RAVENSWOOD

by Sergio Sismondo

"No Whimpy Wines" is the slogan of this winery, and they are faithful to it. The wine tasting and retail sales is located in the Northeastern corner of the city of Sonoma, on Gehricke Road. The tasting room is in a remodeled house atop a small knoll, reached after a short climb of stairs. The tasting room is often busy, being clearly a very popular one. We return year after year to this winery in order to sample the new releases of Zinfandel wines, of which they have many. There is a special allure to these single vineyard Zinfandels.

We tasted a wide range of wines, all reds, including new releases of Merlot, Cabernet-Sauvignon, and of course Zinfandel, the main reason to visit this vineyard. All the wines tasted were excellent, and we rated them in the upper 80's and 90's.


OUR CHOICES.

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Zinfandel 1998 89
Zinfandel 1999 90
Zinfandel Vintner's Blend 2000 87
Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 1998 89
Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 1999 90
Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 2000 89
Zinfandel Kunde Vineyard Sonoma 1998 89
Zinfandel Kunde Vineyard Sonoma 1999 90
Zinfandel Dickerson Vineyard Napa Valley 1999 89
Zinfandel Dickerson Vineyard Napa Valley 2000 89
Zinfandel Lodi Central Valley 2000 88
Zinfandel Lodi Central Valley 2003 88
Zinfandel Russian River Valley 2000 90
Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard Sonoma 2000 92
Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard Sonoma 2001 92
Zinfandel Tedeschi Vineyard Sonoma 2001 91
Zinfandel Anderson Valley 1999 89
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  • Our first preference among the red wines tasted went to the Zinfandel, Monte Rosso Vineyard, Sonoma County, 2000, which we rated 92. It is priced at $30. The 2001 vintage of the same wine retained the same statistics, $30, rating 92.
  • Our second choice among the reds tasted in this year is the Zinfandel, Teldeschi Vineyard, Sonoma County, 2001. It is priced at $30 and we rated by us 91.
  • Our "Best value for money" choice goes to the Zinfandel, Anderson Valley, 1999, which is priced at $14.50 and which we rated 89. A good buy, in our opinion.

There is a 10% mixed or full case discount.

The Zinfandel wines sampled are included in the extensive Zinfandel listing in this web site, in the section "Wine Listings / California - Zinfandel".

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