Patricia Herron and Barbara Olesen must have been psychic when they purchased the vineyard that they would name "Barricia" (a contraction of their first names that, coincidentally, means barrel in Portuguese). The Zinfandel from this vineyard seems to have been revered by every winery that has made wine from it. And why not? Barricia is an old, low production vineyard, in a special location in Sonoma Valley. The area, known by locals as the "Banana Belt" due to the benevolent warmth of it's microclimate, was among the first planted in Sonoma Valley. Though none of the vines are from the primary planting because of a phylloxera epidemic that ravaged the original vines planted on their own roots, some however, date from the replant which was grafted to St. George root stock (late 1870's). Due to their age and the fact that they are farmed without irrigation , the crop level on these vines is low and the vine vigor minimal. This, of course, leads to very intense wines. Because of the thick-skinned nature of these grapes, the level of tannin is high and the winemaker has to be careful to not over extract the grapes in order to maintain a good balance between fruit and structure. Understanding this about the vineyard, the Ravenswood Barricia wines are beautifully complex and potentially long-lived. Barricia Vineyards has the blackberry, black pepper spiciness commonly associated with Sonoma Valley Zinfandel. It has a unique ripe plum, spice flavor that is well supported by fine ripe tannins. After tasting this wine it is easy to see why so many wineries have chosen to set it apart as a special production.