1994 Ravenswood Zinfandel Wood Road/Belloni Vineyard

The opaque purple color of the 1994 Zinfandel Wood Road is more reminiscent of a young Hermitage than Zinfandel. The unformed nose offers some smoky, meaty, peppery, black fruit, and earth characteristics. Crisp acidity (again) suggests a lower PH than one might suspect given the wine's color and richness. Although closed, full-bodied, and cloaked in a tough, tannic structure, the wine is impressively weighty, rich, and pure on the palate. If this were made from another varietal I would recommend 2-3 years of cellaring, but since it is a Zinfandel, it will be much more approachable after bottling, and be ready to drink within a year. It should last for 7-8+ years. Ravenswood has again fashioned an impressive array of distinctive Zinfandels. Only the Sonoma and Napa offerings were in bottle when I tasted them, although the single vineyard wines were about to be bottled. NOTE: All the wines in this article were tasted in May, 1996. Those reviews accompanied by a range of scores in parenthesis indicate an approximate review based on a barrel sample tasting. Tel. (707) 938-1960