Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel 2003

Having thoroughly enjoyed two previous Zin's from the Ravenswood winery I was thoroughly looking forward to this one, particularly as I've seen it recommended both by Matt Skinner and in Decanter magazine, however at around £7 a pop I think I'd rather pay the extra one or two pounds and grab a bottle of the Lodi Zinfandel under the same label - a far more polished product. The main issue I have with this is the amount of oak flavour and level of tannin in the wine which suggests that further cellaring is required before it's ready to drink - it's interesting that The Wine Society is currently shipping a 2001 Sonoma County Old Vine Zin from Ravenswood (see December) and Sainsbury's (also November) are selling the 2002 Lodi yet Tesco have come out with this. It is a deep mahogany coloured wine, with pronounced aromas of oak, pepper and tinned cherries and is similarly spicy and fruity flavoured - something which is only spoiled by the overwhelming oak and tannin in the wine. Yes it's the bottom of the range - but once more I have bought "ready to drink" wines and been left feeling that perhaps they would have been better left a while before release.