Ravenswood Big River Zinfandel 2005
-
Guide
Connoisseurs'
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
-Connoisseurs' Guide
California's Russian River means different things to different people. For the original natives, it was a life-giving cornucopia of fish, game, fruits and berries. For Russian trappers, it was a vast bank of sea-otter pelts. For the Americans who came later, it was a place of enormous redwoods, a prime spot for growing apples, finally a source of summertime inner-tube inspiration.
For wine buffs, it usually means cool-climate grapes like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But away from the coast, the Russian River has a different character. From its source in the Mendocino County highlands, its whitewater tumbles down past Cloverdale into the Alexander Valley, then winds through the hills behind Healdsburg before passing north of Santa Rosa to assume its familiar, civilized role. It's in the unpeopled sector of central Sonoma County that Ravenswood's Big River Zinfandel is grown. Despite the notoriety that surrounds it to the north, south, east and west, this spot remains a world of its own—a still, silent, secret realm that almost seems like something from Tolkien, existing outside time.
Under the stewardship of Scott and Lynn Adams, Big River is the most meticulously farmed vineyard that Ravenswood has the privilege of using. It's not an exaggeration to say that it's coddled by two mothers: Nature and Nurture. Its grapes respond with healthy, exuberant flavors that, if anything, tip toward the inland direction of Alexander Valley: rich, ripe, soft, round, plush, plummy and spicy. It's an amalgam of attributes that gives new meaning to the term Russian River.
Professional Ratings
- Connoisseurs' Guide
Other Vintages
2015-
Panel
Tasting -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
Fueled initially by the inspiration and winemaking skills of Joel Peterson, aided and abetted by his business partner W. Reed Foster, Ravenswood winery has been dedicated to top quality, hand-crafted wine since the first crush in 1976. Every Ravenswood wine carries a unique vintage and vineyard identity in addition to the intense powerful – gothic – character with which the winery has come to be associated.
A key to Ravenswood’s success is their long-standing relationships with over 60 independent grape growers. Vineyards are chosen for their location, age, yield and special flavor characteristics. At Ravenswood, they are devoted to working with growers who share their philosophy about high quality.
Ravenswood Vineyard Designate wines are made employing what Joel Peterson refers to as “stubborn and impractical” Old World enological practices. Wines are fermented in small wooden tanks using wild, natural yeasts and punched down by hand three to five times per day. The wines are characterized by intense, spicy aromas supported by rich, berry flavors and long, clean finishes.