I opened my only bottle of 2000 Renwood Sierra Series Zinfandel. I remember with fondness, the 1999 version of this wine. I don’t know why, but Renwood changed the style of this wine with the 2000 release.

Let me plainly state this fact: I liked the 1999 version much better. I remembered that it started out in the $11 range, and as it flew off of the wine stores’ shelves that the price rose to $12 then $14 and then it was gone. I had a couple of bottles of the 1999 left and opened them a couple of weeks ago when a friend reported that we’d held them too long. He was correct.

Any way, the 2000 isn’t horrible, but it seems wimpy compared to what I remember with the 1999. There is very little pepper and the whole experience seems light-weight.

Don’t get me wrong, just because I don’t much care for it, doesn’t mean that Renwood did the wrong thing. I think that the mass market would love this wine…