Wine of the Day: Ravenswood "Icon" 2009


Ravenswood has always been a great go-to producer for stellar reds at all price points. In the coming weeks I’ll be covering the latest releases of their Single Vineyard Designate bottlings, which, vintage after vintage, are consistently excellent. For now, however, I’m happy to recommend the 2009 “Icon,” a blend of Zinfandel (34%), Carignane (33%), Petite Sirah (31%), and what the winery refers to as “mixed blacks” (2%). It was only produced in a run of 490 cases, but it’s well worth looking for. My notes are below:

Ravenswood “Icon” 2009, Sonoma
Nearly opaque purple-black in appearance, with aromas of sweet plum pudding, holiday cake, clove, black cherry, blackberry, and black licorice. Perfect, in other words, for this time of year. On the palate, remarkably lively flavors of smoke, peppercorn, black cherry, kirsch, and exotic spice mingle with vanilla and twirl up to the sky, anchored, unexpectedly, by a nice seam of minerality. Powerful yet elegant, with a hint of flowers on the finish. Drink 2014 - 2024.