Winemaker Notes
The Napa Valley Zinfandel is roughly in the same category as our Sonoma County Zinfandel. Ravenswood has had the good fortune to find some exciting Napa Zinfandel growers. Mature grapes from mature vineyards throughout Napa Valley are used in this wine. The wine has high aromatic scents of raspberries, cherries, plum and spice — aromas which integrate nicely with the vanilla tones of the French oak. Good acidity keeps the wine bright and lively on the palate, while the concentrated fruit flavors add a richness to the flavor that lingers long in the finish of the wine. This Zinfandel should maintain its lovely high tone fruit over the next four to five years and then begin the transformation to a more complex, spicy wine with evolving bottle bouquet.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.