Canyon Creek Zinfandel Case by Pedroncelli
$115.99 $216.00 46% off List Price
2013 Canyon Creek Winery Old Vine Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley
Pedroncelli second label?
Wondering what the connection is…
[grape]
Lab Rat reporting for duty.
Kind of odd to scrutinize a budget wine. To make things interesting my wife and I did an un-blind comparison against a 2014 Trader Joe’s “Reserve” (seriously) Lot 71 Dry Creek Zinfandel ($10). Please note the two different vintages, but I thought a comparison to a mass distribution wine might prove helpful for some Wooters.
We did a pop-and-pour at cellar temperature. Took the first few sips without food, then with some artisan thin crust pizza (nothing like pairing cheap zinfandel with expensive pizza).
Color: Identical at a glance; CCW a little more opaque / purple on close inspection (whatever that’s worth).
Aroma: Good nose on both. TJR: prominent red fruit with a hint of barnyard funkiness that I liked. CCW: more concentrated dusty dark fruit. Wife detected a “dry hay” complexity I did not.
Body: Neither thin or full-bodied, both a little clumsy, consistent with the varietal.
Taste: Both respectable for the price point. TJR: Overly ripe strawberries with a hint of black pepper. Notable acidity. CCW: Mulled plums (dry). Hint of cedar.
Finish: Short finish on both – again, in-line with expectations for the price point. My wife said the CCW left a “ate garlic last night” impression and I agree its finish was a little less refined. I suspect the (at least perceived) acidy of the TJR cut the pizza a bit better and left the palette ready for another bite / sip.
Personally, I liked the CCW a bit better. My wife preferred the TJR a bit better. In fairness, the TJR wine may settle down a bit with another year in the bottle. And, as I type this review, I think the added scrutiny has exaggerated differences in what are two pretty similar wines.
tl;dr: Good QPR on this wine. Anyone who likes cheap zin as a mid-week daily drinker will enjoy this wine. Characteristic to the varietal and nothing harsh or cloying or out of balance (was not too hot / not too astringent). Overall a solid 43 points!
I would love to know how this compares with Motherway Clone.
iftfy
This is a case where winery participation by the usual Pedroncelli suspect(s) will be of great interest to many wooters…
Gracias. Sometimes smart phones outsmart me.
Hi All–
Sorry to be so late hopping in. Jon and I are both out of the office until Wednesday.
This is very similar to the Mother Clone in style, balance, vinification. It has a vineyard or two not normally in the MoClo.
I find the 13 vintage to be a great one and as with most of our wines this has benefited with some time in the bottle. A little aeration always helps.
At under $10 for a Dry Creek Valley Zin, this is a SMOKING HOT DEAL! (Exactly WHAT do you think I pop on a weeknight?!)
I was particularly interested in the “overly ripe strawberry” comment on the TJR from the Debater. That is likely grape concentrate to give the wine body and richness. Strawberry should definitely be a component in the nose, but never overripe. Yuck!
This wine has great acid, nice balance, easy to dance to, I’d give it a 92! (c’mon, someone has to get the reference–anybody? Crickets…)
We do this from time to time to balance inventory. 2013 was a bumper crop for Zin. We kept most of it for Mother Clone and did a little private label here and there to be sure we stay on vintage for our core line. Not to worry…Mother is STILL the Boss (anyone get THIS reference?)
Sorry. Too much on my plate today. The peas are falling over the edges!
Thanks Dick!
Dick? I thought it was Ed! In any case, say goodnight Dick.
Got to be American Bandstand! I loved that show (about 40 years ago) 
Edit: I’m in. Do I win a bonus bottle for the correct answer? 
Yes, it was American Bandstand, but Dick forgot to also say “it has a good beat”.
I really like the nickname MoClo!
Haha. Didn’t even realize I said that. It’s our internal nick-name!
Seems like a nice offer today. I could go for 3-4 bottles here.
Ah, I skimmed that “easy to dance to”, which RJ and you others definitely didn’t.
[GRAPE]
Debater here…kind of. Once again I’m traveling whilst the wine of woot makes an appearance at my doorstep. But again to save the day is lovely bride and daughter.
Consolidated note verbatim from the two of them:
“Deep rich fruity nose, deep rich burgundy color. Tannic start full of blackberry. Finish is alcohol forward. Tannins and alcohol dissipated after awhile. A peppery note on the finish. It don’t suck.”
They both tend to like wines with a bit of ummph to them so to speak.
So from afar I’m in for one.
Cheers!
Oh, and speaking of Mother Clone. It was $109 a case here not that long ago
Edit: $109.99