2007 Lamborn Family Vineyards Zinfandel
Winery History: Bob (father) and Mike (son) purchased 40 acres on Howell Mountain back in 1971 and eventually decided on Lamborn Family vineyards as the name for the venture. By doing so, they established the first “family” winery label in existence. Their first vintage was in 1982 and totaled a whopping 100 cases. For more history click to read my interview.
The Wine: 2007 Lamborn “YeeHaw” Howell Mountain Zinfandel 15.2% ABV is 100% zinfandel $33 (Winery Price)
On the nose I get rich black fruit, white pepper, and just a hint of oak. The palate is very balanced with blackberry, dark cherry, chocolate, white pepper, and black licorice. This wine has a medium-bold body with medium tannins which give way to a long velvet textured finish.
We had this wine on a cold rainy night, which was very reminiscent of when we first tried this wine at the kitchen table of the Lamborn house up on Howell Mountain.
Would I buy/drink this wine again? I think at $33 this is a well priced zinfandel which is well worth the money.
Absolutely and I give this wine 4 out of 5 corks
This week’s pick was the 2008 Whitehall Lane Sauvignon Blanc which is 90% Sauvignon Blanc 10% Semillon. This wine generally costs around $16 a bottle and comes in at 13% ABV. I was able to find this at a local grocery store for under $14. According to 
The Elyse Zinfandel is a dark ruby color with aromas of earth, raisins and light pepper. On the palate I got flavors of plums, earth and white pepper. This is a well structured wine with medium tannins and smooth finish. I paired this wine is some spicy Thai food and it held up very nicely.
My wife and our neighbor both agreed that they liked this wine better than the Elyse. They both felt that the Robert Craig Zinfandel was just a bit better rounded than the Elyse.
