Coppola 'Diamond Collection' Zinfandel - $14.49

Wine Details

Price: $14.49
Producer: Niebaum-Coppola
Region: California
Varietal: Zinfandel
Container Size: 750 ML
Flavors: oak, smoke, spice
  • Red Wine
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Product Description

  • When people ask us where the best Zinfandel is grown, we aren’t quite sure what to say because there are so many spectacular regions where this varietal thrives. Our Diamond Zinfandel captures the essence of several different appellations, which when blended together create this unique and complex wine. From our Hog’s Canyon vineyard in Paso Robles, fruit achieves a high level of concentration due to extremely low rainfall and summer temperatures that exceed 95º. At the other end of the appellation, we use a vineyard comprised of gravely clay loam soils similar to those of Australia’s Barossa Valley. Our Sonoma County vineyards provide exceptionally high-quality fruit, which ripens evenly and exudes immense character and flavor. To add an extra layer of complexity, we blend a small amount of Petite Sirah into the wine. This contributes to the wine’s structure and lends a bit of tannin to balance out Zinfandel’s inherently “jammy” nature.
  • The Rubicon Estate Winery (formerly Niebaum-Coppola Winery and Inglenook Winery) is located in Rutherford, California, USA. The winery sits on a portion of the historic Napa Valley property first acquired in 1879 by a Finnish Sea Captain Gustave Niebaum, founder of the Inglenook Winery. In 1975, Francis Ford Coppola and his wife Eleanor, purchased Niebaum’s Victorian home, along with 120 acres (48.6 hectares) of surrounding vineyards. In 1995, Coppola reunited the two original Inglenook parcels by purchasing the grand Inglenook chateau and surrounding vineyards (neighboring vineyards include Heitz Wine Cellars Martha’s Vineyard and Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour). The winery underwent a name change in early 2006, and is now known as Rubicon Estate.

Expert Ratings

Ratings   Vintage Source Flavors
CGCW - 87 Details: 8% Petite Sirah. Here is a nicely made Zin that holds ripeness in check while allowing a good look at basic berryish fruit, and, if a touch dry at its heart, it is balanced and shows supportive oak spice and touches of smoke and soil. It is just tough enough to commend a couple of years in the cellar, but it will turn the trick now with barbecued pork and offers plenty to like at the price. 2004 CGCW oak, smoke, spice
Tastings - 91 Details: Garnet purple. Smoked meat, creamy vanilla and berry aromas and flavors. Sweet and sweet toasty berry tart and oak finish. Smoky, black tea and cassis finish. Hedonistic and instantly appealing. 2004 Tastings cassis, meat, oak, smoky, tea, vanilla
WineSpectator - 86 Details: A fun Zinfandel that's jammy and juicy, with aromas of blackberry cobbler and spice and ripe flavors that offer just enough complexity to keep this interesting. Drink now. 21,073 cases made. – 2004 WineSpectator blackberry, jammy, spice
WineSpectator - 84 Details: Tangy and ripe, with good depth to dried berry, black cherry and prune flavors. Earthy nuances linger, with a round structure. Drink now through 2007. 19,000 cases made. – 2003 WineSpectator black cherry, dried berry, earthy, prune
CGCW - 87 Details: Its hints of dried grapes and chocolate notwithstanding, this one is sufficiently endowed with sweet berryish fruit to earn our full commendation. It is a bit soft/round at entry and firms up on its way to a ripe-tasting yet fairly lengthy finish, and it is destined to be successful for current drinking. 2002 CGCW chocolate
CGCW - 88 Details: If not the boldest stroke of the varietal pen, this ripe and well-fruited offering is a neatly balanced, medium-full-bodied wine that gets the job done without bluster or alcoholic extremes. Its attractive blackberry qualities are highlighted with careful notes of oaky spice, and its persistent finish is underpinned by nicely integrated acidity and tannin. In short, this is a tasty Zinfandel that is easy to drink with a meal, and its accessible pleasures are in no way compromised by either heat or harshness. 2001 CGCW blackberry, spice
CGCW - 83 Details: Overripe, warm-weather Zinfandel can be a fat, heavy, viscous wine that reminds of Mourvedre in its lesser incarnations, and this wine unfortunately treads that path. Clean and serviceable but not in the least bit exciting, it is surpassed for value by several lesser-priced efforts in these pages and for quality by most of the others found here. 2000 CGCW
WineSpectator - 84 Details: Round, with good concentration to the vanilla, cocoa, plum and dried currant flavors. Framed by modest tannins. Drink now through 2004. 13,500 cases made. – 1998 WineSpectator currant, plum, vanilla
Tastings - 83 Details: Deep garnet hue. Savory herb and oriental spice nose. A rich entry leads to weighty, full-bodied palate with warming flavors and drying tannins. Drink now 1998 Tastings
WineSpectator - 82 Details: Light and fruity, with strawberry, cherry and spicy, earthy notes. Drink now. 6,000 cases made. –JL 1997 WineSpectator cherry, earthy, spicy, strawberry
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Food Pairings

Category Pairing
Cheese Soft Pungent Cheese
Pasta & Grains Lasagna
Sauces Red Wine Sauce

Wine Terms

Name Value
United States Wineries exist in all fifty states, but the most predominant (and best) wine comes from Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State, with New York gaining a foothold in the industry. American wines make up about 75% of all wine sales in the US. The appellation system uses the term AVA (American Viticultural Area) to determine where wines were produced, but grape varieties can be planted anywhere in the country. American wineries generally use varietal labeling, and government regulations require that the variety on the label must make up at least 75% of the blend (in Oregon it’s 90%). The words reserve, special selection, private reserve, classic, and so on have no legal definition in the US. Some wineries use these terms to indicate their better wines; others use the words as a marketing tool to move lower quality wines off the shelf.
Zinfandel One of California’s oldest varietals, this grape actually hails from Croatia. Red Zinfandel makes rich dark wines that are high in alcohol and medium to high in tannin. The can have a blackberry or raspberry aroma, a spicy character and even a jammy flavor. Some Zinfandels are relatively light-bodied and meant to be enjoyed young, while others benefit from aging.
California California produces the majority of wine made in the United States. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir dominate the wine production in California, but many other varietials thrive in the California climate. Many fine wines are produced in California using Mediterranean grapes.

Tasting Notes

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