Ravenswood Napa Valley Zinfandel 2002

by Ethan Johnson
October 5, 2006

Regardless of one's feelings about a particular kind of Ravenswood Zinfandel, the up side is that they make about a million different varieties up and down the price (and quality) spectrum. If you don't find one you like, you probably don't like Zinfandel. After not entirely grooving to their "cheap" hodge-podge Zin, thanks to the magic of sale prices I picked up the following:

Producer (Vineyard): Ravenswood
Varietal (Grape type): 97% Zinfandel, 3% Carignane
Vintage (Year): 2002
Country: USA (California - Napa Valley)
Color: Red
Cost: Moderate ($15 USD)

Teh booze

Swirl and Sniff: Ruby to purply red. I got a "red fruit" vibe off of this. Think cherries, and you're in the ball park.

Taste: Wow, strawberry and cherry action. (After all of these "deep berry" tastes of late.) I found that the wine was smoother if I swirled the [marbles] out of it, but things smoothed out on their own by my final half-glass. Kind of a rough finish - enough to make me wince every time. Nicely acidic. If you pound this wine down like a shot, then it's "easy drinking" save for the rough finish. If you linger on it, the tannins arrive in force and turn your tongue to leather. Or at least my tongue.

Pairing: I paired this with my supa-famous, so-what-if-it's-ninety-degrees-out Tagliatelle Bolognese. Ohhh yeah. I noticed that the salt on top helped the wine smoothing during the meal. Nice pairing. I used this wine in the dish and it smelled BUTT KICKING. Try it.

Rating: When it comes to this wine, I would (and you may):

  • Buy three or more bottles for regular enjoyment
  • Buy a bottle or two for occasional enjoyment
  • Ask for when dining out or at a party
  • Settle for if your preferred wine is not available
  • Politely decline and never drink again, ever

I'm probably well on my way to wine snob country, but to me, "straight" Zin is the way to go. Sure, this is 97%, but damn. I heard tell that 2002 was an "extraordinary vintage" (per Kevin Zraly) and that Napa was the go-to region for this varietal, and I'm on my way to becoming a believer. My only nitpick was the rough finish. If I want to wince when I drink, I'll shoot tequila straight. Or drink beer. Maybe cellaring (IF you're set up to do it properly) or decanting would have helped smooth things over.

By the way, this wine packs a 14.5% ABV punch. I have swirly stars and moons racing around my head as I type this. Don't worry, I'm pushing water as fast as I can drink it. But it might be best to share a bottle rather than heroically polish it off alone. You are warned.

If you do give this a try, please let me know how your experience compared with mine. Thanks! <EM>

(The Totally Unpretentious Wine Reviews Index may be found here.)

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