The 2008 ClandestZin is dark in color with a dark blue ink hue. Spicy nose with dark fruit upfront and a wonderful bouquet. The initial taste is of deep, dark fruit – what a Roman Falernian may have tasted like; it has a mid palate of white pepper and a good backbone of ripe strawberries with a light finish of some licorice and blackberries. This Zin has the Grist vineyard minerality and classic Zinfandel flavors for which Grist is famous.
 

Our 2007 Four A's Cabernet is 100% single vineyard Cabernet from Stagecoach Vineyard on Atlas Peak. Stagecoach climbs between 900 and 1700 feet up the southern face of Pritchard Hill. The site is planted to a wide range of varietals and rootstocks and features several distinct microclimates and the fruit is from a small block near the top - steeper and lower-yielding than most of the vineyard - and the taste emphasizes serious Asian spice and dried herbs on top of its core of black currant.

The 2007 ClandestiZin is dark in color with an almost inky hue. The initial dark fruit is followed by a fragrant aromatic nose of cedar, ripe fruit, and slight tobacco. Then, wow! the mid palate is an elegant beautiful multi-layered combination of blueberries, dark honey, and an oak lift to compliment the fruit flavors. The finish is weighty yet shows a balanced, enjoyable viscous, opulent fruit bomb, showing a playful character. The finish gains depth and even more complexity and is an incredible mixture of finesse, elegance, and backbone. The ripe fruit nature of this wine is immediate with overtones of the famous Grist Vineyard terroir of luscious, swank, sumptuous fruit. But like our 2006 ClandestZin, the wine is forward and quite drinkable now - it will become even more balanced and subtle over the next year. But like the 2006, doubt you can keep a case for a year as the desire to "pull another bottle" of this smooth quintessential California Zinfandel will be too tempting!