James Sweetapple who runs the Cargo Road Vineyards out at Orange once said to me “Zinfandel is a drug.”

The way people jostle for it each year I’m starting to see what he means!

In the vineyard, Zinfandel is one of the worst varieties I’ve encountered. It tries to overcrop and so the easy option is to use it to make bulk rose’. James drops about 3⁄4 of the crop on the ground each year so that he ripens Zinfandel for us with flavour, colour and balance.

Increasingly, the wine is finishing fermentation and being matured in puncheons (475L barrels). The big oak gently rounds the already soft and alluring varietal.

It is wacky stuff with rhubarb, licorace, cinnamon, Christmas cake like characters on the nose and a sweet rich palate.

I think this is a style to enjoy young, despite the fact I’ve seen evidence that it ages well. Try it with game dishes with sweet sauces. Duck in plum sauce, Venison with chocolate sauce, etc.