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Ravenswood Winery

It no coincidence that Ravenswood's Old Hill zinfandel has such extraordinarily creamy texture and sweetness: the vines in this rolling valley-floor vineyard, planted on mostly volcanic soil rich in gravel and loam, are 90 to 120 years old. They ripen evenly and on the early side for zinfandel. In general, yields are very low-between 1 and 1-3/4 tons of fruit per acre-with the notable exception of 1985, a year that produced 2-1/2 tons per acre. The Old Hill grapes are rather thick-skinned, says winemaker Joel Peterson, "like cabernet.Peterson reports that maceration times have been shortened in recent years: before 1990 the wines stayed on their skins for a full four weeks, but beginning with the '90 vintage typical maceration time has been 14 to 18 days. The malolactic fermentations typically take place early, in the fermenters, but in some years finish in barrel. As a general rule, Peterson uses about one-third new French oak to age the Old Hill, believing that a higher percentage would obliterate the spice component of the wine. Peterson has occasionally fined his wines to clarify them and round out their tannins (as in '96, '95, '90 and '85), but, except for the '93, has bottled the Old Hill zinfandel without filtration.Peterson disagrees with those who say that California zinfandel does not age well. "Old vines from the right places, vinified to age, can gain in bottle for a decade or more," Peterson maintains, but he is quick to point out that many other California zins are simply made for early drinking. My own tasting of the Old Hill zin suggests that examples from successful vintages typically reach their peaks anywhere from five to eight years after the vintage and can remain there for another four to six years. Weaker vintages, needless to say, develop more quickly, while exceptional years, like '91, may take even longer to unfold.

From Five California Verticals (Jul 1998) by Stephen Tanzer

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1993 Zinfandel Old Hill Sonoma Valley

Color: Red

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