Zinfandel of the Month is a regular feature on Zinfandel Chronicles. Keep in mind that although the Zinfandel of the Month might be an older bottle, the current vintage will be one you can find at retail or via the mailing list.
The July Zinfandel of the Month is the 2015 Once & Future Wine Zinfandel Bedrock Vineyard.
Joel Peterson founded Ravenswood Winery in 1976 with a focus on Single Vineyard Zinfandel. Ravenswood was immensely successful and over time began producing in excess of a million cases per year. Once & Future is the return to the original vision Joel had for Ravenswood so many years ago – a small project specializing in wines from unique older vineyards. At present time Once & Future makes several Zins along with a Merlot, Mataro and Petite Sirah.
Bedrock Vineyard, formerly known as Madrone Ranch, was first planted in 1854. Senator George Hearst purchased the property in 1888 and planted most of the vines that exist to this day. Located in the Sonoma Valley the vineyard is also a fruit source for Ravenswood, Bedrock and Carlisle.
Opaque purple in color. 14.7% ABV. Stunning nose of juicy black fruits, anise, pepper and earth. Medium to full bodied with perfect acidity. Walks a fine line between rich and jammy and claret style Zinfandel. Exceptionally well balanced. Blackberry, black cherry liqueur, cocoa powder and pepper on the palate. The finish is exceedingly long with dusty tannins. Absolutely delicious Zinfandel. Drink over the next 5-7 years.
My rating: 95 points.
I always hesitate to suggest yet another mailing list to my readers but I’ll make an exception here. Sign up soon as I suspect these wines will be hard to come by in the not so distant future. The next release should be early next year.