Bright ruby with thin clear edges.  Funky, earthy nose, ripe with rich Zinfandel nuances, no patina of age to speak of but gobs of ripe lollipop Tootsie-Pop, dark chocolate and caramel. Heady black cherry and thick gamy-acidic fruit, nose-filling and concentrated, but no pruny-ness. Shockingly little age visible under this Sonoma screw-top.

In the mouth, clean, bright clairvoyance, light and deftly mannered while still unmistakably pure Zin. Dark roiling layers of wood, peat and blackberry, gritty and powerful with tannins solidifying themselves with the fruit in a forever-home many Zin-fans will undoubtedly find austere, but classic devotees of the grape will find an unnerving semblance to the Zins of the 70’s and 80’s.

A completely respectable homage to the classics is doing serious work here. An absolute must-try for any long-term fan of the grape, its capabilities, its possible refinement in these days of prune-juice-and-vodka Zin offerings and its almost magical inability to age in the right settings. Those of us who have had 20 or 30 year-old Zins showing perfectly will relish in this beauty at age 5. Extremely inexpensive and worth every penny.

2014 BODKIN Zinfandel ‘The Hill and the Vale’ Sonoma County 13.8

bodkinwines.com