Today’s Ravenswood Winery 2013 Dickerson Vineyard Napa Valley Zinfandel is truly one of the finest we’ve tasted from this Operative favorite winery. We weren’t able to get our hands on very much of it, but we bought up every last case that they had.

Reserve yours soon, before we run out of this 91 point gem!

What a nose! Yes, that’s the Ravenswood Dickerson vineyard aromatic profile that we’ve come to love. This wine shows aromas of black cherry, cassis, bramble, chocolate covered caramel, baked blueberry tart, licorice root, subtle dried herbs and black pepper.

On the palate, well… whoa! Rich and layered, with flavors of blackberry, black cherry crumble, caramel, baker’s chocolate, blueberry jam, bramble and subtle cured beef.

Zinfandel is related to the Italian Primitivo grape, tracing its origin to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kastelanski. Zinfandel is one of the most versatile varietals, with the ability to make wines both rich to fruity, dark to light, and dry to sweet. Sonoma Valley Old Vine Zinfandels, which are characterized by their refinement and balance, are extraordinarily popular with our Operatives.

We grabbed up every case that the winery had, so once we run out there is no more.

.

Here’s what the wine press has to say:

91 points - Wine & Spirits - “Joel Peterson makes this wine from a vineyard on Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena. In 2013, Dickerson is a fresh, open zin, yielding generous fruit in a cascade of blackberry, strawberry and red currant flavors. The texture is soft and clean if you open it now; the tannins gain prominence as it develops with air, the structure feeling harder, the fruit less accessible. Zinfandel is often best immediately on release, or more than ten years from the vintage, and this is a wine to go short or long; forget about it in the mid-term.”

~

90 points - Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast - “A 100% varietal wine, this offers a juiciness of red fruit that’s deliciously inviting, surrounded by plenty of cinnamon and black pepper. Grippy and full bodied, it reins in its ripeness well, remaining structured and complex through a mineral-driven finish.”