Ravenswood Old Vine Zin Medocino County 2002

The Ravenswood Mendocino Zinfandel ($8.99 BevMo) is a nice little Zin from a location not formally known for Zinfandel. While the Sonoma and Napa areas still grow the best Zin grapes in my opinion, Mendocino County must have been growing them for a while for the "Old Vine" designation. However there is no formal length of time to make a vine "Old" so we never really know what is actually meant. The website states "Just above the Sonoma County line, California's fabled Redwood Empire has been a source of old-vine Zinfandel for almost as long." Hmmmm. Since this is the first sentence in the paragraph, it is kind of tough to fingure out what they are saying. Almost as long as what? The redwoods? MMMMM. Caveman Red!

In any event, the wine is a nice example of California Zinfandel with nice berry notes and a modest but notable nose that is usually absent in low end Zin. Decent body and viscosity make this a good value. To get there, Ravenswood winemakers added 12% Carignane, and 7% mixed blacks fruit. Don't ask me about the "mixed blacks". I've never heard the expression.

While it is rated at over 14% alcohol, it was not particularly noticable.

Enjoy!