2005 Mayo Family Zinfandel, Casa Santina Maria Vineyard

Mayo Family Vineyards is located in Sonoma County and they specialize in small case lots of selected varietals. I purchased several bottles of this Zinfandel in late '08 at a cost of $40 a bottle. This price is the threshold of pain for me as to Zinfandel, but the wine is worth it. A very dark ruby-purple color. Intense ripe raspberry and black cherry aromas and flavors, with a touch of black pepper. Soft, ripe tannins contribute to an almost viscous mouth feel. If there is any residual sugar, I did not pick up on it. This is a knock-your-hat-in-the-creek Zin from 99 year old vines. These wines are not available in the Kansas City area so I buy them directly from the winery using their web site.