One of my pet peeves is when a wine is judged on its numbers, without even tasting it.  I’ve seen it numerous times at tastings.  A wine drinker picks up a bottle and exclaims, “15.3% alcohol?  This wine is hot!”  He sets the bottle down and walks away.  But had he tried it, he may have found it balanced and delicious.  Yet, with this wine, I nearly made the same mistake.  When I discovered the alcohol was 13.9%, I immediately thought there was no way this wine could be bottled on its own.  Generally, Zinfandel needs to be riper than that to make anything interesting.  But then I smelled it.  “Hmmm... Smells like Rossi.”  Next, I tasted it.  “Wow!  Tastes like Rossi.”  The mouthfeel and balance were exquisite.  I’d be an idiot to not bottle this wine on its own!  It dawned on me what had occurred.  As with Papa’s Block, thanks to the October rain, we had achieved physiological maturity at lower sugar.  The promised land!  It was also a great reminder that wine is so much more than numbers.