2021 Scott Harvey Winemakers Reserve Zinfandel, Amador County
Tasting Notes
Dark color with a briary varietal Zinfandel nose. Dark fruit, Black Cherry, Grilled Steak, and Sage add to this wine’s fleshy center and full body texture. The wine’s long, rich finish with its spicy, fresh herbs shows a complete wine from beginning to end. Great wine to put in that water bottle and sneak into a movie theater. Complexity with first growth quality.
Winemaker’s Notes
Produced in the old-world style of balanced winemaking. We want the wine to express varietal Zinfandel with a good balance of fruit, French oak, structural tannins, and medium alcohol.
Vintage Notes
There was a big fire starting just before harvest began, lasting into mid-harvest (Caldor Fire). It started 10 miles northeast of us and burned in the opposite direction. So, all our 2021 wines escaped having any smoke taint. Lower yields of extractive fruit due to drought. No heat spikes during the growing season. Just a dry year with little moisture in the ground. Look for dark colored extractive wines, but not a lot of them.
This crowd-pleasing wine truly expresses the rugged mountain terroir, producing a bold and rich wine with full, lush fruit flavors, and will enhance any meal from spicy Thai dishes to filet mignon.
Specs
Blend: 97% Zinfandel
Appellation: Amador County
Alcohol: 14.5%
pH: 3.51
R.S. 0.8%
Cases Produced: 200 cases
Bottling Date: 8/29/2023
What’s Included
4-bottles:
4x 2021 Scott Harvey Winemakers Reserve Zinfandel, Amador County
Case:
12x 2021 Scott Harvey Winemakers Reserve Zinfandel, Amador County
After decades of creating and crafting premium wines for wineries like Santino and Folie à Deux – and putting Amador County on the map as a world-class appellation – Scott Harvey launched his own winery in 2004. With decades of winemaking experience on two continents, it’s no wonder his wines have become an immediate sensation. It’s an overnight success 35 years in the making. (Oh, and Scott’s not too shabby with a pen, either.)
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Hey I’m your lucky labrat for today’s offering! I’ve bought many a case of Scott’s wines over the years and am a big fan of his style. I usually go in for his red label offerings, I’m not sure if this would be what was formerly the white label Zin?
Either way I’ll cut to the chase and let you know that as usual this wine is delicious. To be honest Zin is a varietal I don’t have a ton of experience with, so the nose just screamed Zin to me but I could tell this was going to be a more refined expression right off the bat. You’ll pick up a lot of fruit on the nose, but also get those green notes that make you think of a briar. I didn’t pick up any alcohol, and really enjoyed just sniffing the wine.
I’m just getting home from work, it’s kinda dark in my apartment and I’m watching white lotus so I can’t post a picture with a white sheet of paper behind but the wine is dark purple with no sediment.
Beautiful mouth feel here, this zin is silky and coats your whole mouth. The acid has my mouth watering, and the tannins and dark fruit provide a long finish. Again the alcohol is not showing, this is a smooth and delicious wine.
I highly recommend this Zinfandel to lovers of the varietal and to anyone who maybe had a Zin in the past who liked some aspects of the wine, but maybe found it a bit overpowering. This is a subtle, smooth, and extremely well integrated Zin.
A couple answers to questions you might have -
No it’s not sweet.
Mollie Haycock is the winemaker.
You should pair this with red meat.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2021 Scott Harvey Winemakers Reserve Zinfandel - $40 = 16.66%
Is this the Zin formerly called Old Vine Reserve/White Label? Winemaker’s Reserve has been a different beast in the past.
I get that rebrands are a thing, but this one is really throwing us long time SH fans for a loop!
This is a wine I made for the Pennsylvania liquor control board. I gave it a yellow label and called it Winemaker’s Reserve to set it apart. We also made it available in the tasting rooms. Pennsylvania reordered for a few years and then stopped. But, it had caught on in the tasting rooms so we continued making it.
@klezman Pennsylvania wanted the wine a little richer and softer. More user friendly as they put it. So the wine has a little less acid and is more fruit forward. Cheers, Scott
Ordered a case immediately when I saw it. Thanks for making great wines Scott! Holding my breath that we’ll one day see your Griffin Club wines available again, but until then I’m enjoying your Mt. Selections.
Sorry for the late review, I was out of town and have just gotten home and had my first taste. This is a beautiful wine, as I would expect from Scott Harvey. Zinfandel isn’t a usual choice for me because I am not a fan of the high alcohol very jammy versions. The bottle reassured me right away that this wine is more elegant rather than “overly jammy” and it is truth in advertising!
This is dark purple in the glass, maybe maroon when held up to a light. No sediment. For aroma and taste I get dark fruit, maybe cherry and plum with a nice balance of herbal notes integrated within. It’s really a pleasure to drink, not sweet and not too thick while still feeling rich and full bodied in the mouth.
Thanks for the chance to labrat this! I’m going to follow a pairing suggestion from the website and try some more along with popcorn and yesterday’s episode of White Lotus.
2021 Scott Harvey Winemakers Reserve Zinfandel, Amador County
Tasting Notes
Winemaker’s Notes
Vintage Notes
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$480.00/Case for 12x 2021 Scott Harvey Winemakers Reserve Zinfandel, Amador County at Scott Harvey Wines
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, May 1 - Monday, May 5
2021 Scott Harvey Winemakers Reserve Zinfandel
4 bottles for $79.99 $20/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
I guess Scott’s magic makes up the remaining 3%.
@kawichris650 Scott explains it in the audio clip, some type of Iberian wine normally used for sherry. Maybe he’ll shed some more light on that.
@kawichris650 @stolicat I fear I’m losing it. Where is the audio clip?
@kawichris650
The 3% is a field blend of Port varieties fermented out dry. 64% Touriga National, 12% Tinto Cao, 12% Sousao, 12% Alvarelhao.
@jrbw3 @kawichris650 @stolicat
main page, found in the ‘Briar and Bramble’ pane
@kawichris650 @rjquillin @stolicat Thank you. It’s there now. Somehow before it was just a generic link to Soundcloud but it’s good now.
Hey I’m your lucky labrat for today’s offering! I’ve bought many a case of Scott’s wines over the years and am a big fan of his style. I usually go in for his red label offerings, I’m not sure if this would be what was formerly the white label Zin?
Either way I’ll cut to the chase and let you know that as usual this wine is delicious. To be honest Zin is a varietal I don’t have a ton of experience with, so the nose just screamed Zin to me but I could tell this was going to be a more refined expression right off the bat. You’ll pick up a lot of fruit on the nose, but also get those green notes that make you think of a briar. I didn’t pick up any alcohol, and really enjoyed just sniffing the wine.
I’m just getting home from work, it’s kinda dark in my apartment and I’m watching white lotus so I can’t post a picture with a white sheet of paper behind but the wine is dark purple with no sediment.
Beautiful mouth feel here, this zin is silky and coats your whole mouth. The acid has my mouth watering, and the tannins and dark fruit provide a long finish. Again the alcohol is not showing, this is a smooth and delicious wine.
I highly recommend this Zinfandel to lovers of the varietal and to anyone who maybe had a Zin in the past who liked some aspects of the wine, but maybe found it a bit overpowering. This is a subtle, smooth, and extremely well integrated Zin.
A couple answers to questions you might have -
No it’s not sweet.
Mollie Haycock is the winemaker.
You should pair this with red meat.
Thanks for letting me try another bottle!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2021 Scott Harvey Winemakers Reserve Zinfandel - $40 = 16.66%
The good and bad of not having your state (CT) listed… instant decision making…the bad…no choice but to pass on a great wine.
@Burns72 Give Jana a call and she will take care of you. 415 264-5641.
@Burns72 I was thinking the same about South Dakota. Here I am, trying to not buy wine, and then a Scott Harvey wine shows up.
@Burns72 @coynedj Give Jana a call.
Is this the Zin formerly called Old Vine Reserve/White Label? Winemaker’s Reserve has been a different beast in the past.
I get that rebrands are a thing, but this one is really throwing us long time SH fans for a loop!
This is a wine I made for the Pennsylvania liquor control board. I gave it a yellow label and called it Winemaker’s Reserve to set it apart. We also made it available in the tasting rooms. Pennsylvania reordered for a few years and then stopped. But, it had caught on in the tasting rooms so we continued making it.
@ScottHarveyWine Cool!
So in terms of style/aim, how does this differ from the red and white label versions?
@klezman Pennsylvania wanted the wine a little richer and softer. More user friendly as they put it. So the wine has a little less acid and is more fruit forward. Cheers, Scott
@klezman @ScottHarveyWine
didn’t you also make some other bottlings in this style, that appeared on another site some years ago?
@klezman @ScottHarveyWine So a bit like InZin with the port varietals fully dry?
@klezman @woopdedoo Yep, kind of in between the Mt. Selection and the InZinerator
How’s this compare to InZinerator which I love?
This is in between the InZinerator and the Mt. Selection in style.
Ordered a case immediately when I saw it. Thanks for making great wines Scott! Holding my breath that we’ll one day see your Griffin Club wines available again, but until then I’m enjoying your Mt. Selections.
Sorry for the late review, I was out of town and have just gotten home and had my first taste. This is a beautiful wine, as I would expect from Scott Harvey. Zinfandel isn’t a usual choice for me because I am not a fan of the high alcohol very jammy versions. The bottle reassured me right away that this wine is more elegant rather than “overly jammy” and it is truth in advertising!
This is dark purple in the glass, maybe maroon when held up to a light. No sediment. For aroma and taste I get dark fruit, maybe cherry and plum with a nice balance of herbal notes integrated within. It’s really a pleasure to drink, not sweet and not too thick while still feeling rich and full bodied in the mouth.
Thanks for the chance to labrat this! I’m going to follow a pairing suggestion from the website and try some more along with popcorn and yesterday’s episode of White Lotus.
@sarahaha
Thanks for the review. I put dill and curry on the pop corn along with butter and salt. Goes better with the wine that way.