RIDGE Featured in “Tasting Zinfandel”
JancisRobinson.com
December 2024
In her recent article, Tasting Zinfandel, Senior Editor of JancisRobinson.com, Samantha Cole-Johnson, talks about the incredible diversity of styles in “California’s grape” and how factors like vine age, blend, and oak profile make it such an interesting and unique wine – both for winemakers to make and for wine drinkers to taste. “Zinfandel is capable of an immensely diverse range of expressions. In California alone it shows as many winemaking expressions as Chardonnay and as many terroir expressions as Pinot Noir.”
“No variety offers such a rich diversity of styles as Zinfandel.”
At RIDGE, we’ve been producing zinfandel from distinctive vineyards across California since our first vintage of Geyserville in 1966 and we’ve seen this amazing diversity first-hand. It’s one of our favorite things about this fascinating grape variety.
As part of her research, Cole-Johnson tasted 82 wines from “California’s most lauded Zinfandel producers” including several from RIDGE. Check out her reviews on our most recent zinfandel releases below. Wines are rated on a 20-point scale.
The Top Ridge Zinfandels from JancisRobinson.com
2022 Geyserville – 17.5+
Deep purple in colour. A whiff of bacon and violets complimented by bramble, spice and cola from the Zin. Incredibly flavourful and robust with a weighty mid palate and firm tannin lifted by fresh acidity. Lengthy finish. Drink 2025 – 2036
2022 Paso Robles Zinfandel – 17.5
Medium verging on deep purple in colour. In Ridge’s 2022 line-up, this is what I would consider to be the most ‘typical’ Zinfandel – intense bramble and spice, rich, jammy black and red plum, with a glycerine texture and weight on the palate and fresh vibrant acid. Creamy black tea to finish. Lovely. Drink 2024 – 2032
2022 East Bench Zinfandel – 17+
Medium verging on deep purple in colour. Crushed stones and black-cherry juice on the nose and palate. Rocky gum-climbing tannin more evident than any other Zinfandel in Ridge’s 2022 line-up. Fresh acidity drives straight through the finish. One to age. Drink 2026 – 2036
2022 Lytton Springs – 17+
Medium verging on deep purple. Restrained nose for Zinfandel – still with black plum and bramble but more mineral with a crushed-gravel smell. Incredible structure with firm tannin and fresh acidity balanced by fleshy fruit and a kiss of vanilla from oak. Still very tight. Drink 2026 – 2035
2022 Three Valleys – 17
Medium verging on deep purple in colour. Earthy potting soil and decaying-leaf reduction complimented by violet and black plum. Round and richly fruited on the palate with refreshing acidity and elevated grippy tannin. Drink 2024 – 2030
2022 Pagani Ranch Zinfandel – 16+
Medium verging on deep purple. Classic bramble, black plum and cinnamon spice, with a hint of dried chilli. Very ripe, plush, sweet black fruit on the palate with rounded, building tannin. Savoury finish with quite a bit of tannic grip. Drink 2025 – 2032
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