2014 Shiner 15.2 Zinfandel $20

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Winery Tasting Notes: “The “Shiner” brand is our proprietary label through which we market wines as a “negociant,” or marketer of wines.  We don’t make this juice; we search out the best values we can find and sell them through Shiner Wine Company.  The designation 15.2 means it was the second wine we released in 2002.”

Blend: 100% zinfandel
Alcohol Level: 14.5%
Cases Produced:  224 (total prouction)
Winemaker:  Not revealed
Maturity:  Drink now, or at least before the next mid-term election

Pairings:  Dem ribs, dem ribs, dem poek ribs. Nice with a mess of spicy chicken wings, yeah boy.

Staff Review: GARY MOFFAT:  While the Lodi region rules when it comes to producing great zins, Paso Robles is a notable competitor, though its examples are not as lusty, extraction is more subtle and the alcohol content tends to more restrained, like this one at 14.5% (a lightweight compared to some of the bruisers pushing 17% down Lodi way.

Stick your nose in a glass of this stuff and you get a perky hit of just-picked strawberries spanked with white pepper.  Remarkably elegant for a zinfandel. . .fruit forward, but I wasn’t disappointed to not detect residual sugar.  In fact, this wine is unexpectedly dry.  Flavor profile is dominated again by strawberry, with a hint of cranberry tartness of the end.  Eminently quaffable. . .you’ve been warned.

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