Wine Last Sold on: October 8, 2012
Ravenswood Winery
Featured Wine:
2009 Teldeschi Vineyard Zinfandel
| Varietal: | Zinfandel |
| Vineyard: | Teldeschi Vineyard |
| Region: | California: Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma) |
| Availability Alert: | Ultra Limited |
| Avg. Price: | $35.00 |
| Wine Spies: | $27.00 |
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SUPERIOR WINE ALERT:
We only showcase wines that we love. While our emphasis is on quality first, every now and again we come across a real standout wine that rises above. When we do, we issue alerts like this one.
Mission Codename: The Zinfather
- Operative
- Agent Red
- Objective
- Send Agent Red back to Ravenswood Winery, a Wine Spies Operative favorite, to procure another stunning, single vineyard Zinfandel
- Mission Status
- Accomplished!
- Winemaker
- Joel Peterson
Final Assessment
Today’s exquisite Ravenswood Zinfandel comes to us from our favorite of all of their vineyards. And, while previous vintages have really impressed us, this 2009 Teldeschi Vineyard Zinfandel really blew us away.
With deep aromatics and beautifully balanced flavors, this wine is pack with character. The plush feel of the wine had our tasting panel taking large gulps - and holding them in our mouths, allowing flavors to permeate the far corners of the palate.
Although the wine is delicious, right on opening, the more you swirl it the more it comes alive. Fine-grained tannins, also enhanced by swirling, give the wine a wonderfully velvety feel.
For a relatively young wine, it drinks just beautifully. It will only get better with age. Today’s special single vineyard Zin, from our dear friends at Ravenswood, gets our very hearty recommendation.
Tasting Profile
Deep, dark magenta with a deep core of dark purple. At the edge of the glass, a band of beautiful ruby encircles the glass. After swirling, tall, skinny, wine-stained tears emerge quickly, before running swiftly down the glass.
Lush and fragrant, with an initial rush of blueberry, blackberry, black cherry and smoky Bing cherry. These are followed by aromas of blackberry bramble, espresso bean, sweet tobacco leaf, sweetwood, cracked pepper, candied apple and a hint of eucalyptus.
Cool and soft, initially. Then, quickly grippy, with plush tannins that give the wine a wonderful crushed velvet feel that spreads across the palate. Lively acids frame the fruit while combining with flinty minerals to drive flavors to the far corners of the palate.
Deep and dark with delicious black cherry, blackberry, blueberry jam, sweet spice and plum. After some swirling, the wine comes alive, revealing additional flavors of sweet tobacco leaf, supple leather, elderberry, cassis, raspberry liquor and hints of slate and black pepper.
Very long and velvet-smooth. Long sustaining black fruit gradually yields to earthy flavors, spice, slate minerals and cracked pepper at the very end.
What the Winery Says
Tasting Notes
“Powerful aromas of blackberry compote, smoky herbs, potpourri and olive, with a lively mineral undertone; smells like syrah. Then lush and creamy in texture, offering broad dark berry, cherry-cola, violet pastille and smoky mineral flavors. Closes with a fine dusting of tannins, excellent clarity and alluring sweetness.” ~ Stephen Tanzer
Wine Specs
COMPOSITION: 77% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, 9% Carignane
APPELLATION: Dry Creek Valley
AGING: 20 months in 100% French oak; 35% new oak
SKIN CONTACT: 10–15 days
TA: 6.7 g/L
pH: 3.46
ALCOHOL: 14.8%
PRODUCTION: 1,400 cases
AGEABILITY: Drink between now and 7–10 years
About the Winery
Ravenswood wines are powerful personalities – down-to-earth, elegantly rustic and robust. From our flock of Single Vineyard Designate wines, as unique as the individual vineyards they’re from and the people that farm them, to the County Series wines that capture the spirit of California’s best growing regions and the popular Vintners Blend bottlings sourced from vineyards throughout California, we strive to put what we pick from the fields right into the bottle. Unadulterated, unapologetic, unfussy, umwimpy.
