Review: 2021 Adobe Road Shift Sonoma County Red Wine

It’s been five years since we’ve encountered Adobe Road’s Shift, a wine that is more notable for its bottle than what’s inside. Metal gearshift knob and a metal shifter plate — with carbon fiber accents? You got it!

As for what’s inside, this blend changes regularly. For the 2021 vintage, it’s 52% zinfandel, 25% toreldego, 18% syrah, and 5% carignane — all Sonoma fruit.

As with the 2016 expression, Shift is as bold as a Formula One race, though it tempers the overt jamminess of the prior vintage (a good thing). While layered with bittersweet chocolate and rich with currants, the wine leans on its reasonably tannic core, muscly with notes of anise and forest floor. Ample raspberry keeps the finish from delving too far into the woods, and while the wine certainly doesn’t feel like it has any concerns about being nuanced, you’ll find intrigue enough of you linger with a glass for a spell — even including a pinch of rosemary on the finish. Zoom zoom.

B+ / $65

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