Paris Valley Road, Zinfandel, California, USA, 2017

Don't write off California Zin as overpriced and over-alcoholic. Granted, this weighs in at a hefty 15%, but it's all in balance, and the price is very reasonable at not much over a tenner. The wine spent 22 months in oak, but only 20% of it was new, so it's not overdone, and this helps keep the price down too. Rich and warm, but super drinkable, this is a dry wine but with a brown sugar sweetness to the fruit, and juicy damson jam flavours. Good freshness, despite the age.