Tobin James, Fat Boy Zinfandel, Paso Robles

Still fruit forward and satisfying for after dinner. However, not that complex an offering.

2011 vintage

Nice jammy flavor.

2011 vintage

Too sweet and overly jammy

2011 vintage

Dark garnet color. Plum, raspberry jam, chocolate, and spice on the nose. Jam, raisin, and dark berry flavors lead to a spicy and slight hot finish

2011 vintage

- Brick color and aromas of blackberry and has flavours of blackberry.

2011 vintage

Not my favorite Zin

2011 vintage

The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like strawberry, red currant, raisin and strawberry jam. It tastes like strawberry, raspberry and red currant. The body is medium/full. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.

2011 vintage

Needs to be decanted for 1/2 hour and tasting very good, still good fruit

2011 vintage

Dark garnet color. Raspberry jam, clove, and cracked black pepper. Ripe dark fruits, a hint of raisin, lacking a bit of balance to the alcohol. Med body.

2011 vintage

Excellent Zin fruit. Could of payed down longer

2011 vintage

Ripe cherry, hint of blueberry and spice. Balanced acidity and oak, moderate tannin.

2011 vintage

Lighter red for Zin. Berry, spice, and smoke aromas. Berry flavors, into stewed fruit with a black pepper finish. Good everyday zin but not special occasions.

2011 vintage

Just as good as 2010. Great zin!

2011 vintage

Very fruity not a classic Zin

2011 vintage

Purple, Black/red berry noese, dark chocolate, spice. Jammy flavors with a black pepper finish. A little hot, but the fruit covers it up.

2011 vintage

Over ripe and the high alcohol is not well integrated. Nice oak and acidic balance. Flavor profile is pleasing with a medium long finish.

2011 vintage

Great fragrant earthy nose. Notes of dark fruit with pepper and plenty of oak. Fairly sweet, love this style

2011 vintage

Lots of cherry with hints of blueberry. Spicy elements with good acidity. Balanced oak (kudos to TJ for moderating the oak!) with just a slight alcohol burn. Not sophisticated but yummy overall.

2011 vintage

Nice everyday zin

2011 vintage

PMcCullough: another great jam bomb from TJ's. Nose is first greeted by heavy fumes of alcohol (15.6%) - common of their wine. The nose then gives way to raspberries and berry pie. Your mouth will explode with moderately smoked tobacco, oak, and jammed toast. Had this with sausage and loved it.

2011 vintage

Bit higher in tannins, dark fruits and light pepper.

2011 vintage

A lot of cherry with a touch of blueberry that gets balanced out with the moderate to high oak, tannin, and alcohol. Nicely balanced acidity.

2011 vintage

Almost has a port profile. Not that sweet, but the round, mellowness of a port while still very much a zin.

2011 vintage

Dark cherry, blueberry, and spice. Balanced acidity and noticeable but integrated alcohol. Low to moderate tannin.

2011 vintage

Deep rich fruit, jammy with food structure. We served it with a fresh berries dessert and it was fantastic.

2011 vintage

A great summer wine for grilling, and a tremendous value. My favorite Costco buy.

2011 vintage

I don't know what has changed, me or the wine. Either way, I like how this all comes together, lots of ripe cherry with a hint of blueberry, slightly hot alcohol, balanced oak and acidity. I'm perplexed but enjoy the results.

2011 vintage

Fruit forward. Jammy & fat. Great nose.

2011 vintage

Tart cherry and blueberry. Good acidity, slightly hot alcohol. A hint of "sloppiness" detected.

2011 vintage

Rich cherry, hint of vanilla. Moderate to heavy oak with good acidity. Maybe a hint of blueberry.

2011 vintage

It was a good full bodied wine.

2011 vintage

Surprisingly pleasing wine for the jammy style of California zin. This is a solid 91 to me, showing a broad, dry palate and lots of tactile sweetness. It was a fine accompaniment to a beef medallions (with mushroom/wine sauce) at an Italian restaurant. I worried it might be too sweet for the dish, but was wrong. It was not as bombastic as I would have thought based on vintage, alcohol, and position in the Tobin James hierarchy. It's not in …

2011 vintage

It's a bit on the sweet side, but not as jam-heavy as some other Zins I've had. You either like this characteristic or not. It's a bit problematic with a lot of food, although it paired well with some cheeses I was serving.

2011 vintage

TJ has backed off on the oak and over ripe style and produced a memorable wine. Cherry and dark fruit, balanced oak and alcohol, moderate tannin, and excellent mouthwatering acidity leading to long finish. Hats off, great value.

2011 vintage

Lots of cherry and dark fruit, slightly overripe, held in check with balanced oak.

2011 vintage

Luxurious with dark vanilla and tobacco leaf. Delicious.

2011 vintage

Nice! Very nice! I felt like Toby was sitting right here. Big, bold , fruit bomb! It has been 90 minutes and it keeps getting better.

2006 vintage

Husband *loves* it and gives it a 94. I think it's a bit too earthy for me with a bit too much menthol so I give it an 89. It's not a jammy, fruit packed bomb like the usual from Tobin so I'm a bit thrown off. But it's definitely juicy - perhaps more cranberry which gives it a bit of a tartness. I enjoyed it with some gruyere and comte earlier but it's not much of a sipping wine. …

2006 vintage

Got this bottle from the winery's wine club (when we used to belong) for approximately half of the retail price (full retail is $55, meaning we got it for about $27 to $30) and paired the wine with Two Hot Tamale's Gaucho Steak (rib eyes stuffed with fried garlic and serrano chilis, then smothered in a chili verde sauce (poblanos, cilantro, red onion, garlic, etc.)). If you like fruity, rich, and creamy California Zins, you could do a lot worse …

2006 vintage

Was the best of the night in a blind Zin tasting vs 7 others. Nice nose, very drinkable, and not as sassy as most Zins.

2006 vintage

Awesome with Wagyu burgers off the grill! Similar to previous notes!

2006 vintage

Always a tasty zin. Did not disappoint.

2006 vintage

Drinks well for a slightly aged, huge and alcoholic jammy zin. Has thick and chewy aged and complex elements and nice balance. Drink this year.

2006 vintage

Another Fat Boy that lives up to its billing. That is, big fruit and jammy personality. Perfect with BBQ tri-tip!

2006 vintage

PnP. Very dark purple, 95% opaque with minor haze. Profound jammy fruit and light vanilla, perfume, and herbs bouquet. Precise on the nose, void of any unwanted notes. The palate exposes blueberry, cassis, black plums and is very smooth despite the very apparent high alcohol. A real "Mollydooker" of a Zin (4+12+17+7) = 90

2006 vintage

Nose of blueberry, tobacco, and cocoa powder. Very dark purple-garnet. Flavors of milk chocolate, mild spice, and raspberry. YUM!

2006 vintage

Needs more time to mellow before drinking. Typical Tobin James, perfect tasting room wine, but a little much for a whole evening. Heavy alcohol, but nice syrupy blackberry notes.

2006 vintage

Tobin James Fatboy..... The only reason I opened this wine is because I knew I had another tucked away in my cellar; I just had to taste this highly sought after jewel. Pouring from the bottle, the wine had a fulll bodied garnet with little clarity on the edges. Immediately after opening, the nose of this wine did not explode like you would think of a high powered Zin. Instead, the nose was a subtle blacberry and currant. The pallet …

2006 vintage

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Tobin James, Fat Boy Zinfandel, Paso Robles

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