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. Joel eventually sold Ravenswood to Constellation. I recall going to Ravenswood every August in the mid nineties for the release of their Single Vineyard Zins with the intent of securing coveted bottles of Old Hill, Dickerson, Cooke and Belloni. 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.
Crimson in color. 14.7% ABV. Sensational nose of red and black fruits, licorice, plums and pepper. Full bodied with mouth watering acidity. Tremendous power and concentration. Black cherry, blackberry, eucalyptus and white pepper on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish. A clear success from an average vintage. Give this some time in the cellar. Best over the next 3-5 years.
My rating: 92 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 2024 vintage set of wines will released be in early 2026.
I recently visited with Joel and wrote about it in The 2021 Once & Future Zins with Joel Peterson in Bedrock Vineyard.