Wine Article
2011 Ravenswood Zinfandel Old Hill
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By Ravenswood Winery
Old Hill Zinfandel Single Vineyard Designate 2011
The Vineyard
Otto Teller was larger than life. He had worked out a special recipe for life and stuck to it. He couldn’t stand excesses or the distractions of modern life; he knew what was good, elegant, and classic, and he eschewed anything that didn’t meet his standards. Teller’s pride and joy was Oak Hill Farm in Sonoma Valley, where he raised flowers, produce, and decorative shrubs—and which he expanded in 1981 to include Old Hill ranch, whose century-old grapevines mingled with junk cars, abandoned appliances, blackberries, and poison oak. Ignoring consultants who advised him to fumigate and replant, Otto brought the vineyard back from the dead. He cleared the brush, cultivated a natural cover of grass, and stimulated growth with foliar kelp, relying on ladybugs and praying mantises to control pests. Planted in the traditional field blend of early California grape growing, these were some of the oldest vines in the Valley of the Moon. When Otto died in 1998 at the age of 90, his stepson Will Bucklin left his winemaking job to take over Old Hill. A vineyard that is not only a historic embodiment of California wine, but an ongoing incarnation of Otto Teller: big, rich, complex, generous, and uncompromising.
Location
Old Hill Vineyard is located in the heart of the Sonoma Valley with probably the oldest vines in Sonoma County. There are at least 30 different grape varieties on the property but it’s blended to be around 75% Zinfandel.
Flavor Profile
The 2011 Old Hill Zinfandel is a wine that is refined and reserved but also assertive. Generous spicy blackberry, raspberry, and mint aromas are underpinned by rich scents of cedar, rosemary, and vanilla. The palate is round, rich, and mouth-filling with a mix of red and black fruit and persistent mint flavors, balanced by soft, velvety tannins and a long, pleasant finish. This extremely alluring wine is attractive now, but will continue to get more interesting for many years.
Technical Details
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
Acreage: About 14 acres
Years Planted: Around 1880
Soil Type: Clay loam
Climate: “Banana Belt of Sonoma County”
Elevation: Sea level
Exposure: Slightly eastern
Rootstock: Mixed/St. George
Composition: 75% Zinfandel, 25% Mixed Black Grapes
Fermentation: Native yeast fermentation in small open-top fermenters, manual punchdowns, 6 days skin contact
Aging: 19 months in French oak barrels, 30% new
TA: 6.4 g/L
pH: 3.56
Production: 1,200 cases
Ageability: Drink between now and 10-15 years
[Information provided by Lauber Selections]
By Antonio Galloni's Vinous Media
Ravenswood Winery 2011 Zinfandel Old Hill Sonoma Valley
Points: 93
Sonoma, Sonoma
Red wine from United States
Inky ruby. A complex bouquet presents dark fruit liqueur, licorice, violet and fruitcake, with a smoky overtone and a hint of black pepper. Stains the palate with sappy boysenberry and cherry-cola flavors that spread out on the back half and pick up a suave floral pastille nuance. Dusty tannins build through a sweet, strikingly persistent finish brightened by a vibrant, spicy jolt of peppery spices. I suspect that this will be the longest-lived of this year's set of Zinfandels here, but I don't think that it will take forever to unfold, either. Stephen Tanzer, May 2014
By Connoisseurs' Guide
91 RAVENSWOOD Old Hill Zinfandel Sonoma Valley 2011
Ravenswood Old Hill bottlings are typically the toughest and the least outwardly fruity of the bunch, and, if arguably a bit fruitier than usual, this years' version comes with all of the structured solidly we expect. It a deep and decidedly complex offering with lots of briary spice and suggestions of stony soil to the side of its concentrated, dark berry aspects, and it is as always a brooding wine whose tannic frame tags it as one needing age. Some four or five years would seem the minimal wait, but it will be going strong for a good many more. Reviewed: January 2014. Limited Production. Cellar. For highly spiced meat dishes. $60.00
Old Hill Zinfandel Single Vineyard Designate 2011
The Vineyard
Otto Teller was larger than life. He had worked out a special recipe for life and stuck to it. He couldn’t stand excesses or the distractions of modern life; he knew what was good, elegant, and classic, and he eschewed anything that didn’t meet his standards. Teller’s pride and joy was Oak Hill Farm in Sonoma Valley, where he raised flowers, produce, and decorative shrubs—and which he expanded in 1981 to include Old Hill ranch, whose century-old grapevines mingled with junk cars, abandoned appliances, blackberries, and poison oak. Ignoring consultants who advised him to fumigate and replant, Otto brought the vineyard back from the dead. He cleared the brush, cultivated a natural cover of grass, and stimulated growth with foliar kelp, relying on ladybugs and praying mantises to control pests. Planted in the traditional field blend of early California grape growing, these were some of the oldest vines in the Valley of the Moon. When Otto died in 1998 at the age of 90, his stepson Will Bucklin left his winemaking job to take over Old Hill. A vineyard that is not only a historic embodiment of California wine, but an ongoing incarnation of Otto Teller: big, rich, complex, generous, and uncompromising.
Location
Old Hill Vineyard is located in the heart of the Sonoma Valley with probably the oldest vines in Sonoma County. There are at least 30 different grape varieties on the property but it’s blended to be around 75% Zinfandel.
Flavor Profile
The 2011 Old Hill Zinfandel is a wine that is refined and reserved but also assertive. Generous spicy blackberry, raspberry, and mint aromas are underpinned by rich scents of cedar, rosemary, and vanilla. The palate is round, rich, and mouth-filling with a mix of red and black fruit and persistent mint flavors, balanced by soft, velvety tannins and a long, pleasant finish. This extremely alluring wine is attractive now, but will continue to get more interesting for many years.
Technical Details
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
Acreage: About 14 acres
Years Planted: Around 1880
Soil Type: Clay loam
Climate: “Banana Belt of Sonoma County”
Elevation: Sea level
Exposure: Slightly eastern
Rootstock: Mixed/St. George
Composition: 75% Zinfandel, 25% Mixed Black Grapes
Fermentation: Native yeast fermentation in small open-top fermenters, manual punchdowns, 6 days skin contact
Aging: 19 months in French oak barrels, 30% new
TA: 6.4 g/L
pH: 3.56
Production: 1,200 cases
Ageability: Drink between now and 10-15 years
[Information provided by Lauber Selections]
By Antonio Galloni's Vinous Media
Ravenswood Winery 2011 Zinfandel Old Hill Sonoma Valley
Points: 93
Sonoma, Sonoma
Red wine from United States
Inky ruby. A complex bouquet presents dark fruit liqueur, licorice, violet and fruitcake, with a smoky overtone and a hint of black pepper. Stains the palate with sappy boysenberry and cherry-cola flavors that spread out on the back half and pick up a suave floral pastille nuance. Dusty tannins build through a sweet, strikingly persistent finish brightened by a vibrant, spicy jolt of peppery spices. I suspect that this will be the longest-lived of this year's set of Zinfandels here, but I don't think that it will take forever to unfold, either. Stephen Tanzer, May 2014
By Connoisseurs' Guide
91 RAVENSWOOD Old Hill Zinfandel Sonoma Valley 2011
Ravenswood Old Hill bottlings are typically the toughest and the least outwardly fruity of the bunch, and, if arguably a bit fruitier than usual, this years' version comes with all of the structured solidly we expect. It a deep and decidedly complex offering with lots of briary spice and suggestions of stony soil to the side of its concentrated, dark berry aspects, and it is as always a brooding wine whose tannic frame tags it as one needing age. Some four or five years would seem the minimal wait, but it will be going strong for a good many more. Reviewed: January 2014. Limited Production. Cellar. For highly spiced meat dishes. $60.00