Split pomegranate fruit encompasses this red wine blend. It is dark, dense, robust, and rich from start to finish. A warm blanket of spice leads into a subtle sandalwood finish.
Vineyard
In the Templeton Gap AVA this historic vineyard was planted in 1945. Dante Dusi Vineyard is head-trained and dry-farmed by five generations of the Dusi Family.
Winemaking
Janell Dusi is the proprietor and winemaker, specializing in Zinfandel. She is a 4th generation farmer who is the first of the family to go beyond farming to produce wines from the Dusi Vineyards. She honors her heritage by winemaking in the most native form; handpicking, hand sorting, and stomping her wines by foot. Her signature style is continued with non-invasive wine handling and gentle barrel aging. A combination of new French and American oak, juvenile barrels are rounded out with neutral barrels to create wines that respect and reveal the natural varietal characteristics of Zinfandel.
Specs
Varietal Composition: 50% Zinfandel, 28% Petite Sirah, 22% Carignan
Appellation: Templeton Gap
Vineyard: Dante Dusi
Aging: 18 Months; 80% French Oak 20% American Oak
Alcohol: 15.50%
Production: 340 cases
Optimal Consumption: 2022- 2028
2019 J Dusi Escandalosa, Paso Robles
Tasting Notes
Crimson in color, this blend of Zinfandel and Mourvèdre is rich with deep dark fruits and spices. Black cherry liquor, almonds, and vanilla are intertwined on the mid-palate. The rich mouthfeel leads to a soft woody finish that lingers with red licorice, pepper, and black currant.
Vineyard
These varietals are grown in the Paso Robles AVA and reflect the classic characteristics of Paso wines known to be powered by fruit and structure. This wine is farmed by four generations of the Dusi Family.
Winemaking
Janell Dusi is the proprietor and winemaker, specializing in Zinfandel. She is a 4th generation farmer who is the first of the family to go beyond farming to produce wines from the Dusi Vineyards. She honors her heritage by winemaking in the most native form; handpicking, hand sorting, and stomping her wines by foot. Her signature style is continued with non-invasive wine handling and gentle barrel aging. A combination of new French and American oak, juvenile barrels are rounded out with neutral barrels to create wines that respect and reveal the natural varietal characteristics of Zinfandel.
Bringing J Dusi into the public realm of the wine industry has been a life-long dream for me. I grew up living on the vineyard, participating in grape farming, and begging for my Grandfather to teach me the winemaking process.
My first vintage was when I was sixteen. My Grandfather guided me through the process from the recollection of the days when his family ran the original “Dusi Winery” back in the '50s. I learned, from him, the REAL Italian way to make wine, which happened to be a slight variation of today’s California style wines.
My Great-Grandparents, Sylvester and Caterina Dusi settled into Paso Robles in the early twenties. They had three sons; Guido, Dante, and Benito Dusi. They were active proprietors in many local businesses including vineyards, farming, restaurants, and Dusi Winery. I was born and raised in the vineyard that my Grandfather Dante, his father and two brothers planted in 1945. As vineyards were rare in the area at that time, Zinfandel was the Italian varietal of choice. They implemented the farming practices of head-pruned vines and no irrigation, dry farming. Today, 65 years later, we still carry on their farming traditions and uphold one of the areas most loved vineyards. Dusi grapes can be found in some of the most sought after Zinfandels in Paso Robles.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Got an email asking if I was around to get a bottle, which luckily, I am. The bottle showed up with a casemates glass, which is always a nice touch! (I erm, might have more than a dozen of them since I bought extras when they were on Meh back in the day. Just in case we break any, you know!) Got the Fiorento version.
The top is entirely wax sealed. Easily solved with the little knife on the back of my corkscrew, but a pleasant change. It feels fancy!
Initial impressions-
Pop and pour-Juicy, fruity, and bright, and nice legs. This feels very light for a red. Hazardously not alcohol forward at this point. I really like it, and I wish I’d drank more of it at this stage. But I also know drinking a 15.5% wine before dinner is a great way to get myself into trouble, so I waited.
Let it rest for about an hour, hour and a half until dinner-Mezze-Armenian style baba ghanoush, Spanish chorizo, truffled salami, aged gouda, dolmas, Israeli salad, watermelon, and a chardonnay/fig cheese spread on pepper water crackers with fig jam.
After resting, it definitely holds up to that food and then some. All the tannins that were hiding earlier have come out in spades, and the alcohol note is more present as well. It’s almost aggressive, which is so odd vs how mellow it started out. For me, this is one that I’ll happily down fast when it’s just opened, 15.5% alcohol be damned. The remainder after airing I might turn into New York Sours.
Pardon any typos, it’s late and I’m working from my phone as I plan to sleep in a bit in the morning!
Hello friends! Delighted to be reporting on this wine for you. Let me say up front that I spent the entire week speed-writing academic papers, so this review may end up more wordy than usual. I’ll try to keep it tight, but I do have a few things I want to tell you about this wine that are not what usually end up in these reports.
We received the bottle on Thursday and were also excited to get a glass with it! (I have not gotten any on Meh, put them back on again please?) Popped it in the wine fridge for a few hours, and then opened it to drink with dinner, which that night happened to be takeout from our local Ethiopian restaurant.
The blend of 61% Zinfandel and 39% Mourvèdre is a deep, almost purple red. Upon initial pouring at about 65 degrees, it is powerfully aromatic—I get cherry cola and moss; my wife says it’s a definitive strawberry rhubarb crisp. As usual, we give the kids a sniff. Cherries, says the six-year-old, while the older one identifies pomegranates. (I haven’t had a pomegranate in years and wasn’t aware he’d ever even seen one, but I’d believe it.)
On tasting, this is classic Zin: dark fruits and pepper, some earthy notes suggesting a bit of age. The finish is moderately long with a touch of sweetness. Tannins are largely under wraps so long as the wine stays below room temperature. There’s a hint of menthol-like coolness, which is much appreciated for cutting through the spices and spiciness of our dinner—I generally enjoy Zin with hot cuisines, and this one definitely fits that bill.
All of this is what I’d usually say in a Lab Rat report. It’s also not what I want to tell you. What I want to tell you is that somehow, this wine makes you want to get up and do things.
It started with getting up for more wine. “Easy drinker” is a phrase we sometimes use, but this one should be called an easy gulper for how fast it went down. Despite the 15.4% alcohol, the first glass is empty before we even realize it. I have never seen my wife bolt to the kitchen for a refill with such determination before; I of course would have done the same had she not beat me to it.
By the middle of the second glass, we are convinced that this review would be incomplete without a comparison to the Scott Harvey Inzinerator. Up and down we search our cabinets for a bottle, only to realize that they must all be in our storage unit, so alas our tasting adventure would have to wait a day. Mind you, after two full glasses of wine we’re typically ready to go to sleep, not making plans about horizontal tastings.
The next day, we trek out to the storage unit to pull a 2019 Inzinerator. Even though the Escandalosa is now on its second day, it holds up beautifully, only losing a touch of its fruit during the overnight sit (refrigerated but just in a Mason jar). It strikes us as a touch drier, more earthy, and more aged flavor-wise compared to the Scott Harvey bottle.
But back to getting up and doing things. The details in this report are here because, at this point in our reviewing, my wife commandeers my e-ink tablet and proceeds to lay down a full page and a half of notes. She decides she wants a tablet of her own, and we start researching the various options. We also feel like seeing how the Escandalosa stacks up against the Wellington port for desserts (the short version: it works fine for a non-dessert wine). Again, by now we should be halfway to bed, but instead we’re planning out a bike ride for the next day (which we did, and it was delightful).
I don’t know what accounts for the inspirational nature of this wine. Perhaps it’s the peppery spice of the Zin; perhaps it’s the freshness of the fruit flavors and the sangria-like drinkability. Maybe it’s the cheeky name. But you can find out for yourself. Pop a bottle with some friends and see if, by the end of it, you’ve come up with the next big startup or the Great American Novel. I’m in for a case myself—I have more papers to write.
@cduan great report. Thank you. I noticed this wine is aged in part with American oak, and the only oak I really like to taste is the vanilla found in French oak. Can you possibly indicate whether or not any “oak” flavor stood out in any way. Also - very cool Scott Harvey reference. Cheers
@Leatherchair We did not pick up any notes of vanilla or “oak” (which my spouse is not a fan of and she definitely would’ve commented on it if she had tasted it!)
Hi guys!!! Yes this wine is mostly French oak with just 15% American oak. And only about 15% of the combined oak is new oak. I really want to showcase the fruit and the varietal, farming, soil etc. so I use minimal new oak. Cheers!
@JDusiWines thank you.I didn’t catch this was the “ dusi ranch” fruit. I remember what Paul Draper did years ago with this fruit an
am huge fan of what Turley does also. I’m fairly intrigued about trying the case and the creative blends included. Thank you
Yes, We sell our Old Vine Zinfandel to Ridge since 1967 and to Turley since the late 1990’s… I do too have a 100% Dusi Zinfandel at my winery. These two blends are Dusi Zinfandel based but with other varietals for blends. Hope you enjoy!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
J Dusi Mixed Red Blends - $100 = 33.32%
just the other day I’ve been pondering running low on Zins, and BAM! getting second case within a month, as I couldn’t resist the offer… If anybody in San Francisco vicinity would like a split, I could let go of 4 or maybe 6.
I’ve bought J Dusi wines 4 times here on Casemates, and they’ve all been good! I think Dusi is an auto-buy for us at this point. Nice to see them back!!
Does anyone here know when these might ship? I’d really like to pick some up, but I’m out of town for a few weeks, plus it looks like the UPS strike has been averted.
After drinking both bottles, 2 X each, I wanted to report that I am simply enamored with the beautiful, symmetrical balance of these wines along with the lingering complete finish - not to mention the unmistakable Dusi fruit. My only mistake was buying only one case. So well done. Thank you.
@Leatherchair Agree with your comment. I was suppose to split the case & ended up telling the person since I felt I pushed them in to the split never mind On delivery though some of the bottles had leaked & 1 cork pushed through (we are in Fl) but started with those bottles & nothing effected the quality of the wine. Thank you J Dusi again for a great offering…now your pinot grigio?
Sorry about the leaks. I’m on CA coast and it all arrived in perfect shape. They must have spent the night in a non AC warehouse. The good news is, November is coming! Ha. Thanks for the reply
2019 J Dusi Fiorento, Dante Dusi Vineyard, Paso Robles
Tasting Notes
Vineyard
Winemaking
Specs
2019 J Dusi Escandalosa, Paso Robles
Tasting Notes
Vineyard
Winemaking
Specs
What’s Included
2-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$576.00/Case for 6x 2019 J Dusi Fiorento, Dante Dusi Vineyard, Paso Robles + 6x 2019 J Dusi Escandalosa, Paso Robles at J. Dusi Wines
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Aug 14 - Tuesday, Aug 15
J Dusi Mixed Red Blends
2 bottles for $49.99 $25/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2019 J Dusi Fiorento
2019 J Dusi Escandalosa
2019 J Dusi Fiorento, Dante Dusi Vineyard
Got an email asking if I was around to get a bottle, which luckily, I am. The bottle showed up with a casemates glass, which is always a nice touch! (I erm, might have more than a dozen of them since I bought extras when they were on Meh back in the day. Just in case we break any, you know!) Got the Fiorento version.
The top is entirely wax sealed. Easily solved with the little knife on the back of my corkscrew, but a pleasant change. It feels fancy!
Initial impressions-
Pop and pour-Juicy, fruity, and bright, and nice legs. This feels very light for a red. Hazardously not alcohol forward at this point. I really like it, and I wish I’d drank more of it at this stage. But I also know drinking a 15.5% wine before dinner is a great way to get myself into trouble, so I waited.
Let it rest for about an hour, hour and a half until dinner-Mezze-Armenian style baba ghanoush, Spanish chorizo, truffled salami, aged gouda, dolmas, Israeli salad, watermelon, and a chardonnay/fig cheese spread on pepper water crackers with fig jam.
After resting, it definitely holds up to that food and then some. All the tannins that were hiding earlier have come out in spades, and the alcohol note is more present as well. It’s almost aggressive, which is so odd vs how mellow it started out. For me, this is one that I’ll happily down fast when it’s just opened, 15.5% alcohol be damned. The remainder after airing I might turn into New York Sours.
Pardon any typos, it’s late and I’m working from my phone as I plan to sleep in a bit in the morning!
@Jamileigh17 @rjquillin She mentioned the Fiorentino, have another look.
@InFrom took a re-read, but I did find it before I saw this, and then there’s the 15.5 comment as well.
@InFrom @rjquillin sorry, I didn’t know when it was sent that it was going to be a multi version, so I edited that info in after a minute or so
@InFrom @Jamileigh17 No worries, got the header and highlight all sorted out. Thanks!
2019 J Dusi Escandalosa, Paso Robles
Hello friends! Delighted to be reporting on this wine for you. Let me say up front that I spent the entire week speed-writing academic papers, so this review may end up more wordy than usual. I’ll try to keep it tight, but I do have a few things I want to tell you about this wine that are not what usually end up in these reports.
We received the bottle on Thursday and were also excited to get a glass with it! (I have not gotten any on Meh, put them back on again please?) Popped it in the wine fridge for a few hours, and then opened it to drink with dinner, which that night happened to be takeout from our local Ethiopian restaurant.
The blend of 61% Zinfandel and 39% Mourvèdre is a deep, almost purple red. Upon initial pouring at about 65 degrees, it is powerfully aromatic—I get cherry cola and moss; my wife says it’s a definitive strawberry rhubarb crisp. As usual, we give the kids a sniff. Cherries, says the six-year-old, while the older one identifies pomegranates. (I haven’t had a pomegranate in years and wasn’t aware he’d ever even seen one, but I’d believe it.)
On tasting, this is classic Zin: dark fruits and pepper, some earthy notes suggesting a bit of age. The finish is moderately long with a touch of sweetness. Tannins are largely under wraps so long as the wine stays below room temperature. There’s a hint of menthol-like coolness, which is much appreciated for cutting through the spices and spiciness of our dinner—I generally enjoy Zin with hot cuisines, and this one definitely fits that bill.
All of this is what I’d usually say in a Lab Rat report. It’s also not what I want to tell you. What I want to tell you is that somehow, this wine makes you want to get up and do things.
It started with getting up for more wine. “Easy drinker” is a phrase we sometimes use, but this one should be called an easy gulper for how fast it went down. Despite the 15.4% alcohol, the first glass is empty before we even realize it. I have never seen my wife bolt to the kitchen for a refill with such determination before; I of course would have done the same had she not beat me to it.
By the middle of the second glass, we are convinced that this review would be incomplete without a comparison to the Scott Harvey Inzinerator. Up and down we search our cabinets for a bottle, only to realize that they must all be in our storage unit, so alas our tasting adventure would have to wait a day. Mind you, after two full glasses of wine we’re typically ready to go to sleep, not making plans about horizontal tastings.
The next day, we trek out to the storage unit to pull a 2019 Inzinerator. Even though the Escandalosa is now on its second day, it holds up beautifully, only losing a touch of its fruit during the overnight sit (refrigerated but just in a Mason jar). It strikes us as a touch drier, more earthy, and more aged flavor-wise compared to the Scott Harvey bottle.
But back to getting up and doing things. The details in this report are here because, at this point in our reviewing, my wife commandeers my e-ink tablet and proceeds to lay down a full page and a half of notes. She decides she wants a tablet of her own, and we start researching the various options. We also feel like seeing how the Escandalosa stacks up against the Wellington port for desserts (the short version: it works fine for a non-dessert wine). Again, by now we should be halfway to bed, but instead we’re planning out a bike ride for the next day (which we did, and it was delightful).
I don’t know what accounts for the inspirational nature of this wine. Perhaps it’s the peppery spice of the Zin; perhaps it’s the freshness of the fruit flavors and the sangria-like drinkability. Maybe it’s the cheeky name. But you can find out for yourself. Pop a bottle with some friends and see if, by the end of it, you’ve come up with the next big startup or the Great American Novel. I’m in for a case myself—I have more papers to write.
@cduan great report. Thank you. I noticed this wine is aged in part with American oak, and the only oak I really like to taste is the vanilla found in French oak. Can you possibly indicate whether or not any “oak” flavor stood out in any way. Also - very cool Scott Harvey reference. Cheers
@Leatherchair We did not pick up any notes of vanilla or “oak” (which my spouse is not a fan of and she definitely would’ve commented on it if she had tasted it!)
And of course a huge thank you to Wine David, @wccwinegirl, and @jdusiwines for this opportunity to rat!!
@cduan @Leatherchair
Hi guys!!! Yes this wine is mostly French oak with just 15% American oak. And only about 15% of the combined oak is new oak. I really want to showcase the fruit and the varietal, farming, soil etc. so I use minimal new oak. Cheers!
@cduan @JDusiWines @WCCWineGirl Bah I would have stopped by if I knew you were hosting
@bunnymasseuse consider it a date for next time!!
@cduan thank you for the reply, confirmation I was hoping for - and the great review again.
@JDusiWines thank you.I didn’t catch this was the “ dusi ranch” fruit. I remember what Paul Draper did years ago with this fruit an
am huge fan of what Turley does also. I’m fairly intrigued about trying the case and the creative blends included. Thank you
@Leatherchair
Yes, We sell our Old Vine Zinfandel to Ridge since 1967 and to Turley since the late 1990’s… I do too have a 100% Dusi Zinfandel at my winery. These two blends are Dusi Zinfandel based but with other varietals for blends. Hope you enjoy!
@cduan @JDusiWines @Leatherchair for the vintner, ready to go or lay em down for ???
@cduan @kainc @Leatherchair These are 2019 so they are ready to drink!
@ttboy23 @joe139 Oops I did it again…
/giphy mulish-limber-bait
@kasandrae
Florida man
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
J Dusi Mixed Red Blends - $100 = 33.32%
just the other day I’ve been pondering running low on Zins, and BAM! getting second case within a month, as I couldn’t resist the offer… If anybody in San Francisco vicinity would like a split, I could let go of 4 or maybe 6.
@grohotanie Hello from Oakland, would be happy to go halfsies or thirdsies!
@grohotanie I’d be up for 4 if it works out. I’m in SF. (I’d buy a case but I am overflowing with wine… but I’d like to try this stuff.)
Splitzies with my DC homies @cduan
/giphy ready-mini-queen
What no love for NH? I know Ive gotten J Dusi before to NH I thought…
I’ve bought J Dusi wines 4 times here on Casemates, and they’ve all been good! I think Dusi is an auto-buy for us at this point. Nice to see them back!!
@TimW in for a case!
/giphy tailored-likeable-cheddar
Anybody in Columbus want to split?
@albish7
I would be interested in 4, or 6 if just me.
@cstoffel
Busy day yesterday and I totally forgot to order before midnight. Next time!
@albish7
No problem.
Bought a case, anyone in Winston-Salem area wanna go half let me know. Otherwise happy to drink it all.
INSTA BUY
Vintner participation did it for me.
Does anyone here know when these might ship? I’d really like to pick some up, but I’m out of town for a few weeks, plus it looks like the UPS strike has been averted.
@larrylunatic hello, if you’re in the Midwest it’s usually around 10 days from the end of sale and then two days to ship (with summer shipping).
After drinking both bottles, 2 X each, I wanted to report that I am simply enamored with the beautiful, symmetrical balance of these wines along with the lingering complete finish - not to mention the unmistakable Dusi fruit. My only mistake was buying only one case. So well done. Thank you.
@Leatherchair Agree with your comment. I was suppose to split the case & ended up telling the person since I felt I pushed them in to the split never mind
On delivery though some of the bottles had leaked & 1 cork pushed through (we are in Fl) but started with those bottles & nothing effected the quality of the wine. Thank you J Dusi again for a great offering…now 
your pinot grigio?
Sorry about the leaks. I’m on CA coast and it all arrived in perfect shape. They must have spent the night in a non AC warehouse. The good news is, November is coming! Ha. Thanks for the reply