Garden Party Wine Picks Zinfandel – not to be mistaken for White Zinfandel – is one of the most underrated red wines. Typically big and jammy, Hartford Family aims for a more refined expression but still retains the big fruit flavors that people like about Zinfandel. Burgers and barbecue are perfect pairings for this.

For all of its sexy polish, there’s no denying it’s a wild child deep at heart. A-

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique The Hartford Russian River Valley 2015 kicked off my tasting with hints of what was to come. It had depth, edge and blackness, as well as a signal of red, a brightness brought on by the ever-present acidity, packing tons of cherry fruit, boysenberry, blueberry and floral cinnamon. It weighed in at 15.5 percent alcohol but didn’t feel it at all.

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique This points to their production standards: Hand-picking, cold-soaking and creating textures that simply describing as “silky” does not do justice to. Case in point, the 2015 Highwire featured vines farmed by Lloyd Celli that are trellised out of the old head-trained vines, so there are two levels of fruit on the vine: those up high on the wires and those down low on the heads. This bottling features the Highwire’s pepper and the heads’ fruit character. Very cool. And the mouthfeel is beyond silky, to fluffy, whipped cream pillow-like. There are little percents of carignan, petite sirah and syrah on board. Less than 400 cases were made. It garnered 96 points and – surprise! – it was startlingly good. I took a bottle home and immediately enjoyed it with homemade carne asada tacos.

From special 100-year-old vines in the Russian River Valley, the 2015 Hartford Vineyard Zinfandel offers the elegance and complexity that is typically sought out in a good zinfandel.

Being a native Californian and a local in northern California wine country, I find myself drinking a lot of California wine. And when Robert Parker's annual Northern California reports are published, I'm always eager to see which wines receive the most praise. As autumn sets in and the vineyards becomes a rainbow of colors, I find myself reaching for hearty reds like Zinfandel. So, in honor of Robert Parker's Part One of his Northern California reports, I've compiled a list of 15 Zinfandels scoring 90 points or higher in Issue 227. These top-scoring Zinfandels come from appellations across Napa Valley and Sonoma County.

Vintners rally to preserve Russian River Valley’s historic Zinfandel vineyards From the Maffei Vineyard, planted in the 1920s; “Jolene’s” is Hartford’s amalgamation of the owners’ names, Joanne and Arlene. This is textbook Russian River Zin: a fruit salad of ripe strawberry and explosive juicy blueberry, zippy with bracing acidity.

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique The 2014 Jolene’s Vineyard featured 100-year-old vines from a slightly warmer site, with more fruit even and “symphonic” in its call. All the fruits harmoniously burst at once. Not baked or jammy, it was rather bright and fresh.

A big-boy zin with black fruit and zesty spice. This dense zin has aromas and flavors of blackberry, boysenberry and cracked black pepper. Finishes with a tasty kick of spice. Impressive.

A very tasty zin with notes of black cherry, cherry, herbs and cracked black pepper. Good acid. Nice length.

The Hartford Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard Russian River Valley is intense, powerful, and jammy, with spicy white-pepper notes.

A striking zinfandel with powerful flavors of blackberry, cassis, and cracked black pepper. Full-bodied. A standout.

Hartford Zinfandels have been lauded as among California’s best for over 15 years. They are crafted from grapes grown at century-old vineyards in the Russian River Valley and other nearby AVAs. This wine is crafted to balance the ripe fruit character with the oak aging, utilizing 35% or more new oak barrels. Aromas of rich blueberry and blackberry mingle with tobacco, bramble and vanilla notes. The palate adds flavors of barrel spice and toasty cedar to the ripe berry flavors.

A tasty zin with a seamless texture. Notes of black raspberry, pepper and coffee. Nice length.

Named a favorite at a tasting attended by a group of stellar Sonoma County winemakers, who meet regularly to blind-taste various wines and rank them.

Though some wine pros disagree, wines above 15.5 percent alcohol can be balanced.

From vines planted in 1906, the wine has plummy aromas, and a dense, taut palate that's vigorous and long.

From vines planted in 1907. Mighty darn good old-vine Zin, dark and jammy, with some smoky barrel and dark chocolate aromas. Then it's big, deep, rich stuff, full of peppercorn, anise, mouthfilling black fruit-really just an intense pleasure to drink. No idea what you'd pair it with-whole roast moose?-so probably the answer is just to pull the cork and enjoy it on its own.

Good intensity. Medium-bodied. Aromas and flavors of blackberry and black currant. Nice mouth-feel. Balanced.

A slight hint of animal and earth at first, but then a full-force blackberry fruit. Pure and layered from 96-year-old vines. Hold for six months and then up to 2006.

Velvety and concentrated, with spiced blueberries and woodsy black plum topped by a whiff of smoked applewood. Best for pork and beef.

Best known as a top producer of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Hartford Family also turns out a few very good Zinfandels, including this bright and supple wine. With its lively acidity and a comparatively modest alcohol level, this bottle might be best called a “Zinonoir.”