1/6/2024 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Blend of 40 Merlot, 20 can franc, and 40 Syrah, fairly tasty, aged enough and slightly brownish in glass

5/23/2018 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Fantastic at this point, been laying for a while.

8/25/2017 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Delicious complexity had developed, more red fruit than expected. Was good with food as well as by itself.

7/23/2017 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Delicious, though it is a little expensive. More on the fruit side of Zin palette, not peppery. Had a warmth to it that added to the complexity as it opened. Probably as ready to drink as it will get.

6/24/2017 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Red fruit, maybe cherry or red raspberry...aging nicely

5/6/2017 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Green hay, tasty. Still in its prime if cellared.

4/26/2017 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Had many bottles of this wine with friends in Chicago. Not meant to be a great wine, but is fun and easy drinking. Remarkably, even cheap wine benefits from aging; bottle had been laying for 6-8 years.

4/11/2017 - tsanders Likes this wine:

More on the jammy side of zins, was quite tasty.

11/29/2015 - tsanders wrote:

Paid corkage at JJ's, was delicious. Someone noted burnt toast. All in all, ready to drink but could still sit longer.

4/18/2014 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Velvety good, brambly fruit flavors, nice nose. What we have come to expect from a FF zin.

2/14/2014 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Excellent, yet still might improve with more age. Served at about 55 degrees, which allowed the wine to demonstrate its medium acidity and layers of flavor. Brighter red fruits than expected, cherry, maybe vanilla. Served with ahi tuna and beef, paired fine with both. Super smooth, Frank Family living up to the best of its capabilities.

2/6/2014 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Really good. Not great, but strong contender. We very much enjoyed the bottle though I might say not as well structured flavor profiles as needed to be called a great Petite Sirah. Still, love most things from Freemark Abbey and love Petite Sirah, so no complaints. Will easily buy more, but I only seem to find it at the winery when I am there, can't find locally around me.

2/2/2014 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Very much in the Turley style of Zin. Fairly good, hearty and thick. I've had better bottles of Turley, this was arguably a little past its prime. Did improve upon sitting for a bit after opening.

12/31/2013 - tsanders wrote:

Drank on New Years with smoked brisket. Was okay, may have been a problem with cork. Structure of wine was good, though several of us detected a little funk to the nose. Several others thought it was fine. Either way, bottle was finished.

1/4/2014 - tsanders wrote:

Quite good, aged well. Not the best example of a zin from Ridge, but good fruit with a hint of spice. Paired well with roast.

12/31/2013 - tsanders wrote:

Buttery and delicious. Hints of green apple.

12/22/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Tasty, perhaps a bit past its prime. Very jammy, more towards a dessert wine. Classic Rombauer, but probably a bit jammy for some.

6/8/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Highly concentrated, nose of fig and red fruit. Not as jammy as some, opened up to be very pleasant and smooth. Very enjoyable, probably at the end of its prime if not slightly past.

5/12/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Still great even though past its drinking window. Frank does such a fabulous job with its Zins, no wonder they continue to win awards year after year.

5/12/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Perhaps slightly passed its prime, but still delicious. Red fruit, brambly nose. Helen Turley just does a fantastic job on so many wines. If you a lover of the more sophisticated end of the Zin spectrum, go through the effort to try the various offerings from Turley.

4/13/2013 - tsanders wrote:

I love almost everything from Ridge and this wine will undoubtedly get better. So deep and inky but still hasn't softened as it will in a few more years. Warm and alcoholic, got better as it opened but still needs a more time.

4/7/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Brambly red fruit, brown sugar, and blueberry on the nose. Wine has softened around the edges over the years as well as turned a beautiful deep tawny garnet. Opened up well over an evening, alcohol level well balanced, still some element of fruit. Drank well, very much enjoyed.

3/23/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Wow. I knew I had been sitting on this wine past its prime, but way better than I feared. First off, I'm a huge fan of zin, so I bought this 2001 Italian years ago to see how it compared to its American cousins that I know well. It's been collecting dust in the cellar waiting for that perfect occasion, which I finally decided was tonight. Nothing special, just an occasion for me to mull it over and savor the comparison to zin. The opening fulfilled the promises of a great wine experience: the aroma of ripe fruit immediately filled the room and the cork was soaked 2/3 of the way to the top. Purely delicious nose. The first taste was an over-the-top concentration of fruit: red fruit, raisin, and fig. All right there, so up front. Terrific if you like jammy zin and fun to experience, but honestly too port like. Would be very hard to pair with food, almost like a glass of dessert. As it sat open the fruit mellowed a bit but still huge in the glass. All in all, I'm glad I had saved it. Probably won't repeat the experiment, but will definitely buy more Primitivo.

3/16/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

This wine started delicious with brambly red fruits on the nose. Though not the structured pinot taste that you might expect from a Pinot from the northwest (or from a French Burgundy), still pretty good. Paired well with soup, easily drinkable with a wide range of foods. Light, but more velvety in the mouth than expected. In addition to the fruit, tasted hints of pepper and chocolate. All in all, nice, but not worth the price.

3/10/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Have to agree with some of the other reviews on this wine. It is rather big and creamy for a Sauvignon Blanc. In fact the weight and the texture are more like a chardonnay, which is something I like but not necessarily what you expect from a SB. The ripe tropical fruit is there, as expected, with only a hint of mineral. Went very well with a light fish and opened nicely throughout the evening as I continued to sample. Nice mouth feel with balanced acidity. The bit of age probably makes this wine about as good as it will get.

3/8/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Okay I need to disclose up front that I haven't had much experience with this grape. I love the hearty, chewy weight of almost every other red and my first reaction to this wine was that it had somehow been watered down. However, after giving it a few sips to recalibrate my expectations I started to warm to it. Amazingly, you can taste the thinness that is so characteristic of a Pinot. You can taste how delicate it is. The wine opened to a beautiful garnet color and immediately wafted up strong hints of fruit. I would say this is perhaps the first time I have detected blueberry in a wine, but perhaps also some red fruits. More fruit than I was expecting from a Pinot. You can also detect a nutty, toasted aroma that I believe is more characteristic, quite pleasant. Upon tasting, the fruit was definitely still present but made way for a stronger toasted and almost musty/earthy taste. The wine has a smooth texture with a finish of medium length. One final tasting note: as the wine sat open for a couple hours the fruit began to wilt from the nose and the taste and wine started to present a much stronger taste of alcohol. Could just be due to the wine getting warmer, but not the way I wished for it to end. Still overall a very good experience.

3/7/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

This wine comes from an off-the-beaten-path find on a trip to Napa, I think they actually had a Groupon for their winery tour. Regardless, we had a great time and discovered a great winery with several well done offerings. The mellow green-straw color and the initial notes of lemon and melon were consistent with the winery's description of a tropical Sauvignon Blanc. Upon tasting, I thought I could detect hints of mango and cantaloupe as well as other tones of tropical fruit. Really quite delicious, very well done. Cool and crisp with light to medium body.

3/5/2013 - tsanders wrote:

Wow, Turley, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. At this age, the wine has lightened to a Crimson, almost root beer color. The aroma still has some fruit, maybe some blueberry, raspberry, and fig/raisin. The taste, however, has become more complex as it has aged. Again, there is still some fruit remaining, though it has definitely dimmed: still some red berry but also strawberry jam and starting to taste hints of coffee or expresso at the end. Wine is light to medium bodied with a round, velvety texture. Still delicious as it opened up but should probably be drank now. True testament to the maker that this wine can stand up to being 14 years old, unusual for a Zin.

3/3/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Solid Amarone; good but not the depth of flavor profile that can be found in the price range. Improved as it warmed and opened but could definitely taste the alcohol.

2/7/2013 - tsanders wrote:

Pretty good, still maintained more fruit at this point than I would have guessed. Beautiful ruby color with a nose of Strawberry and Raspberry plus a little hint of spice. Can certainly still pick up even more fruit in the taste with a definite Strawberry Jam and a little heat from the alcohol that's building as it ages. The wine has a smooth texture and finishes well, should be drank now if you still have it.

2/5/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Wow, so very good. Past its prime at this point yet still exhibits many of the qualities that decree it one of the best examples of Zin to be found. Crimson colored with a nose clearly giving fruit of raspberry and blueberry, with just a hint coming of alcohol and heat. Tastes of fruit are fading but still some fig and brown sugar with spicy pepper hinting toward what's to come if this wine is left to age further. A light to medium body that still possess a juicy almost silky texture. It's a great wine but drink it now if you have it.

2/3/2013 - tsanders wrote:

Notes of citrus and apple, a little too much alcohol for my taste. Not as buttery as some California Chards or other vintages of Mer Soleil. Solid wine but this vintage isn't great.

1/19/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Past its prime for sure, fruit was mostly gone. Spicy and tasty, continued to open nicely for several hours. Not a typical Zin taste, certainly not the usual Rombauer fruit bomb, but still good.

1/11/2013 - tsanders Likes this wine:

Wine is past its prime and has changed from 2-3 years ago. Still delicious but the fruit is mostly gone, much spicier in the mouth. Still detect some fruit in the nose. Still interesting and great but not the fruit bomb people usually expect from a Rombauer Zin.