The 2010 Ca’ Momi Napa Valley Zinfandel was one of the first zins that I had a mild infatuation with during my initial foray into wine. There was this unique caramel macchiato note mixed with the fruit that seemed incredibly nifty to me. As an homage to ‘National Zinfandel Day’, I thought I’d revisit an old friend and see how it was doing in its current vintage.

The 2013 has a pretty explosive nose of inner child holiday party going on. Raspberry mocha, blueberry jam, bitter dark chocolate, cedar chest, and a medley of clove, maple, and bilberry nuances tingle throughout. The palate shows perfumed, plummy raspberries, pancake blueberries, and brown sugar pastry up front. The finish is actually impressively long with touches of mulled wine spice and bitter nuttiness lingering quite nicely. Normally I want zins to be a water balloon splash, yet this is a bit more demure while still exuding umph…despite the fact that the palate is undoubtedly (again) your inner kid at heart. It’s unashamedly ‘New World’ fruity, but the integration of fun oak-based flavors really gives it character. The mouthfeel is a tad thin and it’s not overtly complex, but this wine is honest, fun, appealing, and a little bit nostalgic (at least for me). 89 pts.