2006 Zinfandel Dickerson Vineyard Napa Valley

"We had a good, long growing season in 2006 and the wines have a lot of individual character," said Joel Peterson; "it was a great year for vineyard expression."Peterson emphasized that he works hard to maintain consistency of style at Ravenswood, "but with the obvious variability of vintage making its mark." Peterson also wondered if his zinfandels are flying under the radar of most consumers since they often sell for far less than his colleagues' versions. "Are wines taken less seriously nowadays if they don't bear rapacious price tags?" he asked. Coming from a guy with almost 40 years in the industry, and someone who was at the forefront of single-vineyard wines in California, this is food for thought. Incidentally, Peterson's son Morgan has begun a new winemaking project with his father called Bedrock Wine Company, and the 2007 barrel samples he presented to me showed very good promise in a distinctly elegant style.