2002 Icon Mixed Blacks Sonoma County

It has become fashionable in some quarters to criticize this winery, as production has grown to nearly a half-million cases under the corporate ownership of Constellation Brands. And a new generation of wine writers looking for fresh angles on old stories may be frustrated not to find a major new development to report on in recent years. But founder and long-time winemaker Joel Peterson is still very much involved in production here, and the winery's vineyard-designated zinfandels, which mostly derive from some of the North Coast's oldest parcels of vines, continue to number among the best examples of this variety.(The winery's County series of zin bottlings offers consistently good value.)If anything, the Ravenswood team is more involved than ever before in farming these vineyards and in ensuring healthy, ripe fruit. In recent years, I've generally found California zinfandel to be far less exciting than it was back in the mid-'90s, as more wines seem overoaked or overripe, or have otherwise strayed from the pure berry and spice flavors that made this variety so popular. The best Ravenswood wines still offer undeniable zinfandelity.