Ravenswood Zin 1994 - magnums

[pickypicky]

Found 4 dusty magnums of Ravenswood Zin 1994 in a smalltown Texas liquor store. $50 ea. No other identifying info on the bottle, just "Sonoma County." Dare I? Or is that lady with the shotgun behind the counter laughing her ass off, hoping I'll buy?

[Scott M]

My guess is she is laughing. This is the low end Ravenswood that is not built for aging. Throw in the fact that these have not been properly stored and your money would be better spent buying lotto tickets.

[moto]

only a very small, fairly elite portion of the copious quantity of northern cali zinfandel will reward cellaring for sixteen years, and that wine was neither cellared, nor in the upper tier of what Peterson made in Ravenswood at the time--i've had a fair number of them, they're designated by single vineyard--Dickerson, Barricia, Teldeschi, usw.

[ecustard]

The other posters are correct--even most very good, properly stored zin doesn't make it to a decade before it declines and very few are crafted to be true "agers."

But if you think like me, why not make a lower offer for a bottle? Keeping in mind that two 750 ml bottles of their current release of the same wine would cost $37 direct from the winery and that these magnums were retailing for somewhere in the neighborhood of half that back in 1995 when they were released. If she bites and you get a turned "sinker" you're out <$20. If it has somehow survived and shows OK, go back and get the others.

[pickypicky]

thanks, yall. Chow-winers always pull through for me. I knew in my heart it was not right, but I'm a real sucker for age on a bottle. I like ecustard's idea of a lowball offer, but since they're displayed in the "Party Wine" section, I'm betting somebody here will buy eventually. There are also some Benziger Sonoma County Merlot 1997 Magnums. . .

[njfoodies]

These could definitely peak some interset at an offline. I'd definitely go in there and lowball. Even if you could get one at $40, it would be fun to bring to a tasting just for some gee wiz factor. I always try to do something like that for an offline, and been to many where others have done the same. Good times. -mJ

[pickypicky]

i like how you think. and to repeat, i'm a sucker for age on a bottle. my first husband was a wine importer, and even some dark brown Burgundies with too much age wowed us with their fading hints of greatness: like an operatic tragedy where the heroine dies onstage while singing the most amazing notes.

[cstr]

Hey picky, drink and enjoy, maybe not the best deal but, zin is the most sturdy for aging. BTW. if you frequent Costco and find some Pillar Red Box 2007 from down under, buy it regardless of the screw top and name, it's a real winner for under $10.

[invinotheresverde]

"Zin is the most sturdy for aging"?

[njfoodies]

It is? Since when? Are you saying I should get rid of all my old Bordeaux and age my zins? ;-) -mJ

[invinotheresverde]

I was commenting on cstr's surprising statement. I definitely don't agree with it.

[cstr]

Maybe I should refine my 'surprising' statement, comparing California (Ravens Wood) Merlot's, Cabs. and say Oregon Washington Pino Noirs, I believe Red Zins will age well. Bordeaux's are a whole other story, probably good for centuries.

[invinotheresverde]

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, of course, but I disagree. I've sat on some better zins that have aged okay, but, by my tongue, they don't compare to equal quality cabs/merlots/etc. YMMV.

[westsidegal]

LA wine company has the Henry's Drive Pillar Box Red in stock now, as does Cost Plus World Market.
LA wine company ships.

[Melanie Wong]

Here's a photo of the 1994 Ravenswood "Wood Road/Belloni" Russian River Valley zin opened at last fall's Chowing with the Hounds picnic in Berkeley. This 750ml has been in my temperature-controlled cellar since release. It still had stuffing but the tannins were quite drying, and it was completely outshone by the 1994 Bannister "Rochioli/Sodini" Zin. The 1994 Swan "Frati" was corked, unfortunately, but I got a replacement bottle and it's going strong too.
http://twitpic.com/k9q1b

[ellaystingray]

I just bought some old Ravenswood Zin at auction and it arrives in a few days. I will check out a bottle and see how it goes and let you know.

750 Ravenswood Monte Rosso 1994 $25 per
750 Ravenswood Dickerson 1993 $30 per
750 Ravenswood Dickerson 1994 $30 per

It should be noted that I like old zin, hate money and love playing roulette.

[invinotheresverde]

Single vineyard wines are much more likely to have held up than the lowest tier bottle.

[ellaystingray]

Okay, so I've had the '93 Dickerson and '94 Monte Rosso. The Monte Rosso had fleeting glipses of greatness (greatness in the context of single vineyard zins) but it quickly wafted into the air after a few minutes in the glass. I think this wine would have been killer at 7-12 years old as opposed to 16. It is not maderized in any way, but just doesn't have the oomph it should any longer--just not much left. It paired well with a cheese pizza.

On the OTHER hand, the Dickerson is showing like a superstar. At 17, it has lilting floral notes that remind of a fine perfume...I think I just inadvertandly ended up in a different thread about idiotic wine descriptors...long, lingering bits of dark berry on the palate and a reasonable understanding of tannic structure. I drank this mostly without food as it was that interesting.

This all being said, it means nothing to you in regard to the magnums of "Sonoma County" zin. While it probably contains fruit from both vineyards in the blend, it is unlikely this wine is particularly tasty at this point despite being in a magnum. Which would age a little more gracefully than a 750....

I would say pass. And just one more thing, I lived in Austin for four years working in the wine business and Texas is hell on wine. Without even getting into shipping and distributor warehouses/loading docks, the store itself would have had to store it perfectly for probably 15 years to ensure even somewhat reasonable provenance. As much as I enjoy treasure hunting, you'd have to have a lot of luck in this case to get wine that was anything more than drinkable. And if drinkable is all that matters, get a magnum of St. Genevieve for a fraction of the price. And by drinkable, I mean things that don't make you go blind.