1986 Ravenswood Pickberry Vineyard

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Alessandro Masnaghetti and I arrived at Pickberry Vineyard to find an array of bottles laid out on Cris and Lorna Strotz’s kitchen counter. Over the years, the Strotzes have sold fruit from their Sonoma Mountain property to a number of wineries. It may seem hard to believe, but Alessandro and I rarely taste when we are working on maps because we are so focused on the task at hand. But it was the end of the day, and we were tired of battling with the unrelentingly cold, rainy weather, so we decided to take a little break. One label in particular caught my eye, the 1986 Ravenswood Pickberry Vineyard. Joel Peterson’s Ravenswood wines have a track record of aging brilliantly, so I was intrigued to check in on this 30+ year-old Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc-based blend.