A dear friend shared with me his last bottle of 1968 Mayacamas Late Harvest Zinfandel. What a treat. While many late harvest zins are vinified sweet, winemaker Bob Travers vinified this one dry. Travers is a legend in wine making and this 51-year-old wine demonstrates why.

Despite its age, there was still a freshness to the fruit with raspberries and blackberries most dominant. There was just a trace of the raisiny character you would expect from an aged zinfandel. With 17 percent alcohol in this giant of a wine, there was still a lot of bottle and just some fine tannins. Although some critics, including Robert Parker Jr., suggest this wine can last another 20 years, I thought it was drinking perfectly. Long, long finish and a touch of spice.

It always blows my mind to find such great California wine that has survived this long.