91+ 2003 Brochelle Paso Robles Zin 9/23/05 ($27)
Color: Medium deep purple-garnet. (3.0) Bouquet: Ripe to over-ripe fig and sweet (yet tart) cherry with some briar thrown in. A little hot, but is compensated for by the sweet, forward fruit. (3.0) Body: Intense fruit propelled by excellent acidity with enough balance and tannin to age 1-2 years. Solid middleweight to light heavyweight. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but delicious liqueur-like (fig and black raspberry) fruit is even more hedonistic and forward here. Still have to take off half a point for the touch of heat. (3.5) Finish: Parallels flavor, but heat adds some bitterness. The good news is that the heat dissipates and the finish lengthens with air (2-3 hrs). (3.0)
Overall: A beautiful example of Paso Robles Zin, that is very ripe, but not over-ripe. Although delicious now, I think the heat and slight austerity will integrate with 1-2 years of bottle age, possibly raising the score by 1-2 points. For immediate consumption, decant it an hour before drinking. Only 790 cases produced. (15.5)