by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 

Ravenswood Single Vineyard Zinfandel
Tasted this week a selection of Ravenswood single vnyd Zins (and a Rafanelli):
Ravenswood Monte Rosso Sonoma Valley Zin (15.4%) '95: Dark color; attractive raspberry/ Zinberry rather dusty/old vines quite spicy nose; tart/lean bit metallic very spicy/ raspberry tannic some dusty flavor; med.long tart/lean/hard very spicy/raspberry/Zinberry some dusty/old vines finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-4 yrs; really lovely some complex nose but hard & lean on the palate.
Ravenswood Monte Rosso Sonoma Valley Zin (15.0%) '96: Med.dark color; light dusty/old vines quite spicy/raspberry slight volatile/aromatic very fragrant nose; tart/hard/ lean bit milky/Am.oaked spicy/raspberry dusty/old vines flavor; med. rather hard/tannic very spicy/raspberry light Am.oaked finish; needs 2-5 yrs; lovely nose but hard & lean & tannic on the palate.
Ravenswood Monte Rosso Sonoma Valley Zin (15.5%) '97: Very dark color; strong dusty/old vines bit earthy/pungent spicy/raspberry some blackberry nose; softer rich raspberry/ blackberry/boysenberry tart tannic hard flavor; long rich raspberry/blackberry dusty/old vines slight oaked rather hard/tannic finish; needs 3-6 yrs; best MR Zin I've yet had.
Ravenswood Big River Alexander Vlly Zin (14.9%) '97: Med.dark color; attractive fragrant blackberry/boysenberry some spicy/toasty/oak bit dusty nose; softer some milky/toasty/oaked strong blackberry/boysenberry fairly structured flavor; long fairly rich blackberry/Zin some oaked/pungent finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs of age; more backbone & structure than most AlexVlly Zins.
Ravenswood Dickerson Napa Vlly Zin (14.3%) '95: Med.dark color; very attractive very spicy/raspberry bit menthol bit blackberry nose; fairly rich bit lean/hard slight menthol bright raspberry/blackberry flavor; med.long bit narrow/hard very spicy/ raspberry/blackberry slight menthol finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; attractive straightforward spicy/raspberry Zin.
Ravenswood Dickerson Napa Vlly Zin (14.5%) '97: Med.dark color; some toasty/oaked quite spicy/blackberry/raspberry slight menthol nose; softer slight menthol rater spicy/blackberry fairly rich flavor; long light menthol fairly rich/spicy/blackberry/ raspberry some tannic finish; needs 2-5 yrs; best Dickerson since the early '90's.
Ravenswood Wood Road Belloni Russian River Vlly Zin (14.9%; 22% ArataVnyd, 24% BelloniVnyd. 38% ChelloVnyd, 16% RueVnyd) '95: Very dark color; deep/dusty/old vine blackberry/ boysenberry slight herbal/Dr.Pepper complex some pungent/oaked nose; very tart/citric deep blackberry/boysenberry/licorice very dusty/old vines light pungent/oak flavor; very long tart/citric deep/dusty/old vines strong blackberry/boysenberry ligt pungent/smokey/ oak licorice finish w/ some tannins; still needs 2-5 yrs; lovely rich complex nose but a bit shrill & citric on the palate.
Ravenswood Wood Road Belloni Russian River Vlly Zin (14.9%; 23% ArataVnyd, 34% BelloniVnyd, 27% ChelliVnyd, 16% RueVnyd) '96: Dark color; complex/lovely dusty/old vines lush boysenberry/blackberry classic RRV Zin nose; softer lush ripe blackberry/boysenberry/ licorice some oaked/pungent tannic flavor; long rich dusty/old vines blackberry/licorice/ boysenberry some tarry/pungent/oaked very spicy finish w/ fair tannins; developing really nicely and can use a bit more age.
Ravenswood Belloni Russian River Vlly Zin (14.7%) '97: Dark color; beautiful lush black- berry/boysenberry/licorice dusty/old vines very aromatic complex some toasty/pungent/oaked nose; rich beautiful lush pungent/toasty/oak blackberry/boysenberry/licorice ripe mouthfilling classic RRV Zin flavor; very long pungent/licorice/boysenberry/blackberry bit tarry some tannic finish; needs 2-5 yrs; terrific classic RRV Zin.
Ravenswood Teldeschi Dry Creek Vlly Zin (15.5%) '97: Very dark color; beautiful/complex deep blackberry/boysenberry some dusty/old vines little DCV nose; soft lush forward rich/ ripe blackberry/boysenberry spicy/Dr.Pepper bit dusty/Zinberry flavor; long soft lush forward blackberry/boysenberry bit dusty/old vines finish w/ light tannins; more like RRV Zin than DCV Zin; fairly forward & drinkable but rich & lush.
Ravenswood Cooke Vnyd Sonoma Valley Zin (14.9%) '97: Very dark color; very fragrant slight volatile intense/pungent licorice/blackberry very spicy/floral/lilacs beautiful complex nose; very tart/acidic huge rich ripe blackberry/boysenberry/pungent/licorice/tarry fragrant/floral complex flavor; very long lush blackberry/boysenberry/licorice pungent/ tarry aroamtic/floral finish w/ fair tannins; loads of intense fruit but the acidity & tannins will carry this wine for some time; terrific Zin.
Ravenswood Old Hill Vnyd Sonoma Valley Zin (14.5%) '97: Very dark color; intense toasty/oak beautiful/spicy/blackberry/boysenberry very dusty/old vines very spicy/complex nose; soft beautiful lush/ripe/mouthfilling boysenberry/blackberry/licorice very spicy/aromatic very dusty/old vines pungent/peppery/tarry/oak flavor; very long lingering rich/ripe blackberry/boysenberry/licorice/black cherry cola very spicy/complex dusty/old vines finish w/ fair tannins; a classic dusty/old vines OldHill.
Ravenswood Old Hill Vnyd Sonoma Valley Zin (14.8%) '96: Dark color; lovely lush blackberry/ boysenberry complex/dusty/old vines light toasty/pungent oak nose; bit tart/lean ripe/ blackberry/boysenberry/licorice dusty/old vines some pungent/smokey/oaked flavor; long hard bit lean/tart dusty/old vines rather blackberry/boysenberry bit toasty/oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-4 yrs; lovely nose but still a bit hard/tart/lean on the palate.
Ravenswood Old Hill Vnyd Sonoma Valley Zin (15.0%) '95: Very dark color; beautiful/intense/ tarry/blackberry/boysenberry/licorice aromatic/bit volatile/floral/perfumed complex nose; soft beautiful lush ripe/blackberry/boysenberry light toasty/smokey/oaked complex/dusty/ old vines flavor; very long/lingering complex/dusty/old vines very strong blackberry/ boysenberry/Dr.Pepper/black cherry cola some toasty/pungent/oaked finish w/ some tannins; really starting to taste very good but will go on another 3-5 yrs.
Ravenswood Sonoma Cnty Zin Dry Creek Benchland (14.2%) '81: Med.light some browning color; rather herbal/tired/tomatoey pretty toasty/oaked/pencilly some chile powder/Chinese 5 Spice nose; light herbal/very toasty/oaked/pencilly/cigar box rather hard/dried out flavor; med.long tired/dried out interesting Chinese 5 Spice/chile powder rather pencilly/oaked/ cigar box finish; some interesting smells therein but tired & dried out on the palate; going downhill; an intellectual experience, but just that.
Rafanelli Dry Creek Vlly Sonoma Cnty Zin (13.8%; Unfltrd) '91: Very dark color; some bretty/ horsecollar/rustic/old Calif style rather spicy/cedary/oaked/cigar box/complex old Zin nose; soft bit dried-out rather bretty/horsecollar/old Calif style/rustic some toasty/ oaked cigar box/pencilly/oaked flavor; med.long rather bretty/horsecollar dried out/ tannic cigar boc/oaked rustic finish w/ some tannins; still clinging to the edge but about to go over.

And the usual sophistry from the bloody pulpit:
Monte Rosso Zin: A number of wineries (Ridge,Ravenswood,Biale,Stephen Ross) have been making Zins from the Martini's Monte Rosso vnyd for a number of yrs now. I have been singularly unimpressed w/ those Zins thus far. They seem to all have a bright raspberry/Zin fruit in the nose, but they also seem to have a hard/lean/ tart/tannic mean little streak on the palate. They seem to lack the lushness & richness I like to find in Zinfandel. I just was not convinced that Monte Rosso was a great, or even, significant, Zinfandel vnyd. I'm starting to change my view on Monte Rosso. I was quite impressed w/ the evolution of the noses on both the '95 & '96 versions. These were pretty underwhelming wines, to me, on their release. Especially in comparison w/ the other Zins in the Ravenswood stable. But I'm starting to see evidence that they may develop into pretty good Zins w/ more age & may, actually, be pretty long lived. They're still pretty tight/ hard/lean lean on the palate; but the noses are wonderful. It may be that MR is much like Eschen Zin; never very rich & lush but a Zin that ages quite well and develops marvelous aromatics. We'll take more data points.
DickersonZins: In the '80's, the DickersonVnyd Zin was one of the Ravenswood flagship Zins, right up there w/ the Old Hill. It was big, extracted, and loaded w/ minty/menthol/ eucalyptus character. Thru the early-mid '90's, the Dickersons have been a bit on the weak side; primarily due to replanting for phylloxera I understand. This '97 Dickerson is not as big & minty as many from the '80's, but it probably is the best Dickerson since about the '90 and, hopefully, marks a return to form for this vnyd.
The vintages: The '95 vintage has been widely trumpeted by experts as the last outstanding Zinfandel vintage. By and large, those wines are showing very well these days; and these Ravenswoods are no exceptions. None of them showed signs of starting to fade. The '96 vintage was widely dissed as a mediocre Zin vintage, producing rather tart and lean kind of Zins. I recall these Ravenswoods being a bit on that side a year ago, but felt they showed the usual Ravenswood style and extract. By and large, many of those '96's are developing wonderfully fragrant/aromatic noses and turning into quite nice Zins, better than I expected them to. The '97 vintage was widely heralded as a great Zin vintage in the fermenting vats. But, probably because of the very large jump in yield; the wines have shown a lot of forward/plush fruit but not the tannins or structure to carry them very far out; a vintage to drink up early. That is NOT what I found in these '97's of Joel's. They, to me, show no weakness or dilutness that one would expect from a high-production year. They have all the intensity and extract and grip that I usuall find in Joel's single vnyd Zins. In fact, of the major Zinfandel producers I follow; I would say that Joel Peterson did better in 1997 than any of the rest of them. A great batch of Ravenswood Zins, IMHO.
I've followed Joel Peterson's wines from the very start, when I was buying them from Draper & Esquins from Rene Rondeau. In fact, I first met Joel (remember it well... he was dressed in this scruffy plaid flannel shirt, blue jeans, and big belt w/ a big brass buckle on it.... he looked a bit younger then!!) down at Phil Reich's tiny wine shop down in the Financial/Embarcadero district when he was still making wine w/ Joe Swan and Phil admonished me to keep my eyes on this guy's Zins. Little did I know at that time (ca. 1975). just how long I'd be peering over Joel's sholder at his efforts!! His early wines were huge/extracted/heavily Fr.oaked, much in the style Joe Swan was doing in the early '70's. Many of them tended to be on the volatile/fumey side but seemed to age well nonetheless, thank you. Since then, he's learned a lot about restraint & balance in his winemaking. It seems to me that he's making probably the best wines of his career, based on this batch of '97's. They'll be fun to watch evolve; I'll be taking more data points.