Our Zinfandels are sourced from two areas in Sonoma County: Sonoma Valley and Russian River Valley. While our Russian River Valley Zinfandel provides a fruit-forward, medium-bodied experience with more balanced tannins and a velvety mouthfeel with a long, seductive finish, our Los Chamizal Vineyard Zinfandel has a deeper berry fruit quality with more tannic structure on the finish. Each of our single-vineyard Zinfandels reflects the distinct qualities of its terroir. In an effort to retain the characteristics of these two unique vineyards, the wines are hand-crafted with minimal intervention. The result: two exceptional Zinfandels.
2023 Tin Barn Zinfandel, Los Chamizal Vineyard, Sonoma Valley
Tasting Notes
Sprawled across the rocky mountainside terraces of the Mayacamas Mountains is Los Chamizal Vineyard in the Sonoma Valley. The complex soils here range from volcanic ash to igneous rock, and the significant sun exposure in the area creates an ideal setting for growing classic zinfandel. The result is a delectable, full-bodied Zinfandel displaying cranberry fruit aromas with hints of candied violets amid a finely balanced tannin structure. Ideal for pairing with sharp cheeses, as well as burgers, grilled sausages, and pork.
Los Chamizal vineyard is located in the Moon Mountain district of Sonoma County. Farmed by Peter Haywood for decades, this rocky hillside terraced vineyard nestled in the Mayacamas Mountains has produced award-winning Zinfandels. This vintage features the Monte Rosso Clone of Zinfandel that showcases the elegance of the fruit.
Tin Barn Vineyards celebrates those hidden treasures that lie off the map. Our wines highlight the true character of Sonoma County. High atop the ridges of the Sonoma Coast, just off Tin Barn Road, lies a remote plot of Syrah vines. From this fog-enshrouded slope, we sourced grapes for our very first wine and found inspiration for our name. That was back in 2000. In the years since, winemaker Michael Lancaster and his business partners have made a fitting home in our own “tin barn” – a warehouse in rural Sonoma that serves as both cellar space and tasting room. Here, we craft and share our award-winning, single-vineyard wines that are cherished for their uncommon balance and elegance. Our tasting room offers guests a relaxed and unpretentious window into our winemaking process. Come visit us sometime!
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Thanks to Terry and crew for the opportunity to be a labrat. We received the Tin Barn Vineyards, 2023 Zinfandel (Moon Mountain, Sonoma County).
The label is minimal and understated. No capsule, just bare, plugged, natural cork.
Obligatory rear label
On pop and pour, the wine is a lovely medium-dark purple.
On the nose, fairly tight, just some nondescript dark fruit. First sip shows a medium body, tight tannins, some oakiness, and not much else. Decent acidity on the finish. Seems very young. I check the label, yeah, ok, it’s 2023. Surprised that it is already on casemates at that age, as that seems like brand new issue? I also noticed that it was listed at 15.5% alcohol, though surprisingly that was not really noticeable from the sips.
At 30 minutes in the glass, a sip shows not much change. Then, at 31 minutes, BAM! Huge flavors spontaneously appear. There is now massive complexity of cassis, dark plum, bramble, black pepper, vanilla and more. The tannins which were mellowing ever so slowly now seem to have magically transformed with an understated structure. This is clearly a well crafted Zin. I have never experienced such a dramatic, SUDDEN, change to a wine from one sip to the next a minute later. (all times approximate). The tannins continued to integrate over the following 10-15 minutes and while not quite disappearing into the background of the wine, definitely improved the fullness and mouthfeel.
The wine held up well to the chicken leg quarters in a rich asian sauce, with roasted potatoes and vegetables.
There was a last glass worth that was saved for the following day. The bottle was left open on the table overnight. The next day, fairly similar to the previous tasting. Perhaps a bit more pronounced oak/vanilla, and the tannins continue to move into the background - still plenty of structure, but not as blatantly noticeable.
From Michelle:
Wine. Very tart and dry mouth feel on pop and pour. Much better after a few minutes. Tart but not mouth puckeringly so. Pretty thin legs. Not getting much on the nose. Goes fairly well with the chicken. I’m not usually a zin fan butv this is pretty good. Maybe it doesn’t taste like a traditional zin?
Maybe it’s more zin like as it opens and I also like it less?
The 15 year old said it is a less than full mouth feel and has some chalky tannins, but just a little and she thinks she likes it. But she said it doesn’t go well with snap peas. She also liked it less the more it opens though, at least until the change. After the change, she said it wasn’t bad.
Reverse Wine Snob in July:
91-93 points. The 2023 Tin Barn Vineyards Los Chamizal Moon Mountain Zinfandel opens with a wonderful aroma of black cherry and other brambly dark fruit plus spice, licorice, some minty wintergreen notes and a touch of earthiness. It’s an excellent start.
Tasting the wine reveals it to be smooth, juicy, spicy and deep. It features similar flavors to the nose, just be sure to give it some time to breathe as it gains layers and complexity as it does.
It ends dry and a bit grippy on the quite long and lingering finish. It was just as good on day 2. This is lovely!
wine.com selling this for $30 just as a point of reference
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Tin Barn Zinfandel - $40 = 16.66%
Thanks Terry for the opportunity to labrat the Tin Barn Zinfandel. Received the wine in the middle of last week during a mercifully cooler day in the Chicago area of which we have not had a lot over the past month or so.
Wife and I have been enjoying zinfandels since our honeymoom in Napa way back in the late 80’s. Was the heyday of wineries like Lytton Springs who would produce massive tasting fruit bombs with a pretty high alcohol content. While this wine does have the high ABV it is very different from those wines.
Seeing the alcohol level decide to decant the bottle right from the start and let it sit an hour before the first taste. A lot of what we experienced was similar to the other labrat. Not a lot on the nose initially with slight almond aromas. First taste came across as rather hot and definitely leaner than I was expecting for a zin.
Dinner turned out to be a pan seared filet mignon highly seasoned with the kinders prime spice blend which I recommend. High in pepper and garlic which I figured the wine would not have a problem standing up to. Was correct. As the wine continued to open up during dinner things got much more interesting. Picked up cherry and currant flavors. Both were there in a more subtle background kind of way than I am used to with a zinfandel and as the other rat said if I wasn’t looking at the bottle not sure I would have identified it as such.
Just a little dark chocolate after dinner which went fine with the wine which once again only improved with time. I do have to note the level of tannins remained high throughout and this is certainly a wine which would benefit from time in the cellar. I think at this price point a very interesting wine which will be interesting to follow over time.
That 2013 version of this, or something similar it would seem; presented for comparison.
Still a good amount of fruits, dark, a bit of Zin pepper with tannins smooth and resolved and presenting with at least secondary bottle aging. Throwing sediment on the bottle, stored horizontal in a proper cellar, none in the pour, and the natural cork in excellent condition with only a few mm of penetration. It’s only been open now about an hour, and it seems to prefer a cool temperature, as the Eth begins showing as it warms.
The '13 aged well and has a lower pH but similar AbV and TA, so that may affect potential, if you keep it that long…
Barrels: 30% new American oak Aging 17 months
Bottled: April 1st, 2015
Alcohol: 15.8%
pH: 3.27
TA: 6.0 g/L
2023 Tin Barn Zinfandel, Los Chamizal Vineyard, Sonoma Valley
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$504.00/Case for 12x 2023 Tin Barn Zinfandel, Los Chamizal Vineyard, Sonoma Valley at Tin Barn Vineyards
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Sep 8 - Tuesday, Sep 9
2023 Tin Barn Zinfandel
3 bottles for $59.99 $20/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Another one that we visited on an rpm tour.
I’ll have to see if I can find my '13 bottle of this for a comment
Thanks to Terry and crew for the opportunity to be a labrat. We received the Tin Barn Vineyards, 2023 Zinfandel (Moon Mountain, Sonoma County).
The label is minimal and understated. No capsule, just bare, plugged, natural cork.
Obligatory rear label
On pop and pour, the wine is a lovely medium-dark purple.
On the nose, fairly tight, just some nondescript dark fruit. First sip shows a medium body, tight tannins, some oakiness, and not much else. Decent acidity on the finish. Seems very young. I check the label, yeah, ok, it’s 2023. Surprised that it is already on casemates at that age, as that seems like brand new issue? I also noticed that it was listed at 15.5% alcohol, though surprisingly that was not really noticeable from the sips.
At 30 minutes in the glass, a sip shows not much change. Then, at 31 minutes, BAM! Huge flavors spontaneously appear. There is now massive complexity of cassis, dark plum, bramble, black pepper, vanilla and more. The tannins which were mellowing ever so slowly now seem to have magically transformed with an understated structure. This is clearly a well crafted Zin. I have never experienced such a dramatic, SUDDEN, change to a wine from one sip to the next a minute later. (all times approximate). The tannins continued to integrate over the following 10-15 minutes and while not quite disappearing into the background of the wine, definitely improved the fullness and mouthfeel.
The wine held up well to the chicken leg quarters in a rich asian sauce, with roasted potatoes and vegetables.
There was a last glass worth that was saved for the following day. The bottle was left open on the table overnight. The next day, fairly similar to the previous tasting. Perhaps a bit more pronounced oak/vanilla, and the tannins continue to move into the background - still plenty of structure, but not as blatantly noticeable.
From Michelle:
Wine. Very tart and dry mouth feel on pop and pour. Much better after a few minutes. Tart but not mouth puckeringly so. Pretty thin legs. Not getting much on the nose. Goes fairly well with the chicken. I’m not usually a zin fan butv this is pretty good. Maybe it doesn’t taste like a traditional zin?
Maybe it’s more zin like as it opens and I also like it less?
The 15 year old said it is a less than full mouth feel and has some chalky tannins, but just a little and she thinks she likes it. But she said it doesn’t go well with snap peas. She also liked it less the more it opens though, at least until the change. After the change, she said it wasn’t bad.
Reverse Wine Snob in July:
91-93 points. The 2023 Tin Barn Vineyards Los Chamizal Moon Mountain Zinfandel opens with a wonderful aroma of black cherry and other brambly dark fruit plus spice, licorice, some minty wintergreen notes and a touch of earthiness. It’s an excellent start.
Tasting the wine reveals it to be smooth, juicy, spicy and deep. It features similar flavors to the nose, just be sure to give it some time to breathe as it gains layers and complexity as it does.
It ends dry and a bit grippy on the quite long and lingering finish. It was just as good on day 2. This is lovely!
wine.com selling this for $30 just as a point of reference
fwiw
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Tin Barn Zinfandel - $40 = 16.66%
Thanks Terry for the opportunity to labrat the Tin Barn Zinfandel. Received the wine in the middle of last week during a mercifully cooler day in the Chicago area of which we have not had a lot over the past month or so.
Wife and I have been enjoying zinfandels since our honeymoom in Napa way back in the late 80’s. Was the heyday of wineries like Lytton Springs who would produce massive tasting fruit bombs with a pretty high alcohol content. While this wine does have the high ABV it is very different from those wines.
Seeing the alcohol level decide to decant the bottle right from the start and let it sit an hour before the first taste. A lot of what we experienced was similar to the other labrat. Not a lot on the nose initially with slight almond aromas. First taste came across as rather hot and definitely leaner than I was expecting for a zin.
Dinner turned out to be a pan seared filet mignon highly seasoned with the kinders prime spice blend which I recommend. High in pepper and garlic which I figured the wine would not have a problem standing up to. Was correct. As the wine continued to open up during dinner things got much more interesting. Picked up cherry and currant flavors. Both were there in a more subtle background kind of way than I am used to with a zinfandel and as the other rat said if I wasn’t looking at the bottle not sure I would have identified it as such.
Just a little dark chocolate after dinner which went fine with the wine which once again only improved with time. I do have to note the level of tannins remained high throughout and this is certainly a wine which would benefit from time in the cellar. I think at this price point a very interesting wine which will be interesting to follow over time.
That 2013 version of this, or something similar it would seem; presented for comparison.
Still a good amount of fruits, dark, a bit of Zin pepper with tannins smooth and resolved and presenting with at least secondary bottle aging. Throwing sediment on the bottle, stored horizontal in a proper cellar, none in the pour, and the natural cork in excellent condition with only a few mm of penetration. It’s only been open now about an hour, and it seems to prefer a cool temperature, as the Eth begins showing as it warms.
The '13 aged well and has a lower pH but similar AbV and TA, so that may affect potential, if you keep it that long…
Barrels: 30% new American oak Aging 17 months
Bottled: April 1st, 2015
Alcohol: 15.8%
pH: 3.27
TA: 6.0 g/L
~fwiw as @kaolis would say
@rjquillin
From my tasting of the '23 this definitely sounds like the wine it could turn into once the tannins resolve and the fruit comes forward.