Somewhat monolithic, lean, and austere, with crisp acidity and a good character is the 2004 Zinfandel Big River Vineyard (100% Zinfandel). While it does not possess much depth, it does offer attractive fruit, spice box, pepper, and herb characteristics. One of my favorite songs is called “Poker Face” by a relatively unknown country crooner named Rob Jungklas. One of the lines in that great song sums up how I’m feeling about Ravenswood these days ... “You don’t have to meet the devil to lose your soul on this black night.” Ravenswood along with Ridge and a handful of other wineries were the reference points for stunning Zinfandel during the decade of the 1980s, but since the winery’s sale, these wines are mere shadows of what they were a decade ago (despite the fact that Joel Peterson is still in charge). While some of the current cuvees merited respectable scores, the soul and guts of Ravenswood Zinfandels are missing.Tel. (707) 938-1960

Zins from this vineyard are always big, ripe and exuberant. The challenge is to keep the wines elegant. In 2004, Joel Peterson had to struggle, for the grapes were enormously ripe. But he has managed to keep the overall balance, while retaining the vineyard’s key traits of gigantic wild berry fruit that fully merits the considerable oak overlay. ——S.H.(6/1/2007)—— 87