Paul Weil

9.0

While their lower end wines, still quite good, are available in stores, the top-shelf TdO wines must be purchased directly from the winery, While a bit jammy for a cocktail wine, this is a great accompaniment for spicy foods. We enjoyed it with spicy Cajun chicken sausage dirty rice. The acidity cut the oils nicely, and the jammy residual sugars balanced out the spice quite well. This is your archetypal Amador Zin, with lots of blackberry and currant flavors. It’s usually better than the flagship Home Vineyard product! — a year ago

Matt Austin

Owner/Winemaker, Grosgrain Vineyards, Walla Walla, WA

9.8

Madeira-like wine made from old vine Mission grapes from the historic Deaver Vineyard. One of the best things I've ever put into my mouth. 16.5% alc. Moderately sweet and so complex that I can't put it into words. The last vintage of this, the 1986, was just bottled 2 years ago after 30 years in barrel. Hopefully I can track some down. — 7 years ago

Benjamin Durham

9.6

Brought our wine to the restaurant for our anniversary, couldn't have been a better choice. Lots of BlackBerry flavor, low in tannins, high in deliciousness. — 8 years ago

with Brittany

Jake Hajer

8.9

Needs age. Young, fresh and tart. Cranberry and pomegranate. Comes in lighter and finishes with deep tannins. Only a 8.9, now, but in a cellar will be beautiful. — 2 years ago

Sam C

9.5

Great! Not as over powering as other ports. Good with dry desserts like cake or cookies. — 4 years ago

Scott Moye-Rowley

9.1

Powerful Zin that is perfect with pizza...and your birthday 🍷🍕 — 8 years ago

Zane Fralick

Production Terra D'Oro Winery

10

As a Zin lover, this is the best Zin I've ever had the pleasure to taste. It is big fruit forward which is typical of modern Zins nowadays. Big purple legs, big jammy and cherry flavors. Bold on the palate and the closest you will get to a big Cab. Mild tannins and a beautiful lingering finish that ends with a gentle taste. Velvety vanilla and burnt butterscotch. This is the real deal folks. TDO old vines from the Deaver vineyard are 130 years old. — 9 years ago

JKT

9.0

No lot number and unlike the ‘70 lot2 that has gone bad, this one is holding up! Light pale red color with a promising albeit somewhat madeirized nose that gradually opened up to that more complex old wine notes. Still firm texture and acidic bite on palate but not complex and good finish that didn’t last long. Got that very old wine profile but clearly over the hill. Still, drinking history from 50 years ago, can’t nitpick! — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

8.9

My first experience with a wine made from the Mission grape which was brought to California from Spain in the mid/late 19th century. The vineyard that Sandlands sources its fruit from is the Deaver Ranch where the vines were planted in 1854 and thought to be some of the oldest vines in California! It pours a very light ruby color, almost like a dark rosé really. On the nose, it’s not terribly expressive but there is a light touch of fig and some red fruits; raspberries and cherries. On the palate, this is a very juicy wine with raspberries, cherries and rhubarb. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of structure with this bottle showing modest tannin and medium-low acid. Finish is clean and satisfying. One feels as though they are drinking history with a wine like this; certainly fun to try. Only two barrels were produced in 2018. — 4 years ago

Tim Simon

9.0

Really good for a Costco bin wine — 8 years ago