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.
Teldeschi Vineyard is spread across three ranches on the east bench of Dry Creek Valley. The vineyard dates back to the 1890’s.
Crimson in color. 15.2% ABV. Sublime nose of black fruits, plums, mint and pepper. Full bodied with mouth watering acidity. Big, powerful and concentrated. Notably well balanced. Black cherry, blackberry liqueur, cocoa and white pepper on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Approachable now but built for the long haul if you are so inclined. Always one of my favorite Zins from the Dry Creek Valley. Best over the next 5-7 years.
My rating: 94 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 2023 vintage set of wines will be released in early 2026.