2012 Hook & Ladder RRV Zinfandel
Every so often we come a across a winery that aligns so well with our wine sensibilities that it just makes us happy. Hook & Ladder is one of those wineries. That's not to say we don't fall in love with individual wines every other week. We're like teenagers. But so far we've tried two of their wines, and both struck, for us, the exact right balance of fruit & wood, fullness & bite.
A couple of months ago we had the good fortune to try their 2012 Cabernet at a tasting event at Bin Ends Wine in Braintree, MA (Bin Ends is a truly awesome place to taste & buy wine). That day we bought a few bottles, one for ourselves and two as gifts. That might not sound like an unqualified endorsement, but, believe us, it is. We take wine gifting very seriously. If you get a bottle of wine from us, know that we agonized over it.
Back to today. With the memory of that Cab still relatively fresh in our minds, we noticed the Hook & Ladder label walking through the supermarket. We didn't have to talk about it. A chance to try a Zinfandel from the makers of that delightful Cabernet? This bottle was going to be the guest of honor at Sunday dinner.
We're developing a bit of a crush on these folks. No lame wine pun intended.
It did not disappoint. Just like their Cabernet Sauvignon of the same vintage, the 2012 Zinfandel strikes the perfect balance between fruit & oak. Blackberries, cherries, thyme & dark chocolate on the nose. Cherries, blackberries & bakers chocolate on the tongue. Cranberries, baking spice & chalk on the finish. Medium bodied and well rounded, with a lovely bit of tanginess and bite at the end. That we found this bottle in a supermarket for under $25 is quite astounding. If you see their label on the shelf, don't pass it up.
