I've been told that a lot of Red Zin vines in California are being yanked out in favor of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Word on the street is that if you liked Red Zin out of California (and I've had a few outstanding ones), get what you can now because it will become more "boutique" in the years to come with less and less being available (and the prices rising accordingly).
Murphy Goode had an outstanding one in "Liar's Dice". If consumed young, it was quite "spicy". The '01 drinks mighty fine right now.
...BTW, my source tells me that a lot of French stuff just isn't moving. He's got 01-02 Cru Beaujolais at $3.49...and it's just sitting there.
Oh, now you've gone and ruined my day.
There's a cute marketing trio of Zins by Alexander Valley Vineyards. Gift boxed, it contains the Three Zins: Tempation Zin, Sin Zin, and Redemption Zin.
AVV is also the maker of Cyrus. I've got a bottle of it somewhere around here.
Word on the street is that if you liked Red Zin out of California . . . .
My advice is PASO ROBLES! Best Zins & Syrah anywhere (IMO). Still much cheaper than Napa (although the gap is closing fast).
If you're not familiar with California, Paso Robles is about midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, approx. 22 miles inland from the ocean and 25 miles north of the city of San Luis Obispo.
The first modern winemaker, IINM, was Gary Eberle (Def. Tackle for Penn State way back when); others followed.
They are still coming, and even French producers have set up shop there -- Beacastel (from Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhone region) opened up Tablas Creek in PR and makes great Rhone-style wines.
Another French family (Mom, Dad, and 3 kids) moved into Paso and founded L'Aventure, which makes OUTSTANDING wine.
In vino veritas in aeternam!
It's going to six years old, and for even the best producers in the best vintages it would be difficult to expect a Beaujolais to stand up that long.
Best just to make some nice salad vinegar with it.