Martin

Marietta 2005 Zinfandel (Sonoma County) – 15.3%. Stylistically and varietally anonymous, but I don’t think this wine has aspirations to anything else. A bit heavy and alcohol-laden, and though the latter isn’t expressed as heat so much as it is sheer palate-deadening weight, I’ve certainly tasted brawnier and more whiskey-like wines. There’s a good deal of fruit, of both small- and large-berry varieties, but they too are rather gravity-stricken. Maybe some age might help, but I’m not convinced it has the structure to support it. (12/08)