Zinfandel: The big, red Valentine wine

TASTING NOTES
Digging through all the puns and Z jokes, we found winners under $25 that you can proudly uncork come Feb. 14. While many major names in zinfandel failed to impress, several upstarts shone through. Some are in limited release, so if you can't buy direct, ask your local shop or look for other bottlings from the same vintners. Rosenblum, for instance, makes a non-vintage table zin that's widely available.

Rosenblum 2004 Appellation Series San Francisco Bay ($18): Best of our tasting. Kent Rosenblum and winemaker Jeff Cohn again prove their abilities with grapes from Contra Costa County, east of the bay. Smoky and robust, with syrah-like brine notes and dusty overtones that lead into a chewy finish. A near-perfect execution of what this grape should be. We also enjoyed Rosenblum's 2004 Paso Robles and North Coast zins, also from the Appellation Series.

Dashe 2003 Dry Creek ($22): Highly perfumed, filled with blackberry and currant. Slightly hot at the beginning, but finishes with dusty, dry tannins. The grapes are from Sonoma, but the wine is made in Alameda, Calif., by husband-and-wife team Michael and Anne Dashe. A romantic wine, indeed.

Eberle Winery 2004 Remo Belli Vineyard ($24): Plummy and dark, filled with hearty charcoal and dust notes. This Paso Robles contender is equally dark on the finish, with a big whack of tannins, yet the whole wine is well-built and pleasing.

Sobon Estate 2003 Paul's Vineyard “ReZerve” ($24): From an organic winery owned by former Silicon Valley scientist Leon Sobon, near the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Punchy and peppery, with stewed strawberry and currant, plus violets and cocoa. The taste is bright, with a bite in the back and a zingy note at the end.

Michael and David Phillips “7 Deadly Zins” 2004 Lodi ($17): A friendly, happy wine, which several tasters praised as a great everyday pick for the dinner table. Blended with grapes from seven growers in Lodi — whose reputation for uncommonly good zin is struggling to escape the shadow of some big corporate wineries (Woodbridge, notably). Dried herbs, licorice and blue plum, with good balance and a bright finish that hinges on fine, soft tannins.

Sausal Winery 2002 Alexander Valley “Family” ($18): From a small Sonoma producer, we found this a bit punchy, but fun as well, with pleasing black pepper and dried herbs superceding the fruit. One taster praised it as the “most delicate” of the bunch.

Quivira 2003 Dry Creek ($20): Another Dry Creek entry from a biodynamic winery that specializes in the appellation's grapes. It's fresh and berryish, with a sharp perfumed note and pleasing minerality in its core.

Robert Green Cellars 2003 Napa Valley ($18): Good concentration of plum and blackberry, with dusty, peppery notes in back. Silky and full, without being heavy (it's a relative baby at just 14.3 percent), though the finish was a bit harsh.

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