2010 Ravenswood Sonoma Cab – 93 points

by on 11/08/2012 | 0

Earlier this month Joel Peterson, founder/winemaker of Ravenswood fame, and general and casual authority on wine, visited B-21. It was truly a privilege to meet, taste with and listen to him talk about wine. Of course zinfandel was a topic, but in the middle of all the famous for a reason single vineyard wines, it was the 2010 Sonoma County Cab that I fixed upon. When I tasted and began to ask him about it he smiled and stated that he made “one of the best cabs in CA” for the money and that he did not receive proper attention for it. I agree completely. Drinking it a few nights ago really etched the wine in my mind. Yeah, I thought so tasting it with Mr. Peterson, but taking time to drink it on another occasion I think I owe it to the wine and to B-21 customers to tout it here. This tastes like wines I drank in the late ’80s and early ’90s (the really good ones), when there was so much expression and difference between wines from different countries… “pre-modernity!” A secret is that this wine contains some mountain fruit, some of it coming from the premier site of Pickberry. Distinctly Sonoma. The purest and most exhilarating cab I have tasted in some time, flooded with bright black cherry and touch of cordial deep within and a pert minerality, tightly structured and brilliant, intense, superb. Wine like it used to be. (14.5%)

 

2010 Ravenswood Sonoma Cabernet

…The purest and most exhilarating cab I have tasted in some time, flooded with bright black cherry and touch of cordial deep within and a pert minerality, tightly structured and brilliant, intense, superb….

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Ravenswood’s Zin Master Comes In For a B-21 Landing!

by on 10/01/2012 | 0

Joel Peterson is the Zin Man. There’s really only one other name for the guy who put single-vineyard, Sonoma County Zin on the public palate like Joel did. He was almost born with a tastevin in his hand thanks to his father’s school of “shut up and spit” tasting to understand, not drink. Joel developed a rather good palate that led him to be a respected S.F. Bay area wine writer and consultant. In the early ’70s, he went to learn from the era’s great Zin guru, Joseph Swan, in the Russian River Valley. Under his tutor’s masterful eye, Joel learned to harvest grapes by taste, to understand that farming for less fruit was better than more, that wild yeasts, while tricky, result in more authentic wines, to ferment longer and to age in French oak. In 1976, the spirit of independence grabbed hold and he decided to make his own wine and Ravenswood was born. Since then, Joel himself has become a protector and promoter of CA terroir who believes that site specific Zin is spellbinding. He’s got a way with words nearly as deft as his hand with vines and wines, sharing straight stories about what’s in the glass while letting the wines speak for themselves. Don’t take my word for it, though, Joel will be in store October 3rd from 3 to 6pm, so drop in and meet the Master of Zinfandel.

 

2008 Ravenswood Teldeschi Zin…Keenly focused on optimally ripe berries and showing the stunning concentration of classic old-vine Zinfandel, it is wonderfully well-balanced for the big wine that it is, and its layered flavors last and last….
2009 Ravenswood Barricia Zin…Explosive scents of black raspberry, cracked pepper, Asian spices and violet. Then sweet, pliant and graceful in the mouth, with a silky texture and lively red and dark berry flavors. …remarkably elegant….
2009 Ravenswood Dickerson Zin…Sweet, focused red fruit preserve flavors are given strong spine by zesty minerality, picking up an exotic floral pastille quality with air. Expands nicely on the finish, leaving behind sweet floral and raspberry notes….
2009 Ravenswood Belloni Zin…Bright and graceful, with sexy candied cherry and black raspberry flavors and silky tannins. A tangy mineral note arrives on the back half and carries through the long, sappy finish….

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Back to Basics

by on 09/13/2012 | 0

Bedrock 2009 Heirloom Red, 92+WA

Tasting this spectacular offering from Ravenswood creator Joel Peterson’s uber-talented son, Morgan, will give you a sense of his respect for California’s historic vineyards. It borders on a devoutness that is nearly evangelical. His is a quest not only to save our collective vineyard heritage, but to do so by crafting wines that are seductive, serious, approachable and sublime. According to Robert Parker, these aren’t simply good, they are “wines that deliver phenomenal quality for the money.” So, what is the Heirloom all about? It’s a pretty much a classic, old school California field blend of grapes that were planted ages ago, most predating Prohibition. The 2010 is 60% Zin, 25% Carignane with the remaining 15% a unique blend of 22 varieties that speckle the vineyard here and there. Much like the U.S. it’s a tapestry yielding a distinctive whole with layers and layers of dark fruit, hints of herbs, and touches of silk. A true American beauty.

 

2010 Bedrock Heirloom

…Dark black cherries, plums, graphite, mint, wild herbs and licorice are woven together in this gorgeous, finely sculpted wine. Layers of sweet, perfumed fruit develop in the glass, adding lift and freshness….

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The Strong One, Rodney Strong

by on 03/26/2012 | 0
2009 Rodney Strong Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

2009 Rodney Strong Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Strong is the the definitely word for a guy like the late Rodney Strong. Don’t know many who could go from dancing for George Balanchine and Martha Graham in New York to pioneering Sonoma‘s most famous vineyards. That was in 1959: 50 years before the 2009 vintage and these ripe reds, sleek and silky pinot, complex cabernet (with merlot and cab franc), and a rich mouthful of merlot. Strong’s successors, Tom Klein and Rick Sayre, still believe in those appellations and insist on regional character in each wine, from the most affordable to the priciest single-vineyard bottles. Pinot noir comes from the cool of the Russian River while the cab and merlot are from Sonoma County and show that lush palate feel. Rodney Strong wasn’t the first bonded winery in Sonoma, but he was the 13th! Can you imagine? Only 13 wineries in Sonoma! Glad this one stayed.

2009 Rodney Strong Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon

2009 Rodney Strong Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon

2007 Rodney Strong Sonoma Merlot

2007 Rodney Strong Sonoma Merlot

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