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 Turley, Robert Biale, Limerick Lane, Carlisle and Bedrock of course.
Purple in color. 14.8% ABV. Stunning nose of red fruits, citrus, anise and pepper. Medium body with ample acidity. Fresh and crisp with tart fruits. Cherry, cranberry, blood orange and pepper on the palate. Nice length on the finish. This Zinfandel doesn’t have the fruit profile you would hope for from the 18 vintage. Best in the near term.
My rating: 90 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. Once & Future only releases wines once a year so the next release of the 2023 Zins should be in early 2025.
I blogged about Once & Future previously in The 2021 Once & Future Zins with Joel Peterson in Bedrock Vineyard.