Ravenswood, Zinfandel Cooke Vineyard, California

14.8% abv. Sound cork, pop and pour. Medium ruby, no bricking at the edges. Expressive aromas of ripe plum, black cherry and blue fruit. On the palate, a rich dark cherry compote with emerging notes of finely aged claret. Good deph, impeccable balance and still vibrant fruit. This wine is actually at a peak, no rush to drink, but it won't get any better than this. I've enjoyed many well aged Ravenswood Zins at various events over the years and …

2007 vintage

Mature fruit. Noticeable alcohol, seems almost like VA.

1995 vintage

OK

2007 vintage

Better than the last bottle. A very good Zin.

2007 vintage

Yet another example of beautifully aged Ravenswood! Decanted and poured after 30 minutes. Wafts of sweet raspberry compote out of the glass. Sweet brambleberry fruit, spices, mild oak and mild tannins. Stayed strong for 2+ hours before starting to decline. Even with 15+% ABV, this is another in a string of successfully aged Ravenswood from the 1990s. Remarkable quality and absolutely delightful drinking!!

1995 vintage

Tasted alongside the '97 and '04. Double decanted then left open for a couple of hours before consuming. The nose had some funk and tar. Red fruit and a hint of heat that came through a bit like a minty note. The wine was still tannic and had a streak of acid. On the palate, this wine had red berries and cloves. Like the '97, the fruit was muted enough that the tannins and acid predominated. 15.2% alcohol.

1995 vintage

Nice drinking window. Resolved tannins, secondary, earthy notes, mellow, silky texture. Time to drink up.

2007 vintage

The tannins have mellowed but it still possesses character. I can note pepper.

2007 vintage

This wine is doing great, but drink it now! It's wonderful to see how the Old Hill has aged well, and it has a better balance than when I tasted it over 10 years. I feel like the peak may have been 18mos. ago, so drink 'em if ya got' em!

2007 vintage

This wine is peaking - wow. Robust legs crawling up the glass preview a nose that wears bigger as the bottle extends into the evening. No inordinate or notable heat that I could detect. My well-provenanced bottle is rocking my apartment tonight, and complementing my house-made pasta robusto something fierce! If my breathless review hasn't chased you off (it almost did me!), give this a try. 50/5/14/16/8

2007 vintage

Good color, light on the palate, OK. Drink up.

2007 vintage

Tannins resolved; elegant and interesting, but now that the fruit is less potent, the alcohol (ABV14.8) is more notable.

2007 vintage

89-90. No detailed notes - from memory. I bought this after being impressed by the 2012. This (w/ maybe 7 more years of age on it than when I had the 2012), wasn't quite as memorable. This is probably starting to go downhill, though it will likely be slow and graceful.

2007 vintage

Nice zin, but I've had very similar at lesser price points.

2007 vintage

Top of cork disintegrated in the opener. Bottom of cork was intact. Wine appears to be drinkable.

2007 vintage

Nice zin. Spice, smooth tannins, long finish, really nice to drink. Nice nose, nothing not to like.

2007 vintage

Perhaps not worth the price but a solid Zin. Drank in one sitting with friends so I can't comment on the second day issue. We really liked it even without much time open.

2007 vintage

Very nice zin, but I'm not seeing the price or pro reviews. By second night (sealed but sitting on counter) this was gone. Maybe it was past its peak -- or maybe its peak is somewhere well into the future. Will keep next bottle for a while.

2007 vintage

Paired with steaks at the resort. Plenty bold with smooth dark fruit and a long finish.

2007 vintage

Stood up to a Sean Brock burger. Lots of power to match. Not an easy thing to do. Everyone enjoyed.

2007 vintage

Tannins have settled. Very smooth. Still a little heat though. Lacking upfront fruit. More raisin, plum, and prune. Nothing like your average grocery store zin. The old vines really add complexity and make this wine special. This is America's heritage. A very good wine, but needs to come down a bit in price point.

2007 vintage

Seems closed at first. Very little showing on the nose or palate, except for a rich texture and a pruney/spirity finish. Really opens up after a day in the fridge. Lovely aromatics of macerated red berries and soil. Lots of sweet, round red fruit on the palate, with just enough offsetting acidity. Dark soil-inflected finish, with a touch of heat. Ripe tooth-staining tannins. Excellent Zin. Age or decant to release those aromatics. 14.8% ABV.

2007 vintage

Glistening deep red, warm red fruit nose that is also there at the start of tasting before taking on an increasing pepperiness that explodes into a creamy sweet finish. Fun but with a serious edge that puts it well above the regular Zinfandel crowd.

2007 vintage

Best Zin that I have had in a long time. Perfect with BBQ ribs and brisket. Dark purple. Nose of berries, spice, earth and tobacco. Beautiful balanced and smooth palate of blackberry, spice, earth and charcoal and minerality. Not fruity , but a beautiful earthiness. No tannin.

2007 vintage

A full throttle Zin. Loaded with bramble fruit, tastes of blackberry, leather, tobacco, with some smoke. Took some time to open up in the glass, was closed for the first hour or so. A classic expression of the Zinfandel grape by a long-standing Cali Zin vintner. Well worth the QPR on WTSO. Simply put, you'd have a very tough time finding a zinfandel as great as this one at your local wine merchant, as they're usually sold out by winery …

2007 vintage

I tend to agree with Strauss, the prune flavors and heat threw me off from what was otherwise a big wine with lots of fruit and spice and acid

2007 vintage

Dusty fruit on the nose and in the mouth with a nice earthy undertone. Mistook this for a well-made WA Bordeaux blend. Well balanced for CA Zin, very nice example of Zin as a food wine.

2007 vintage

Same as last note, only pruney to boot. Very disappointing bottles.

2007 vintage

Good zin, balanced, could use some more bottle age with the tannins.

2007 vintage

A very nice zin. Left open on counter for about an hour. Good balance, lots of black fruit with a pretty long finish. Good QPR. I think this will still last a couple of years in the cellar.

2007 vintage

Can't score because drank it too long ago and memory is fading. Remember thinking it was a very good Zin and that it went well with the meal, but it goes blank after that.

2007 vintage

still good, smooth,

1995 vintage

time to try this wine again since no one else seems to be drinking it. thin at first but within 10 minutes it put on considerable weight. very thick, very jammy very upfront spicy fruit. still appears to be at its peak but i'm guessing that it will hold for a couple of more years.

1995 vintage

amazingly youthful. wonderful spice in the manner of the cooke vinyard in most good vintages. probably at its peak but the abundance of fruit suggests that the peak will last for the next 2-3 years minimum. reaffirms my contention that 1995 was the best zin vintage in recent memory.

1995 vintage

A classic! Very ripe, bright, primary fruit. Almost like sucking on crystallized berries. Still a bit tannic and could use more age. Killer long finish. A wine that almost makes you weep with pleasure. Very concentrated, and dense, yet not at all lumbering. Wow!

1995 vintage

CT Group does Zins @ Phil L (Westport) : Slighly less intense than I last remember it, but it was in such incredible company, that it would be easy to underappreciate it's true quality. Raspberries, cherry, and nice use of oak. Well balanced wine, but perhaps a bit closed from the last time I tasted it.

1995 vintage

This is one of the best zins I have ever had in my life! Full of ripe fruit and spice! Full-bodied but not heavy... wonderful balance. Lively mouthfeel; fun to drink!

1995 vintage

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Ravenswood, Zinfandel Cooke Vineyard, California

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