Tonight, with a dinner of Memphis-style BBQ ribs, German potato salad and cole slaw, I opened what I hoped would be a decent BBQ wine:
2000 Ravenswood Teldeschi Zinfandel (14.8% ABV) nose: black pepper, tar, berry fruit palate: oak, berry and plum fruit, acids, medium-full body, cedar
This was truly my last bottle of pre-Constellation Ravenswood Zin. Pretty correct and well balanced, it was a bit too oaky for my tastes and a bit too hot for Jean's. Not a great match with the BBQ, either -- a rosé might have done better, but the cold, rainy weather called for something more robust.
Mark Lipton