I went to a wine tasting at a highly recommend local spot in Kansas City. They were super kind, down to earth and seemed knowledgeable. I tried a few at the tasting and just bought a case, one of everything. They offer a $100 case once a month, people love it.
I got a Croatian Zinfandel. Its a 2016. Its AWFUL. I was so hyped, they shared the whole story of it being the birthplace of Zin. It tastes like bad vinegar. I opened a second bottle confused. Bad. Same astringent, insanely acidic flavor.
Is this wine meant to be aged? Theres no way they tried this wine and like it. Ive never had a Croatian wine or Zin but, should I take it back?A ChatGPT search said some can age for 5-7 years. Well this one is 10 years old and I wouldnt even cook with it.
Thoughts?
by Ancient_Organism
4 Comments
My inkling is that it is either past its prime or maybe just not very well made. Zinfandel is more commonly associated with warmer regions like southern italy and california where it produces a very fruit forward, jammy and rich style of wine. It makes sense that a cooler region like croatia would make a wine that is more acid driven/astringent, and it wouldnt surprise me that in a not particularly warm vintage the wine would seem underripe and thin. And with wines that are like that to begin with, age doesnt tend to help. I would maybe bring it back to the shop and ask them what they think. They may not necessarily offer a refund if its not technically “flawed” but they may be able to offer some context?
Some well made Zinfandels can age longer than 5-7 years but this doesn’t seem to be a producer that fits into that category. So the wine is probably past its prime. Even if this wine is technically intended to age for this long, it sounds like storage/shipping conditions were bad and have turned it to vinegar.
Email the wine shop today saying that both bottles are off and request a refund or substitute. Don’t dump out the juice. You should be ready to take them back to the store as proof.
Likely it’s just past its best. It has to be very good Zinfandel to be age-worthy, as I understand it. Croatian wines typically are drunk younger.
There are some fantastic Croatian tribidegs out there, personally I findvthem vastly superior to Cali or Italian versions.. less opulence, less rs, more acidity just delicious.
Not sure about op wine though