2011 Lagier Meredith, Tribidrag, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley.
For those that haven’t heard the exciting and geeky news, Tribidrag is the real name of our beloved Zinfandel, it comes after exhaustive DNA testing and historic research into Zinfandel’s Croatian origins. Madame Doctor Carole Meredith was one of those tireless researchers and this is her and her husband, Steve Lagier’s wine from their small estate on Mount Veeder, and in honor of all that history they have called their Zinfandel by it’s true name Tribidrag, and Doctor Meredith told me the Zinfandel AKA Tribidrag grape was the jewell of the Adriatic region as far back as the thirteenth century, making it older that Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was a very noble varietal then and as it is now, as California’s heritage grape. The 2011 Lagier Meredith Tribidrag is a beautiful and suave red with remarkable persistence and personality showing it’s pure mountain fruit, spice and savory essences to perfection. This wine is softly kissed with neutral French oak, these well seasoned Francois Freres barrels add just the right amount of cedar, smoke and creaminess to this exceptional wine allowing it’s natural charms to show through in detailed focus. The nose is full of raspberry, dried flowers, sweet herbs and spices leading to a briar laced palate of fresh raspberry, plum and marionberry with hints of earthy forrest, pepper, cinnamon stick, lavender and mint tea. This medium bodied Zinfandel, oops sorry, Tribidrag, is a wonderful drinking wine and is even more impressive considering how very difficult the vintage was, kudos to Steve Lagier and Doctor Meredith, drink now through 2016.
($45 Est.) 93+ Points, grapelive
Tasted at Family Winemakers of California Tasting in San Francisco August 17, 2013