Ravenswood
Sonoma Valley, California
Sangiacomo Vineyard
Merlot
1992
$33.99
13.8%
Opaque black core, washed out red to orange brick rims with even a hint of yellow at the outermost edge. Leathery and almost wooly nose, feels woven in on itself and fluffy, barest hint of prune in the plum, black cherry to currant fruit scents, cedar and potpourri, chocolate powder, sage to marjoram spice, too musky to lift, more so hovers pregnantly in the nostrils. Full-bodied, thickly layered and the type of wine content to sit on the front porch and watch the world go by. Tannin fully resolved, so much plum, cassis, cherry fruit left that if you can focus just on this it seems much younger. Leather, cedar, incense, dried pulped oranges and stable floor dirt remind you of its age. Smooth finish, completely integrated. Genteel in accepting the inevitable downward slope.
91 points

(Comparable but slightly preferred bottle of the same consumed July 2017. If starting out with proper structure the Sangiacomo Merlot wines can age very well. Would love to compare results with Joel's Once & Future project but the wines are really up there in price and you gotta draw the line somewhere.)