Last weekend I was involved in a reverse raffle fundraiser. I was also in charge of procuring the wine for the event. For something a little different, I pulled this bottle from the cellar and put it in a decanter for those who wanted something aside from Cabernet or Pinot Noir.
Clos LaChance Winery is located at the idyllic address of 1 Hummingbird Lane in San Martin, California. The winery focuses on sustainable practices and uses modern wine technology mixed with Old World philosophy. They’ve chosen the hummingbird as the symbol for their winery.
This is an entry level Zin from the Santa Clara Valley, which is a great location for this variety. The decanter allowed the wine to open up and it offered soft flavors of cherry, raisin and a bit of spice.
As I staffed the wine table, it was interesting how many people are unfamiliar with “true” Zinfandel and get it confused with the sweet concoction of White Zinfandel which was quite popular a decade ago.
White Zinfandel’s greatest contribution was that its popularity kept growers from tearing out acres of Zinfandel grapes and replacing it with something else. Today, Zin lovers know that the wine can range from big, expressive wine with earthiness, to fruit-driven wines to the refined and delicious Old Vine Zinfandels that are like a liquid symphony. Zinfandel also might be the best barbeque wine there is.
The Clos LaChance Estate Zin retails for about $20 and I picked this up for $12 online. It’s a value that definitely isn’t for the birds.
Rating: 3 of 5 Value: 3.5 of 5
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