further we delved into the bottle (in typical fashion, this Rafanelli full of sediment). Medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, bright cherry and bramble-like fruits, Asian spices, espresso and some black pepper. I do sense a touch of VA. On the palate, the wine is dry and with medium tannin and medium+ acid. The notes from the nose are confirmed…with a bit of added emphasis, it should be noted. There’s almost a Pop Rocks experience too…with the slightest effervescence pricking the tongue. And again, this is something that I would more expect from a non-interventionalist wine from Italy…certainly not from Sonoma. Hot take here…but this bottle reminded me of something from Paolo Bea (San Valentino) more than anything from Sonoma, let alone California. It’s just so wonderful. The finish is long and delivers minutes of pleasure.
  
  As far as I’m concerned, nobody is making Zinfandel with the soul that Rafanelli does and the proof is in the bottle each and every time. Of course, they are delicious when young but with age, these wines become something else. Drink now with a decant (for sediment only) and through 2034.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View KJLover's profile
  • Report Issue

  6/23/2022 - KJLover Likes this wine: 95 Points

  this remains remarkable. great color and has mellowed to have incredible notes of gentle dark fruits with dark chocolate supporting cast

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Tudz Drkl's profile
  • Report Issue

  3/26/2022 - Tudz Drkl Likes this wine:

  Still delicious. The nose is spicy and cherry fruit with some nice herbaceous notes intertwined. Bright acidity and very silky tannins carry along spicy layers of red and black fruits. The profile is juicy and progressive. The finish is long and juicy.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

View all 122 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.