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.
Old Hill Ranch is a historic jewel. It was founded by William McPherson Hill in 1851. The vineyard came into the Bucklin family when it was purchased in 1981. Bucklin, Once & Future and Bedrock are the sole producers of wine from the vineyard.
Crimson in color. 15% ABV. Sensational nose of black and red fruits, mint and roasted herbs. Medium to full bodied with just the right amount of acidity. Impeccably balanced with impressive structure and concentration. Blackberry, raspberry liqueur, spiced plums and pepper on the palate. Wine made by Joel from grapes grown by Will Bucklin. That is as good as it gets. Best over the next 4-6 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 2025 vintage set of wines will released next Spring.
I recently visited with Joel and wrote about it in The 2021 Once & Future Zins with Joel Peterson in Bedrock Vineyard.