Ridge Geyserville 2021  £58.89

RIDGE GEYSERVILLE 

The history of Ridge Vineyards begins in 1885, when Osea Perrone, a doctor who became a prominent member of San Francisco’s Italian community, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello Ridge. He terraced the slopes and planted vineyards; using native limestone, he constructed the Monte Bello Winery, producing the first vintage under that name in 1892. This unique cellar, built into the mountainside on three levels, is Ridge’s production facility. At 2600′, it is surrounded by the “upper vineyard”, now referred to as the Perrone Ranch.

Ridge has made the Geyserville as a single-site zinfandel every year since 1966. The grapes are grown in three adjoining parcels on a defined stretch of gravelly soil approximately one-and-a-quarter miles long and a half-mile wide.  The 2021 iteration combines a blend of 76% Zinfandel with 16% Carignane, 6% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet.

A dry winter and spring stressed the vines, limiting yields and concentration colour.

Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested estate-grown grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally-occurring bacteria; oak from barrel ageing; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush; 141 ppm throughout ageing); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with the philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.  100% American oak aged from 3 different State forests of which 30% is New, 22% is one year old, 25% two year old and 23% three year old.

Ruby/Garnet colour with aromas of dark plum, black cherries, baking spices, cola, wet gravel, toasted oak, violets and lavender.  A full-bodied entry with bold and dark fruit leads to a layered and complex mid-palate with fine-grained tannins. Natural acidity balances the wine, creating a long juicy finish.

97 Points – Wilfred Wong, wilfredwongwines.com
96 Points – Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com
95 Points – Wine & Spirits
94+ Points – Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media
94 Points – Jim Gordon, Wine Enthusiast
93+ Points – Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com
93 Points – Wine Spectator