2008 Ravenswood Zinfandel Teldeschi Dry Creek

96pts (CGW)As a group, the Ravenwood's 2008 single-vineyard Zinfandels rank among winemaker Joel Peterson's best efforts yet, and, if picking a favorite is not easy, the deep and delicious Teldeschi bottling stands out as our pick of the bunch. Keenly focused on optimally ripe berries and showing the stunning concentration of classic old-vine Zinfandel, it is wonderfully well-balanced for the big wine that it is, and its layered flavors last and last. It will no doubt tempt drinking early, but it has a decade or more of improvement ahead, and it should be cellared away for at least four or five years. The Connoisseurs' GUide to California Wine  May 2011  Made from 90 y ear old vines in the Dry Creek Bench with some western exposure gravelly clay loam soil