Van Zellers VZ Tinto 2019

The 2014 VZ (Van Zellers) Tinto, with the big VZ on the label (not to be confused with the regular "Van Zellers"), is a field blend sourced from vines averaging 30 years in age. It was aged for 21 months in used French oak. This starts beautifully, but it doesn't finish quite as well. It is a bit dry and stern, not quite as vividly defined in flavor as in some years. Still, it shows respectable concentration and fine focus, with its backbone nicely supporting the fruit. I liked this a lot more in the first hour, though. As the tannins fell off, its mid-palate thinned a bit and the fruit seemed a bit dull. This is still a pretty nice offering in a tough year, but give this a year to settle down and then we'll see where we are. It should hold reasonably well over the next decade. It does have some questions to answer, but it also has some upside potential.