Colossal. Lemon, white peach and yellow apple aromas and flavors, surprisingly good acidity balanced by a very slightly sweet impression from alcohol, glycerol and nonfermentable sugars. Full and lush, plausibly at its peak though half-opened bottle not faded the next day.
2016 Marine Layer Red Zeppelin Red Wine:
Boysenberry, dried cranberry, red plum, venison jerky, clove and French oak; the blend makes it something of a “La Mort Du Roi” in reverse; lower extract and alcohol of course. Light to moderately smooth tannins.
2016 Zeppelin Negrette, Paso Robles:
Black plum, Capitol Reef cherry, and herbs and spices that would be called garrigue in France; complex fruits, spice and medium-high acidity on the palate, but texturally smooth - the tannins are smooth. Russian oak (vanilla and smoke) lengthens the finish.
3-bottles:
1x Zeppelin Viognier, Paso Robles
1x Marine Layer Red Zeppelin Red Wine
1x Zeppelin Negrette, Paso Robles
Case:
4x Zeppelin Viognier, Paso Robles
4x Marine Layer Red Zeppelin Red Wine
4x Zeppelin Negrette, Paso Robles
About The Winery
Winery: Zeppelin Winery
Owner: Stillman Brown
Founded: 2009
Location: New Mexico and San Miguel, CA
Co-founded in 2009 by consulting winemaker and cellar monkey Stillman Brown of Red Zeppelin infamy and insufficiently silent partner Dan Lewis of Jory Winery, Zeppelin Winery is a risibly small producer (a parking garagiste, if you valet neologisms) of super-duper* premium wines, primarily from two recently concocted subappellations of west Paso Robles that split the hidden Hill of Graceland vineyard. Other vineyards -and such- are in Aptos, Sierra Foothills, Sedona, Roswell, and Baja Cayucos. Really.
Visitors are generally discouraged, especially if they are unlucky enough to find us. There is no tasting room. Sales are almost exclusively to our email list - there is no club to quit. And yet here we are on Casemates, as a new fan or forty is always good to have.
Super wines that only a dupe would pass up. The term enjoyed some popularity amongst sommeliers, but was soon eclipsed by the Biodynamic lunacy, which was followed by the Natural Wine infection, which will shortly give way to a fad for - Fecal Fermentation.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Stillman Brown Zeppelin Winery Mixed Set
3 bottles for $69.99 $23.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $239.99 $20/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2016 Stillman Brown Zeppelin Winery Mix - $40 = 14.27%
@chipgreen
I am trying to live within my current short lived SIWBM but if you haven’t had a taker for a 3 spot from your case I’ll take it. I am intrigued by this set and when we swap for your Tercero, it will only ‘cost’ me a wee bit more.
I know the time’s wrong . . . I took the battery out so I could go to sleep, but I suppose I should answer the first question or two if anyone’s got 'em . . .
@ZeppelinWinery Hopefully you are sleeping now. I’m am going to be in Sedona later this month. I see you have a vineyard in the area. Any chance you have a tasting room??? I can’t see to find anything online…maybe you are just trying to fly under the radar!
@mrn1 It’s not a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ vineyard; it’s too well hidden. No tasting room noway nohow (no trespassing?). Yosemite Sam himself used to scare people from getting more than a mile off the pavement. When are you going? I’ll be there the end of June, but Elvis Kokopelli’s in charge until then - I could facilitate a meeting.
@mrn1 we get there 6/30 and head on to GC 7/2 - North Rim this time & Pt. Sublime. Not for enology - but I could grow in DVNP with the right pol pull.
If you have no Sedonan uberplans, email me for Elvis K info - I’m StillmanB at ‘Ancients On Loan’ aka aol lol
@CorTot
Purge? Um…
(Stalin while I try to remember.) arrrgggh - it’s possible though it certainly could have been axidental; I managed to drop one of my eldest and best customers a few months ago!?! email me? StillmanB at AOL
We wine fossils o’California called it ‘Pinot St. George’ until about twenty years ago when the ATF made us stop. It’s a medium-heavyweight southern French variety. When the Great Vine Hunter said he wanted to graft over a couple of rows to Negrette, I wasn’t that inspired, but the wine surprised me. Of course he thinks I can do anything enological - just add yeast and Jesus!
@MSUMike@sammypedram Long, long story.
The winery really is ‘parking garagiste’ rather than virtual. There will be books when we retire - and the statues of limitations expire.
“slightly sweet impression from alcohol, glycerol and nonfermentable sugars” Great bit of wine writing. By the way, have any wine writers ever eaten a boysenberry? In my sensory/taste/imagination that is NOT going to make me buy.
@ZeppelinWinery I thoroughly enjoyed the writing. Before coming here at five am I read the opening on meh wherein the writer used wine tasting jargon to describe a Bluetooth speaker. I hit the line I quoted above: I suddenly awakened and went back and read over the whole thing. Very nice change of style. Boysenberries, Russian oak et al.
This is my firt Lab Rattage and I’m a newoob so take this with a grain of salt…
Bottle of 2016 Negrette arrived 5/9 but waited until after work yesterday (5/10) to open. Had two great casemates come over and we popped and poured. Waited, maybe, 30 minutes.
Color - Deep Red - Opaque to the rim
Nose - shy/not showing up on first pour but tarty.
Later - opened up some with slight citrus with tartiness and very slight strawberry and a little smoke after being open 4 hours.
Palete - Cranberry and very tart, medium bodied, moderate to heavy acidity. Moderate tannins. Very fast, thin finish; mellows to almost no flavor.
From some of our notes - Newish world style Italian. Maybe a first or second wine before dinner. Tried some pepper jack cheese (odd, huh) with Rosemary and Olive oil crackers and was okay. Didn’t eat anything with it after that.
Still on the fence if it would be something I would get but we all enjoyed trying to figure out this interesting wine. Please ping me if additional info needed…
@hey_zeus
Well done! This is a very interesting wine. Defies description in some ways (Stillman, right?!) The Nebbiolo (Barbera?) comparison came to light due to the intense cranberry profile and ample acidity. Definitely a food wine to pair with rich sauces. One TN note we found on the varietal was “cross between Syrah and Pinot Noir”. That’s a bit too flattering for me. Look forward to reviews on the other 2 wines to decide to pull the trigger.
@johnnelson7333@MSUMike Thanks for the help! We did have some fun trying to figure this one out. Big THANKS to @winedavid49 & WCC team for the golden ticket!!!
This is my first Lab Rat so bear will me. Apologies for the delay.
Bottle of Marine Layer arrived 5/9 but waited until after work yesterday (5/10) to open. Popped and poured right away.
Color - Deep Red
Nose - Fruity/Floral with some rose petal
1 hour Later - opened up with some earthy tones and leathery characters.
Palette - Sour Cherry with a long finish and medium tannin.
1 hour later - tannin was very smooth and picked up more earthy flavors as well as the cherry and fruity notes.
Overall we enjoyed the wine and would drink it again.
Sold on the reds, gonna wait to hear from the viognier labrat as I’m not terribly familiar with the grape. Also a question for Stillman - are you not making as much wine anymore? You mentioned there’s not much left in the cellar. Your 2010 white label petite sirah is in my all time top three wines I’ve ever tried.
@CruelMelody Indeed I am not - a combination on focusing on the very best vineyards, that naturally have the lowest yields, and a string of drought years. I AM NOT PARTYING MORE OF IT AWAY I SWEAR
@ZeppelinWinery I know out of state retailers are pretty much out of luck here in IL though there are ways
Is it that bad for wineries too? I’ve had no problems getting any of the wines I buy…so far.
@kaolis There’s a $350 license and the insistence that the victim can only designate one third party shipper. I smuggle to my cult members, of course, but I won’t ask someone else to.
$350? That’s more than Elwood paid for the Bluesmobile.
@kaolis Stood on the very spot pictured above for 30-35 minutes almost three years ago, street-preaching its significance. I couldn’t get the guys in uniform to take my picture (saying “hey, I’m from California - how am I supposed to know how to bribe here” and getting away with it!) but managed to convince some fetching touristettes to.
It’s a dark desert highway from Sedona to Roswell, but somebody’s got to show the locals some enology.
Tartaric acid flashbacks - I take notes in Linear A.
Negrette generally ages well, and this has the ‘right’ acid/tannic structure: up to 10 years? The AB/SY has some maturity already from the Syrah, and a softer structure than my ‘usual’ SY and AB wines. Guess at 5 years?
That said, storage at 54F and letting the cellar hit >72 once or twice in those 5 years are different things . . .
@ddeuddeg Use one of your $10 coupons (if you have any left). That evens out the 3-pack and case prices. If you need one, shoot me an email, since I have plenty from the party pack still.
@ddeuddeg I bought a case, was going to keep it but could part with some, how many did you want? I have a coupon code to share too if you want to get a 3 pack as Klezman mentioned, I’ve used all I can.
Tasting Notes
2016 Zeppelin Viognier, Paso Robles:
Colossal. Lemon, white peach and yellow apple aromas and flavors, surprisingly good acidity balanced by a very slightly sweet impression from alcohol, glycerol and nonfermentable sugars. Full and lush, plausibly at its peak though half-opened bottle not faded the next day.
2016 Marine Layer Red Zeppelin Red Wine:
Boysenberry, dried cranberry, red plum, venison jerky, clove and French oak; the blend makes it something of a “La Mort Du Roi” in reverse; lower extract and alcohol of course. Light to moderately smooth tannins.
2016 Zeppelin Negrette, Paso Robles:
Black plum, Capitol Reef cherry, and herbs and spices that would be called garrigue in France; complex fruits, spice and medium-high acidity on the palate, but texturally smooth - the tannins are smooth. Russian oak (vanilla and smoke) lengthens the finish.
Specifications
Price Comparison
$456/case at Zeppelin Winery
Included In The Box
3-bottles:
1x Zeppelin Viognier, Paso Robles
1x Marine Layer Red Zeppelin Red Wine
1x Zeppelin Negrette, Paso Robles
Case:
4x Zeppelin Viognier, Paso Robles
4x Marine Layer Red Zeppelin Red Wine
4x Zeppelin Negrette, Paso Robles
About The Winery
Winery: Zeppelin Winery
Owner: Stillman Brown
Founded: 2009
Location: New Mexico and San Miguel, CA
Co-founded in 2009 by consulting winemaker and cellar monkey Stillman Brown of Red Zeppelin infamy and insufficiently silent partner Dan Lewis of Jory Winery, Zeppelin Winery is a risibly small producer (a parking garagiste, if you valet neologisms) of super-duper* premium wines, primarily from two recently concocted subappellations of west Paso Robles that split the hidden Hill of Graceland vineyard. Other vineyards -and such- are in Aptos, Sierra Foothills, Sedona, Roswell, and Baja Cayucos. Really.
Visitors are generally discouraged, especially if they are unlucky enough to find us. There is no tasting room. Sales are almost exclusively to our email list - there is no club to quit. And yet here we are on Casemates, as a new fan or forty is always good to have.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Friday, May 25th - Tuesday, May 29th
@ZeppelinWinery is here to answer questions.
(You can also click their username for recent activity.)
@hey_zeus shared their thought on the Negrette in a Lab Rat Report.
@grn2k1civic brings us a Lab Rat Report on Marine Layer.
Stillman Brown Zeppelin Winery Mixed Set
3 bottles for $69.99 $23.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $239.99 $20/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2016 Zeppelin Viognier
2016 Zeppelin Marine Layer
2016 Zeppelin Negrette
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2016 Stillman Brown Zeppelin Winery Mix - $40 = 14.27%
@chipgreen 40 states and no Illinois.
@jmdavidson1 Want to split a case?
@chipgreen If you get a case…can I steal 3 bottles?
@mrn1 Sure, would you like 6?
@chipgreen I’d prefer to stick with 3, but could go to 6. I’ve never had his vino, but I’m guessing you’re very familiar, so I guess it’s well worth the plunge. Wonder if any of our NE OH Casemate Pals like @xena67 @scott0210 @Boatman72 @HopHeadB @mehnyblooms @pjmartin @docjavadude would be interested in three?
@chipgreen I can take 3 if you’re still looking. I’m traveling some but pretty sure can work something out with @jmdavidson1 if he’s game.
@chipgreen @kaolis Sorry. For this offer, I’m out. Maybe next time.
@jmdavidson1 Ahhh, sorry 'bout that, thought you were in. Read it wrong.
@Boatman72 @docjavadude @HopHeadB @mehnyblooms @mrn1 @pjmartin @scott0210 @Xena67 I did buy a case and would like to keep 6 if anyone besides mrn1 would like 3 bottles…
@chipgreen
I am trying to live within my current short lived SIWBM but if you haven’t had a taker for a 3 spot from your case I’ll take it. I am intrigued by this set and when we swap for your Tercero, it will only ‘cost’ me a wee bit more.
@pjmartin Sounds good. 3 for you, 3 for mrn1 and 6 for me. Stillman’s wines are always interesting and often spectacular.
Welcome to Casemates, Swilly!
@chipgreen thankyouverymush!
I know the time’s wrong . . . I took the battery out so I could go to sleep, but I suppose I should answer the first question or two if anyone’s got 'em . . .
@ZeppelinWinery Never had Negrette before. Can you give some general info about the grape and what inspired you to make this wine?
@chipgreen we just split a bottle. Lab rat notes will come in the morning.
@ZeppelinWinery
/giphy red-zeppelin-swill
@ZeppelinWinery Hopefully you are sleeping now. I’m am going to be in Sedona later this month. I see you have a vineyard in the area. Any chance you have a tasting room??? I can’t see to find anything online…maybe you are just trying to fly under the radar!
@mrn1 It’s not a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ vineyard; it’s too well hidden. No tasting room noway nohow (no trespassing?). Yosemite Sam himself used to scare people from getting more than a mile off the pavement. When are you going? I’ll be there the end of June, but Elvis Kokopelli’s in charge until then - I could facilitate a meeting.
@ZeppelinWinery I’ll be in Sedona from Monday 5/28 to Wednesday 5/30, then heading on to GCNP.
@mrn1 we get there 6/30 and head on to GC 7/2 - North Rim this time & Pt. Sublime. Not for enology - but I could grow in DVNP with the right pol pull.
If you have no Sedonan uberplans, email me for Elvis K info - I’m StillmanB at ‘Ancients On Loan’ aka aol lol
@ZeppelinWinery
I stopped getting email offers…
Did you purge less active buyers from your list?
@CorTot
Purge? Um…
(Stalin while I try to remember.) arrrgggh - it’s possible though it certainly could have been axidental; I managed to drop one of my eldest and best customers a few months ago!?! email me? StillmanB at AOL
@mrn1 @ZeppelinWinery AOL… I remember those days. I was born in 1960 so, yes, I’ve been trolling for decades!
We wine fossils o’California called it ‘Pinot St. George’ until about twenty years ago when the ATF made us stop. It’s a medium-heavyweight southern French variety. When the Great Vine Hunter said he wanted to graft over a couple of rows to Negrette, I wasn’t that inspired, but the wine surprised me. Of course he thinks I can do anything enological - just add yeast and Jesus!
@ZeppelinWinery according to the New Testament all you need is Jesus not yeast
@CorTot Perhaps I needed a hyphen as well!
Can I go to sleep yet?
@ZeppelinWinery do you have a website. Can you tell us more about the winery?
@MSUMike This is all I could find but not very helpful . . .
http://www.dreadzeppelin.com/swilly/zeppelinwinery.html
@ZeppelinWinery absolutely not.
Tell us about the wines!!
@MSUMike @sammypedram Long, long story.
The winery really is ‘parking garagiste’ rather than virtual. There will be books when we retire - and the statues of limitations expire.
@CorTot I would but the lab rats are biting!
Awesome to see Zeppelin wines here!
@CruelMelody agreed!!!
/giphy contemptible-grilled-termite
@cortot Boom!
15.7 alc for the vio? Holy Mole!
@losthighwayz sounds like a good night!
@ZeppelinWinery Whoo! Stillman in the house! Still have any “King is Dead” posters left?
@JOATMON Built a garage apartment out of them!
Awesome! So glad to see Stillman here! I’ve been needing a fix. Anyone want to split a case in the SF peninsula?
“slightly sweet impression from alcohol, glycerol and nonfermentable sugars” Great bit of wine writing. By the way, have any wine writers ever eaten a boysenberry? In my sensory/taste/imagination that is NOT going to make me buy.
@Lighter They’re not all that bitter - the boysenberries, not the wine writers! I suppose I should have added ‘jam’ but I hit ? instead
@ZeppelinWinery I thoroughly enjoyed the writing. Before coming here at five am I read the opening on meh wherein the writer used wine tasting jargon to describe a Bluetooth speaker. I hit the line I quoted above: I suddenly awakened and went back and read over the whole thing. Very nice change of style. Boysenberries, Russian oak et al.
This is my firt Lab Rattage and I’m a newoob so take this with a grain of salt…
Bottle of 2016 Negrette arrived 5/9 but waited until after work yesterday (5/10) to open. Had two great casemates come over and we popped and poured. Waited, maybe, 30 minutes.
Color - Deep Red - Opaque to the rim
Nose - shy/not showing up on first pour but tarty.
Later - opened up some with slight citrus with tartiness and very slight strawberry and a little smoke after being open 4 hours.
Palete - Cranberry and very tart, medium bodied, moderate to heavy acidity. Moderate tannins. Very fast, thin finish; mellows to almost no flavor.
From some of our notes - Newish world style Italian. Maybe a first or second wine before dinner. Tried some pepper jack cheese (odd, huh) with Rosemary and Olive oil crackers and was okay. Didn’t eat anything with it after that.
Still on the fence if it would be something I would get but we all enjoyed trying to figure out this interesting wine. Please ping me if additional info needed…
@hey_zeus
Well done! This is a very interesting wine. Defies description in some ways (Stillman, right?!) The Nebbiolo (Barbera?) comparison came to light due to the intense cranberry profile and ample acidity. Definitely a food wine to pair with rich sauces. One TN note we found on the varietal was “cross between Syrah and Pinot Noir”. That’s a bit too flattering for me. Look forward to reviews on the other 2 wines to decide to pull the trigger.
@johnnelson7333 @MSUMike Thanks for the help! We did have some fun trying to figure this one out. Big THANKS to @winedavid49 & WCC team for the golden ticket!!!
@johnnelson7333 @MSUMike - Did any DFW/North Texas casemates get in on this? I’d be in for a couple of bottles if anyone did…
Bottle shock’s brutal! (But any later and we would have been shipping the orders in June . . .)
@ZeppelinWinery Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up for us!
/image thumps up
@ZeppelinWinery But the glass is empty.
@foxrunner @ZeppelinWinery Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty…
Stillman’s producer podcast is great!
This is my first Lab Rat so bear will me. Apologies for the delay.
Bottle of Marine Layer arrived 5/9 but waited until after work yesterday (5/10) to open. Popped and poured right away.
Color - Deep Red
Nose - Fruity/Floral with some rose petal
1 hour Later - opened up with some earthy tones and leathery characters.
Palette - Sour Cherry with a long finish and medium tannin.
1 hour later - tannin was very smooth and picked up more earthy flavors as well as the cherry and fruity notes.
Overall we enjoyed the wine and would drink it again.
Let me know if you need more info.
Sold on the reds, gonna wait to hear from the viognier labrat as I’m not terribly familiar with the grape. Also a question for Stillman - are you not making as much wine anymore? You mentioned there’s not much left in the cellar. Your 2010 white label petite sirah is in my all time top three wines I’ve ever tried.
@CruelMelody Indeed I am not - a combination on focusing on the very best vineyards, that naturally have the lowest yields, and a string of drought years. I AM NOT PARTYING MORE OF IT AWAY I SWEAR
@CruelMelody my semi-poor gf has to content herself with Chilean SB five nights a week . . . we call it Chateau Pinochet
/giphy furry-stupendous-view
Anyone from central Ohio interested in a split?
I suppose I should explain why Illinois isn’t in the shipping list . .
@ZeppelinWinery
@ZeppelinWinery
@ZeppelinWinery
@ZeppelinWinery Yes, please - very surprised IL isn’t in the list.
@ZeppelinWinery
hahaha and so true
@ScottW58 @ZeppelinWinery
Nobody wants to mess with Henry Gibson!
@chipgreen @ZeppelinWinery
Or the illinois Nazis!
@ZeppelinWinery I know out of state retailers are pretty much out of luck here in IL though there are ways
Is it that bad for wineries too? I’ve had no problems getting any of the wines I buy…so far.
@kaolis There’s a $350 license and the insistence that the victim can only designate one third party shipper. I smuggle to my cult members, of course, but I won’t ask someone else to.
$350? That’s more than Elwood paid for the Bluesmobile.
@kaolis
@kaolis Stood on the very spot pictured above for 30-35 minutes almost three years ago, street-preaching its significance. I couldn’t get the guys in uniform to take my picture (saying “hey, I’m from California - how am I supposed to know how to bribe here” and getting away with it!) but managed to convince some fetching touristettes to.
@ZeppelinWinery
/giphy pudgy-supreme-elephant
anyone want to split a case in Phoenix?
@steverwrx I could probably be persuaded, if you’re still offering.
San Diego; anybodies want half a case?
Perhaps two quarters for two winos?
@rjquillin if you can’t get any takers I’ll help you out
@rjquillin I’m in the same boat…thinking I haven’t had a swilly wine in a long time!
@klezman @cortot
No help from the folks down here, but a case heading up that way.
It’s a dark desert highway from Sedona to Roswell, but somebody’s got to show the locals some enology.
Tartaric acid flashbacks - I take notes in Linear A.
@ZeppelinWinery awesome Stillman. Love you are back Swilly!
I apologize for not having a video of a fetching minionette operating a carbodoseur.
@ZeppelinWinery Thoughts on aging potential for the reds?
Negrette generally ages well, and this has the ‘right’ acid/tannic structure: up to 10 years? The AB/SY has some maturity already from the Syrah, and a softer structure than my ‘usual’ SY and AB wines. Guess at 5 years?
That said, storage at 54F and letting the cellar hit >72 once or twice in those 5 years are different things . . .
@ZeppelinWinery Thanks!
Three way so cal split? Cortot? Klez?
@losthighwayz
Already got some.
@CorTot @losthighwayz If @rjquillin only wants a trio then you’ve got an option. Talk to Ron
That’s a tough 3-way split - you’ll have to agree which +1 will work for you all.
/giphy moody-qualitative-pigeon
Happy Mother’s Day!
@catcoland@lamplighter@noodles@George24 Nobody’s interested in this one? Pity. Stillman makes wonderful juice. I was hoping to save a few $$.
@ddeuddeg Use one of your $10 coupons (if you have any left). That evens out the 3-pack and case prices. If you need one, shoot me an email, since I have plenty from the party pack still.
@ddeuddeg I bought a case, was going to keep it but could part with some, how many did you want? I have a coupon code to share too if you want to get a 3 pack as Klezman mentioned, I’ve used all I can.
@catcoland Thanks, but I got greedy and bought a case. I’ll split with someone if anyone else chimes. Otherwise, I’ll drink it all with LW.
/giphy original-ghostly-wizard
