John Buechsenstein, Fife Vineyards

“It was my task to assemble power Zinfandels for my tasting group [of local winemakers] and there are three of them that I’ve been drinking: the ’96 Ravenswood ‘Monte Rosso,’ the ’97 Pezzi King ‘Dry Creek Valley’ and the other one that blew me away was the ’98 Robert Biale ‘Old Crane Ranch.’ They’re three different vintages, but they all showed an incredible intensity of ripe fruit. . . . They had incredible fruit power. That’s what I’m looking for in a Zinfandel.”