1998 Collier Falls Private Reserve Zinfandel
Rating: 4 Stars
Comments: Just about everything we look for in a Zin!!!
General Qualities: Light-medium bodied, moderately complex,
balanced acidity, slight oak impression, soft tannins.
Color: Ruby.
Aromas: Black cherry, cinnamon, pine, strawberry, and toast.
Flavors: Blackberry, chocolate, spicy, and vanilla.
Other Descriptors: Balanced, juicy, long finish, pretty,
and silky!
WineToday.com, May 2000
Collier Falls Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Private Reserve
1998
87 Points. "A wine with Special Qualities." A
lighter style, attractive for its ripe, bright, peppery blackberry
and black cherry pie flavoring, turning juicy and spicy, with
a nice touch of oak. Drink now through 2006. 525 cases made.
Wine Spectator, June 30, 2000
Collier
Falls Private Reserve 1998 Dry Creek Valley
One Star (of three)... Fine Example (Of Zinfandel).
Clean, straightforward, berry-like fruit is the overarching
theme of both the aromas and flavors of this properly ripened
Zin, and a light sprinkling of sweet oak spice provides
a quiet boost in richness. The wine is medium-bodied,
low in tannin and free of any overt heat, and it can be tagged
for drinking relatively early in its life.
Connoisseurs' Guide, July 2000
1998 Collier Falls Dry Creek Valley
The wine from this small estate is "outstanding."
In fact, it won the coveted grand prize in the Dry Creek Valley
Zinfandel Taste-Off. Intense aroma of crushed raspberries, wild
strawberries and Keemun tea. "Lush, vibrant flavors."
Soft Tannins. Hard to find!
The Wine House, May 2000
1998 Collier Falls
Barry and Susan Collier have a great follow-up wine to their
wildly successful debut effort. The Wine Enthusiast endorsed
the 1998 with a 90-Point rating in its February issue.
Wally's - Los Angeles, June 2000
1998 Collier Falls, "Private Reserve," Dry Creek
Valley
88-Points. "Highly Recommended." Medium ruby; attractive,
moderately intense, floral, herbal, ripe red currant and raspberry
fruit aroma. Medium-full to full body; rich, plush, sweet red
currant and blackberry fruit flavors with overtones of toasty
oak. Medium-full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Somewhat lighter
in style and very appealing to drink now.
California Grapevine, July 2000
Promising New Zinfandel Producers:
"Film producer Barry Collier and his wife, Susan, purchased
a portion of Meeker Vineyard's old Dry Creek property in Sonoma
County in 1997 and left Los Angeles for a quieter life up north.
The two expanded the original 8-acre hillside Zinfandel vineyards
to 26 acres, adding Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Primitivo
plantings.
The wines are being made by Alex MacGregor, previously the assistant
winemaker at Alderbrook Vineyards & Winery. The Colliers
plan to sell most of their grapes, slowly building their brand
from 500 to 2,500 cases."
Wine Spectator, June 30, 1999
Private
Reserve