Carlisle, Russian River Valley Zinfandel, 2010, USA, Noel Young Wines, £26

For those of you who have had Zinfandel before, you may have experienced wine which is sickly sweet and gloopy like a slightly watered down jar of blackcurrant jam, while having a kick like a mule with alcohol north of 15%. Elegant as an episode of Geordie Shore...

Well, for those of you who like a big wine but are find of the enamel on your teeth, here is a Zin which is big and bold and does have a bit of a kick (15.7% alcohol to be precise) but does have a lot more refinement than Donald Trump. This is rich with slightly sweet blackcurrant flavours balanced by a pleasant and gentle warm edge and well integrated tannins.

7 / 10