Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi has turned itself inside out to shake off its initial reputation. It appeared 15 to 20 years ago as a competitor to the wines that were getting placed as house wines because they were both tasty and affordable. Mondavi had been a "step up" wine, but they were leaving a lot of money on the table by passing on the lucrative "house wine" category for restaurants and hotels. They introduced Woodbridge at several dollars a bottle less than their regular offerings, but it was, unfortunately, neither as tasty nor as affordable as the other house wines. Scads of buyers brought it in because of the Mondavi name, but the consumer was justly unsatisfied.

Everything is different now. They've created quality rankings within the brand; the Select Vineyard Series by Woodbridge is the top quality tier, yet still barely in double digits.

This wine comes primarily from 50- to 80-year-old vines, which lend a depth to the wine's concentration that belies the price. While blending the wine with nearly 20 percent other varietals-Barbera, Sangiovese, Syrah and Petite Syrah-might be viewed as "stretching" the coveted old vine juice, it's actually a compliment to the uniqueness of this zinfandel. Generally, zinfandel is just too overwhelming in body to blend with success. The partner varietals are either totally lost at the expense of the zinfandel's trademark mouth feel, or the flavors of the other wines dominate, but are stripped of their nuance and complexity by the fruity Zin. This concentrated old vine fruit drinks with a dry, mineral slant, and is blended with varietals that partner well with those attributes.

Deep, extracted, purple red in color, the wine drinks dry but retains a raisined bramble fruit character that gives way on the finish to spice and black pepper. There's a lot going in the glass-fruit, tannin, spice, oak, more pepper-it's all good and more of a carnival than a ballet on your tongue, but for me, that's the attraction.

Craig Pierce, clubhouse manager of Baker Hill Golf Club, can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it