Dude!

Gnarly Head Old Vintage Zin. 2004. Alcohol 14.6% (nice) $9.99 Lets just jump right into it. Made with 80 year old vines...should they retire? NO! According to the grower, the vines produce less, but more flavorful grapes. I have a problem with the name, Gnarly Head. It sounds twisted, old, rotten somehow. It also sounds young, immature and California...ish. You know, "gnarly dude". It'e reminiscent of some bad Hollywood movies featuring young kids who have little experience past prep school and their parent's BMW's.
Ok, when you open this one, let it sit and breathe for about an hour. Yes, an entire hour. It has to air out. If you open and drink, it will taste really sweet, like Mad Dog 20/20. The Bob part of me "loved it". (He is home for a change). We have to say that it does have lots of flavor, very bold fruits, spice , tannis and full flavored, smooth finish. I drank some right off, don't do that. Don't be hasty, open, find other things to do, let it sit, serve later. It's worth the wait. If we rated our wines by a number system, which we don't, I would give it a 9 out of 10. But we don't so just go buy it. You will be happy you did.