Eberle Winery, Paso Robles (Central Coast, California) Zinfandel 2021

 I was once a serious Zin lover before my interests shifted in other directions, but this wine has definitely re-kindled my affection.  Its wonderfully pure, red berry fruit aromas and flavors show a very impressive level of precision in ripeness.  Of course, that means by extension that the timing of harvesting was also very precise, which would be impressive even if all the fruit had been sourced from just one little plot.  However, the front label indicates that fruit from four different vineyards was sourced for this wine, and that points to great skill as well as an excellent growing season in 2021 for California’s Central Coast, corroborating some early reports that reached me.  The wine recalls  above all — the best red raspberries you’ve ever eaten, and the flavors are so vivid and natural that one almost needs to seek out the vinosity of the drink to remember that it is a wine.  Given that the typical knock against Zinfandel is that it is overly obvious in alcoholic punch, the purity and poise of this wine is its key virtue.  It will become more complex with time, but whether it will increase in sheer beauty is not quite clear, so try a bottle early on while you can still buy more.