Ridge Vineyards was founded in 1959 when three Stanford Research Institute engineers bought an abandoned winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The vineyards had been planted in the late 19th century by a San Francisco physician who produced his first vintage in the original winery, called Monte Bello, in 1892. The first Ridge vintage was in 1962. Ridge makes Cabernet, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Merlot, Petite Sirah and Rhone style wines.
When I first became interested in Zinfandel the buzz was always around the Three R’s of Zinfandel: Ravenswood, Rosenblum and Ridge. 25 years later Ridge is still at the top of its game, turning out single vineyard Zinfandel from some of California’s most precious vineyards.
Geyserville is a traditional field blend of Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and Mataro. Portions of the vineyard date back 130 years.
Magenta in color. 14.7% ABV. 73% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane, 9% Petite Sirah and 1% Mataro. Gorgeous nose of brambly black fruits, anise, crushed flowers and spiced plums. Big, lush and full bodied with perfect acidity. Well balanced. Blackberry liqueur, black cherry, licorice and baking spices on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Just an outstanding Geyserville with a long life ahead of it. Best over the next 4-6 years.
My rating: 93 points.
This wine is fairly priced at about $35 and the 2016 vintage is a worthy addition to the wine cellar. On top of that the wine is rather easy to find at retail.
Ridge, not surprisingly, fared well in the The 2018 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings.
If you enjoyed this post please consider subscribing to Zinfandel Chronicles updates by email.