2005 Tobin James Zinfandel Dusi Vineyard

With Tom always bringing such great wines, I figured that I would try to bring something fun, and something that we would enjoy. Tobin James is all about fun, over the top fruit bombs, and with the Dusi Vineyard harvesting such great fruit, I figured why not. This seemed to be a crowd pleaser at the table, however, it left me a bit disappointed. However, as Zelda pointed out, we had a huge transition from the elegant Copain Cerise pinot noir to this huge, fruit forward monster, and I think that she is right. Had I drank this wine on it's own, I think I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more. In the glass, this had a gorgeous dark ruby color. On the nose, wow! This wine was JAM CENTRAL! Huge hints of plum, blackberry jam, and raspberry marmalade...is there such a thing? The nose on this wine was fantastic. Moving onto the palate, I think that Tom said it best at first sip. "This wine is a mouthful of fruit." I could not have said it any better, however, it wasn't as pleasing on my palate after the pinot, and almost tasted over done to me. Regardless, nice dark berries on the palate, with more plum, currants, and strawberry. The finish however seemed a little out of balance to me, with some alcohol that seemed to go straight to your head, not your mouth. Does that makes sense? It's kind of hard to explain, but will try when I get some more time. 85 points.

2006 Tobin James Lagrein Silver Reserve

Brought over to Jim and Stacy's tonight in Chesterfield to enjoy with them and Johnny D and Liz. Enjoyed this after a nice Stag's Leap viogner with sushi. Definitely not the best pairing with the sushi, or after the viogner for that matter, but still a nice wine. Old Tobin James and Lance have done it again with another great, albeit over the top wine. One of only 3 wineries making a straight Lagrein in the states, but who knows, that could change in time. No blend needed on this wine, and it is a joy to drink, but what "Toby's" aren't? Very dark color in the glass...almost black like tar. Speaking of tar, lots of tar on the nose, with some jammy raspberry and other black fruits, and hints of spice. On the palate, this wine opened up nicely into another Tobin James fruit bomb. Sure, might not be a classic Lagrein from Italy, but how can you not love these over the top, new world, fruit forward wines. What a joy! Tons of dark fruit on the palate, and almost a bit zinfandel/syrah esque. Lots of jammy fruit once this wine opened up, with raspberry and black cherry. Sublte spices, a smooth finish, with well integrated tannins make this wine yet another Tobin James winner. Great job Toby and Lance! 86 points. Cheers!