Tonight, with a belated Easter dinner of grilled, butterflied leg of lamb and sautéed asparagus with shi'itakes in butter, I opened:
1995 Ravenswood Monte Rosso Zinfandel color: opaque ruby red nose: explosive, initially plummy and tarry, turning into licorice, blackberry and pencil lead palate: high acidity, smooth tannins, rich fruit, tar, pepper
One of the few remaining bottles of pre-Constellation Ravenswood in our cellar, this bottle reminded us of how good this producer and grape could be. Great with the lamb (which had been coated with a maceration of parsley, garlic and cilantro in EVOO), this wine was a pleasure to drink and showed no evidence of the 15.2% ABV listed on the label.
Mark Lipton