2008 The Pines Sweet Sierra port -- by Medici

[Andy Velebil]

My cousin in Oregon sent this to me for Christmas. It's made by Medici in Newberg, Oregon and according to the back label comes from a vineyard with up to 100 year old vines. I've never had it and to be honest never even heard of it. A fortified wine made from Zinfandel grapes and 20% ABV, which I assume means it was fortified more like a traditional Port. Typically I am not a fan of Zin based "ports" simply because most are late harvested grapes which are over ripe and extracted and way too sweet without any acidity. That said, I was quite surprised when I tried this with its nicely balanced and fresh medium bodied texture. As with many single grape fortified wines it wasn't very complex, but had nice loganberries, a decent dose of chocolate showing up early, and some nice acidity keeping it fresh. The finish isn't real long, but isn't short either, with its subtle bing cherries. I have no idea what this costs, but given the right price would be worth getting.
87 points

[Kurt Wieneke]

Hi Andy,
This is made by Peter Rosback of Sineann. You can look up the history of the The Pines vineyard on the Sineann website. Yes, a 100 yr old zin vineyard in The Dalles along the Columbia River. Peter/Sineann shares space at Hal Medici's winery in Newberg, and I think the deal is that Peter makes Hal's "Medici" wines for him.

[Andy Velebil]

Kurt,
Thanks for the background on this, I'll have to check out the site soon.

[Kurt Wieneke]

Better link on the history would be:
http://www.thepinesvineyard.com/about/

[Richard Henderson]

Just a real question, not implying anything, but I thought we could not post on "port style" wines on the BB? I have refrained from questions and tasting notes on such things as Heitz Ink Grade or the Australians. I hope this means that the "rule" is relaxed or that I have misunderstood it.

[Andy Velebil]

Richard,
We're not totally against an occasional posting relating to other fortified wines made in a similar style to the real deal. But I'd suggest that the non-fortified ones (such as late harvest Zinfandel "port") would probably be best put in the Other Discussion Forum.