Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin

2005
Lodi California
Zinfandel

Will definitely buy again at this price.

Thank you, Pasa Robles, for your comments and for once again giving me a new wine for my ongoing list of labels to be tried.

I sent The Guy out for more Sauvignon Blanc yesterday when my family party grew a bit. He came back with what I requested and also a bottle of Gnarly Head. I gave him a hard time because I've had it before and it was nothing to speak of. However, I had not reviewed it here so I let it be.

I had it this evening and ate my complaints of yesterday. I don't know what vintage I've had in the past, but the 2005 was really enjoyable. It's claret color had a slightly sweet, yet heady bouquet that just drew me right in for a taste. No swirling and sniffing here. I swirled once, experienced the aroma, my tastebuds watered and I put it to my mouth. Really good stuff for under $10. I had it with pizza and without later. Very nice combo of cherry and spice with my favorite vanilla and oak mixed in. Please see below for the rating and bottle particulars.

And now onto tonight's meanderings (putting it more toward the bottom to make The Guy happier):

HEADSTONE OF PAUL F. GUERRERA

Always wanting to visit the grave of their great-grandparents,
I walk with our children through the cemetary each week.
I am always pondering the lives that lived beyond the headstones,
But it is yours that draws me in, yours I always seek.

There it is, under a small tree
Red firetruck by your headstone, now literally planted in the ground, once brand new.
Having disintegrated, eroded, moss growing through.
Was it a favorite of yours?
Maybe a gift from Christmas 1967?
Are your parents' hearts still as broken,
as the first day you left earth for Heaven?
Do your mom's tears today still flow?
I imagine they will never end.
Life must go on, but a parent's love will continue to grow.
I always stop and wonder what happened then.

June 25, 1968, same age as my eldest, you were only twelve, and I not yet four,
I instinctively touch the firetruck, closing my eyes and think about you once more.
And, always, your mom, she stays on my mind.
Where is she now, has she managed to somehow, miraculously, move on? Or is she forever stuck in time?

I am now beyond 40,
but you remain a child, left only in someone's memory.
A life unlived, that should have been,
I raise my glass for you, Paul Guerrera, and savor some Old Vine Zin.

8.25 out of 10
14.5% alc. by vol.
$9.99 / bottle
http://www.gnarlyhead.com/