2007 Linne Calodo Problem Child

(72% zinfandel, 16% syrah and 12% mourvedre) Inky purple. Explosively perfumed bouquet offers scents of boysenberry, blackcurrant, incense and pungent flowers, with a strong undercurrent of smoky minerals. Spicy, deeply pitched dark berry and cherry preserve flavors coat the palate, with fine-grained tannins lending support and slow-mounting minerality providing energy. Impressively precise for such a fleshy, sweetly seductive wine. Matt Trevisan says that this looks to be the richest and most opulent rendition of this wine yet.

The 2007 Problem Child (72% Zinfandel, 16% Syrah, and 12% Mourvedre) showcases Trevisan’s intelligent blending where he takes fruit from some of the area’s finest old vine, dry-farmed Zinfandel vineyards and blends it with Rhone varietals, which results in a far more complex wine than if it were 100% Zinfandel. The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2007 Problem Child exhibits plenty of berry fruit, pepper, garrigue, forest floor, and earthy notes, full body, great fruit purity, density, and glycerin, and plenty of freshness as well as vivacity. This cuvee possesses nearly 16% natural alcohol, but you would never know that given its freshness. Matt Trevisan has a new state-of-the-art winery and barrel-aging facility as well as access to a new 18-acre estate vineyard. Like some of his nearby neighbors (particularly Justin Smith of Saxum), this is one of the most exciting wineries to visit on Vineyard Drive, essentially the tenderloin section of the limestone hillside vineyards of West Paso Robles. Production at Linne Calodo was off by 30-40 percent in 2007, and another 10% in 2008, but given the global economic crisis most wine producers are probably happy to have high quality, but smaller quantities given the financial climate throughout the world. Tel. (805) 227-0797; Fax (805) 227-4868