St Francis Old Vine Zinfandel Sonoma County 2011

In January, I wrote about the 2010 St Francis Old Vine Zinfandel Sonoma County. The 2011 vintage is now at Costco and since this wine is one of my favorites, I decided to compare the two vintages.

The blend for the 2011 vintage is 87% Zinfandel, 6% Petit Sirah, 3% mixed blacks, 3% Mourvedre and 1% Syrah. This blend has more Zinfandel, less mixed blacks and less Syrah than 2010 and there was no Mouvedre in 2010. A big difference is that the 2011 has 15.0% alcohol while the 2010 had a whopping 15.8% alcohol.

I think St Francis softened this Zinfandel in 2011. It is still a bigger tasting Zinfandel, but not as big as 2010. There is still a lot of flavor but a little softer tannins. You will still want to have this with grilled beef but you could also enjoy it with red pasta. This wine is $13.89 at Costco and you cannot go wrong with it at that price.

SC Wine Joe rating = 90

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