This one is being singled out because it is, in my opinion, Renwood's best value (price to quality). And look, we're even giving you a picture of it, so you don't have to worry about remembering all the details! Just print this page out and carry it with you at all times. (You'd do that anyway, right?)

The nose on this ruby-colored wine is deep blueberry, blackberry and vanilla in oak. Even a little chocolate comes out after being open for a while.

As great as the nose is, it's worth your while to get past it and taste this red, not that you'd just sit there and smell it. It has medium tannins and acidity (meaning you could age this one for a while) surrounding berry, pepper and oak flavors. It'll be even better in a year or two, but it'll also be completely sold out. Make like vermin and squirrel this one away in your metaphorical cheeks.

And, if you're interested at just what this "old vine" stuff is all about, click here to read more about the gifts that the elderly have to offer.

Cheers,
TWS

* - For Renwood's top zinfandels, look for the Gandpére and Grandmére. Both are well into the Splurge Wine price category, but man, are they tasty!

I don't know what it is with zinfandel and the letter "R." Rosenblum, Ravenswood, Ridge, Renwood… if you're looking for quality zin, it's hard to go wrong with any of those names.

That makes things easy on us wine buyers, which is particularly helpful considering that all of these wineries seem to be in a contest to make as many different zinfandels as possible.

If you taste a Ridge zinfandel that you like, and you didn't write down the year and growing region on a Polaroid of the bottle itself, forget trying to find it again. The good news is that whatever other Ridge zin you pick up will likely be excellent, too. The same goes with the other wineries above. That's why you should just stick with the "R." Otherwise you'll be struggling over five different bottles at the wine shop. ("Was it the 2000 Sonoma Station zin that I liked, the 2000 Sonoma County zin, the Lytton Springs zin, the 'late picked' zin…?")

But I know WoW readers are smart enough to remember at least one specificity amid the multiple R's. Renwood's Old Vines zinfandel isn't the winery's absolute best bottle*, but it isn't its most expensive, either.