WIA Zin of the year coming in hot!! You know we love our ripe, teeth staining, fruit packed Zins around here. No surprise this smash hit from Nils Venge made it to the top. It’s a fantastic value, and just popping with all kinds of ripe, savory, dark fruit. If you’re new around here, WIA stands for Wine Intrigue Awards, when we revisit our best, most popular, most re-requested wines of the year. One last chance to grab your favorites!

Nils Venge might be the proclaimed “King of Cabernet” but is he also the Czar of Zin?

One thing’s for sure, he’s been a dominant FORCE in the wine industry for 4 decades now. He helped propel Charles Krug, Mount Eden, Sterling, Saddleback and Groth into the forefront of California’s wine scene. Oh and he crafted Groth’s 1985 100-point Cabernet – the first-ever perfect scoring CA wine. Not too shabby.

But you don’t need to drop hundreds of dollars to get a taste of his talent. Today, if you can spare $19, you’ll own one of the best value Zins we’ve come across.

Cougar’s Leap is Nils’ personal project, and Black Rock Ranch is his sanctuary in Lake County, just a few miles north of his Oakville home base in the heart of Napa Valley. There he focuses on Petite Sirah and Zinfandel under the warm sun, in deep black obsidian rich soil. And yes, cougars roam wild there.

The wild, dark terrain directly translates into the wine. It’s inky, dark, teeth staining stuff, for sure. So dark the street lights come on when you open it. And you can be sure it’s not a wine for the meek or mild mannered. Deep, RIPE layers of rum-raisin cake, blackberry, fig preserve, and crushed terracotta, with undertones with nuances of chocolate, and mocha complicate matters on the tarry, grippy palate. Round, velvety, complex, and immense on the authoritative finish, with a full-bodied, spicy, juicy, savory charm lingering. A true BBQ wine no doubt.

Unfathomable one might think, however, our exclusive partnership with the winery brings a 50% savings off retail, along with one of the darkest, brawniest and mightiest Zins you will ever have.

All that Zin for $19?

Double Gold, 94 points – Orange County 2019 Wine Competition