For as long as I can remember, Ravenswood has been synonymous with zinfandel and zinfandel with Ravenswood. Now zin is not a varietal for everyone, but its big, beefy style does attract a loyal – no, let’s be frank here, fanatical – following, and in the case of Ravenswood Zin this reaches a cult-like dedication.

According to Joel Peterson, the winery’s founder and chief winemaker, its fans even go so far as to have themselves tattooed with the iconic three intertwined ravens of the label. “I’ve seen breasts, butts, the middle of backs and lower, arms, belly buttons, you name it,” he told a recent interviewer.

So I was more than a little surprised by what I found when I pulled the cork on a bottle of the 2007 Ravenswood Vintners Blend Chardonnay ($10) recently. Subtle is not a word often associated with Ravenswood zins so what I was expecting was a typically big, oaky, unsubtle California chard, but what I got was a charming, fresh and fruity one. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was flinty but there’s definitely a touch of minerality to go along with the vanilla and toasted almond flavors, but above all, this wine is about fruit.

As Peterson explains in an email “the tropical character of the fruit is so good that it seems like a shame to cover it with too much oak. A little bit of that is important for perfume and complexity but in this case, the wine really reflects the character of the fruit” Amen.

And who would have thought it, from the winery that inspires tattoos?