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In article >,
says...
>
>Mike, you are right. It is very hard to tell how a tannic wine will
>age. Tonight I had an Artadi Vinas de Gain, 2001 that was pretty dry
>and tannic but with excellent depth. I gave my neighbor a glass to try
>and he recpiroated by giving me a bottle of Ravenswood Shiraz. It was
>literally night and day! The Aussie shiraz was all fruit and softness,
>and to my palate, devoid of any complexity. The Artadi Rioja seemed to
>offer something new with every sip. As it opened up it became wonderful
>and a joy to experience. I can only assume that with age, the Ravenswood
>will become sappy and unpalatable, and the Artadi will gain in complexity.
>
>Jonathan
[SNIP]

I'll bet you mean Rosemont Shiraz. Ravenswood is a Sonoma (though they do have
property, and sources, that lie beyond Sonoma) Zin producer.

That said, it is difficult to assess a tannic wine early in its career,
especially for me. I do a bunch of barrel-tastings, but it's still a crap-
shoot. Sometimes, I'm right, sometimes, I feel that I will not live long
enough to see some of these monsters smooth out - and I feel that their fruit
will live an even shorter life.

I had the pleasure (?) of tasting the first R Mondavi Pinot Noir. It was,
IIRC, 1978 (?), and was made by the recipe from UC Davis' thoughts on PN in
those days. When tasted in 2000, this wine ripped the enamel from my teeth -
still! To get concentration, back in those days, the skins were left in
contact with the must for a week, with heavy agitation. Maybe someday, in the
next century, this wine will be drinkable. As a result of this failed
experiment, RM quit doing PNs for many years, and the winemaker became a
marketing director.

I collect a bunch of tannic monsters, and only hope that I live long enough to
enjoy them. AND that THEY live long enough for me to enjoy.

Hunt