California's Favourite Grape

Robin Lynam looks at the genealogy of Zinfandel and samples some very welcome offerings from the Ravenswood Winery, a Zinfandel specialist

Either way, Zinfandel, which is now also cultivated in South Africa and Australia, found the soils of California particularly hospitable, and the Californians found the grape both generous and versatile.
It is used to make White Zinfandel – actually a blush wine or rosé – and a variety of styles of red. It now accounts for more than 10 per cent of the grapes planted in California, and the state’s winemakers are proud of its heritage.
None are more so than the Ravenswood Winery in Sonoma County, a Zinfandel specialist, although it also makes other wines. We at HK Golfer decided to pull the corks on a few bottles in the office one evening.
Ravenswood is known for its range of single vineyard wines, each of which expresses the unique terroir of a particular patch of land in various Californian locations. For the most part Ravenswood does not own these vineyards, but has
arrangements with trusted growers who supply their best fruit to the winemakers.
We had three of their distinctive single vineyard Zinfandels to try, but the oenologists also make wine in other styles so we started with a 2006 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon.
A well balanced mid-priced wine with Cabernet Sauvignon’s instantly identifiable mint and blackcurrant notes, cassis dominated the nose, and there were also hints of cherries and vanilla. A very respectable entry level Californian wine.
From there it was on to the Zinfandels, each from a single vineyard with limited production. The next wine to be decanted was Ravenswood Belloni Zinfandel, 2007, from Sonoma’s Russian River Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA), which scored 94 points from Wine Enthusiast.
Only 1,300 cases of this vintage were ever produced, and it is worth seeking out. Made from 78 per cent Zinfandel with 22 per cent what the winery calls “mixed blacks”, berry flavours dominate. A well balanced wine with good structure and acidity and a spicy finish, it probably has further potential for bottle development.
Old Hill Single Vineyard Zinfandel, 2007, is even rarer with only 1,180 cases made, and earned 95 points from Wine Enthusiast. This complex wine goes on developing in the glass, and has a peppery quality with notes of blackberry, vanilla, coffee and mint. The wine contains 14 grape varieties, but at 75% Zinfandel remains dominant.
By comparison with Old Hill and Belloni the 2007 Teldeschi Dry Creek Single Vineyard vintage was produced in relative abundance. Some 3,560 cases were made, and the wine is berry dominated with hints of tobacco and cinnamon, plums, cherries and vanilla.
California is sometimes called the New World equivalent to Burgundy, in that it makes small quantities of wine from grapes grown on small parcels of land. It’s a good analogy, and these single vineyard vintages are a fair representation of what the state’s winemakers can do with its favourite grape.- R.L.

For more information please write to wine@hkgolfer.com

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