We have been fans of the Syrahs of Lagier-Meredith for the past few
years, having visited them atop Mt. Veeder and tasted their wines along
with the home-cured olives of Prof. (Emer.) Carol Meredith, co-owner of
the winery with her husband Steve Lagier. In a recent mailer, they
offered not only their latest Syrah but also a new release, a joint
venture with their neighbors at Potts called "Chester's Anvil," an old
vine Zinfandel from another neighbor's vineyard. Today, we got our
shipment, so I opened up a bottle:

2007 Chester's Anvil Zinfandel
nose: sappy, pencil lead, a hint of new oak, tart red berry fruit
palate: medium body, taking on depth with air, bright acidity, deep fruit

Much in the vein of the recently opened Unti Zin, this wine displayed
the fruit and varietal character of Zin, but had fine acidity and
remained light on its feet. It showed a bit of alcohol, which isn't
surprising at 15.5% ABV, but carefully avoided any sense of
overextraction or heaviness. This was very much in the vein of Nalle,
Dashe and other proponents of food-friendly Zin. Highly recommended at
$24.00 retail.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Oct 26, 11:25�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> We have been fans of the Syrahs of Lagier-Meredith for the past few
> years, having visited them atop Mt. Veeder and tasted their wines along
> with the home-cured olives of Prof. (Emer.) Carol Meredith, co-owner of
> the winery with her husband Steve Lagier. �In a recent mailer, they
> offered not only their latest Syrah but also a new release, a joint
> venture with their neighbors at Potts called "Chester's Anvil," an old
> vine Zinfandel from another neighbor's vineyard. �Today, we got our
> shipment, so I opened up a bottle:
>
> 2007 Chester's Anvil Zinfandel
> nose: sappy, pencil lead, a hint of new oak, tart red berry fruit
> palate: medium body, taking on depth with air, bright acidity, deep fruit
>
> Much in the vein of the recently opened Unti Zin, this wine displayed
> the fruit and varietal character of Zin, but had fine acidity and
> remained light on its feet. �It showed a bit of alcohol, which isn't
> surprising at 15.5% ABV, but carefully avoided any sense of
> overextraction or heaviness. �This was very much in the vein of Nalle,
> Dashe and other proponents of food-friendly Zin. �Highly recommended at
> $24.00 retail.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

When I was involved with the wine distributorship we distributed their
wines in Ohio and I have a few bottles of the "Anvil" and enjoyed it
very much. If more Zin makers would revert back to the classic style
I'd drink more Zin.

In article >, Mark Lipton >
wrote:

> We have been fans of the Syrahs of Lagier-Meredith for the past few
> years, having visited them atop Mt. Veeder and tasted their wines along
> with the home-cured olives of Prof. (Emer.) Carol Meredith, co-owner of
> the winery with her husband Steve Lagier. In a recent mailer, they
> offered not only their latest Syrah but also a new release, a joint
> venture with their neighbors at Potts called "Chester's Anvil," an old
> vine Zinfandel from another neighbor's vineyard. Today, we got our
> shipment, so I opened up a bottle:
>
> 2007 Chester's Anvil Zinfandel
> nose: sappy, pencil lead, a hint of new oak, tart red berry fruit
> palate: medium body, taking on depth with air, bright acidity, deep fruit
>
> Much in the vein of the recently opened Unti Zin, this wine displayed
> the fruit and varietal character of Zin, but had fine acidity and
> remained light on its feet. It showed a bit of alcohol, which isn't
> surprising at 15.5% ABV, but carefully avoided any sense of
> overextraction or heaviness. This was very much in the vein of Nalle,
> Dashe and other proponents of food-friendly Zin. Highly recommended at
> $24.00 retail.
>
> Mark Lipton

Sounds great. How widely available is this? Can always use a good bottle
of Zind at that price.

Lawrence Leichtman wrote:

> Sounds great. How widely available is this? Can always use a good bottle
> of Zind at that price.

We got ours from the winery, Larry. I've seen their Syrahs on the
shelves of a few retailers, but never AFAIK the Zin. Winesearcher turns
up nothing, either, so it looks like direct purchase is all there is.
588 bottles made, so I don't know how long it'll be in stock.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Bi!! wrote:

> When I was involved with the wine distributorship we distributed their
> wines in Ohio and I have a few bottles of the "Anvil" and enjoyed it
> very much. If more Zin makers would revert back to the classic style
> I'd drink more Zin.

Does this mean that there were previous vintages of the Anvil, Bill?
From the newsletter, I go the impression that this was the first. BTW,
from information gleaned from Carole Meredith on the Wine Berserkers
board, I can tell you that the Chester of "Chester's Anvil" is Chester
Brandlin, and that the grapes came from the erstwhile Brandlin Ranch
(which I fondly remember from some excellent Rosenblum Zins) most of
which was purchased by Cuvaison. There's also some Mourvedre in this
plot, which they'll try to harvest next time round. Also, no Anvil in
'08 (grapes disappeared) but there will be an '09.

That's all for now,
Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Oct 27, 8:56�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Bi!! wrote:
> > When I was involved with the wine distributorship we distributed their
> > wines in Ohio and I have a few bottles of the "Anvil" and enjoyed it
> > very much. �If more Zin makers would revert back to the classic style
> > I'd drink more Zin.
>
> Does this mean that there were previous vintages of the Anvil, Bill?
> From the newsletter, I go the impression that this was the first. �BTW,
> from information gleaned from Carole Meredith on the Wine Berserkers
> board, I can tell you that the Chester of "Chester's Anvil" is Chester
> Brandlin, and that the grapes came from the erstwhile Brandlin Ranch
> (which I fondly remember from some excellent Rosenblum Zins) most of
> which was purchased by Cuvaison. �There's also some Mourvedre in this
> plot, which they'll try to harvest next time round. �Also, no Anvil in
> '08 (grapes disappeared) but there will be an '09.
>
> That's all for now,
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

No, it was the '07.

In article >, Mark Lipton >
wrote:

> Lawrence Leichtman wrote:
>
> > Sounds great. How widely available is this? Can always use a good bottle
> > of Zind at that price.
>
> We got ours from the winery, Larry. I've seen their Syrahs on the
> shelves of a few retailers, but never AFAIK the Zin. Winesearcher turns
> up nothing, either, so it looks like direct purchase is all there is.
> 588 bottles made, so I don't know how long it'll be in stock.
>
> Mark Lipton

I guess a trip to CA is warranted then.

On Oct 28, 2:25�pm, Lawrence Leichtman > wrote:
> In article >, Mark Lipton >
> wrote:
>
> > Lawrence Leichtman wrote:
>
> > > Sounds great. How widely available is this? Can always use a good bottle
> > > of Zind at that price.
>
> > We got ours from the winery, Larry. �I've seen their Syrahs on the
> > shelves of a few retailers, but never AFAIK the Zin. �Winesearcher turns
> > up nothing, either, so it looks like direct purchase is all there is.
> > 588 bottles made, so I don't know how long it'll be in stock.
>
> > Mark Lipton
>
> I guess a trip to CA is warranted then.

You can buy it through their website when it's available however the
2007 is sold out.