Lovely. Relaxed but not flabby. The oak has turned to notes of tanbark mixed with dark, rich dried fruits. The tannins are right where they need to be. Decanted for 1.5 hours. Ready to drink but okay until 2019.
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With 8 bean chili. Clear ruby, medium depth. Sweet bramble on the nose, perhaps dark raspberry. Smooth, medium weight, drinking very well right now. Stood up to the chili very nicely. I have no hint this one is on the down slope. If you have them, now's the time. Unfortunately this was my last bottle.
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Not as good as previous bottles. Has a sweetness to the still abundant fruit. Plenty of spice to be had on the finish on this full bodied beast. Drink it now.
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This bottle is past is prime.. drink now if you have any. Color: deep purple, dark The first taste was hot, spicy and rich. Then decanted for over a hour. The wine still had a spice but it moved to the middle to end of taste. I was say it is full and rich with dark flavors; leather, dates, acai.
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NB: This was the primitivo bottling, which appears to have a lot of label commonality to to the base Lytton Estate in this vintage (later vintages prominently label it Primitivo instead of Zinfandel). Dark red color. Aromas of briar, blackberry, raspberry, and some earth. Palate is sweet fruited without any cooked notes with lots of blue and red berry elements that carry into a medium finish. Drinking well now. Drink or hold.
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Hot. Ripe. And yet still fun and interesting in a very Ridge way. Good tannins, but I generally agree with the note on the bottle that points towards drinking this early.
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Drank last three bottles with a shard, wild mushroom and veal stuffed Lamb. Perfect match. The blackberry, pepper and dark chocolate flavors hit the right notes. This is always a solid wine at a fair price
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With Meatloaf, baked potato, Green Beans. Medium/dark crimson, good color all the way to the rim. Really nice nose, young and bright. Palate: smooth, almost (but not quite) a hint of cassis crossed with blackberry and some tannin to balance. I think this is at its peak. Stood up nicely to the meatloaf's onion and adobo pepper. A really beautiful Zin.
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PnP. This is all around an impressive wine. My favorite Ridge zin yet. Nose of ripe black and blue fruit. On the palate, very smooth and silky mouthfeel. Fruit forward but not jammy or overly ripe. Just really well balanced fruit with a finish of acidity and oak.
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Jammy zin lovers of the world be aware: you won't love this one. You won't even like it probably. Wow what a zin. If I'm grading this on a typical zin, it's probably more like an 88. But, I'm grading the wine and the experience, which is easily a 92. This wine was uncorked almost 1 year to the day of buying the bottle at the winery. Cork withdrawn intact. Decanted for 30 minutes. The nose was consistent with fig, dark chocolate, and almost a ketchup kind of note. The palate is consisent with heat in the front with some blackberry, fig, a very small hint of wild jam, that then turned as dark as a petite sirah. Earth, black pepper spice and a hint of vanilla and cumin are on the finish. Alcoholic heat was actually quite welcome in this offering. A bit heady, and perhaps an indicator that this wine needs to sit another year? I tend to like my zins a little heady, but I honestly think this one is right in the perfect part of the drinking window this year. Probably will keep another 3-4 years with proper cellaring, and done by 2017.
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Nose of rich blackberry, slight oak, leather, gravel and a hint of cocoa. Very juicy dark fruit up front that balances well with good acidity. Dark chocolate in the middle, giving way to a slightly peppery finish with beautifully rounded tannins. Really, really lovely.
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Aromas of blackberry spice with a hint of vanilla. Raspberry, pomegranate,vanilla and a hint of spice, like eating a raspberry pie. Up to Ridge's usual standards. Great with BBQ ribs. Always wanting for more.
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Popped and poured. Some bottle time really help this one shine. Very dark in the glass with a translucent red rim. Expressive nose of ripe, mature red and black fruit, plus a bit of heat. More fruit on the palate but the mouthfeel is the real champion--very silky and smooth. Finish of ripe fruit, slightly bitter fruit, alcohol, tannin and oak.
A very generous fruit forward wine that's drinking well right now. Not terribly complex...but who cares?
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A really nicely balanced zin from Ridge. Lots of berry and spice on the nose and palate. This one could definitely age, but the structure was not overbearing at all. It was a great pairing for skirt steak tacos.
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Tasted at Ridge during private tour/reserve tasting. Medium color. Very berry, fresh baked spice cake on nose. Herbal & earthy attack, with red raspberry, elderberry & rhubbarb on mid-palate. Nice, lively tannins.
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Tasted at the Lytton Springs winery. Actually primitivo and not zinfandel, this is the first time Ridge has bottled the primitivo separately and not as part of their Lytton Springs estate. This is a big wine that's still young. Looking forward to drinking this again in a year or so.
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Tasted at the winery. Red berry and chocolate nose. Very smooth on the palate with more chocolate. ripe cherries and spice. Balanced and great with some age on it.
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Faint nose. Very spicy and jammy Zinfandel flavors with a fair amount of puckery tannins at the end. Cherries. Long finish. Big and assertive. Quite good but needs a few years.
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Sadly, this was the last bottle drunk in a night of many, so tasting notes are sketchy at best. Lots of fruit and spice. Held up against a very spicy dish
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8/26/2018 - rhanke wrote: 90 Points
Very good
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9/4/2017 - Radzimir Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lovely. Relaxed but not flabby. The oak has turned to notes of tanbark mixed with dark, rich dried fruits. The tannins are right where they need to be. Decanted for 1.5 hours. Ready to drink but okay until 2019.
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6/25/2017 - dransford Likes this wine:
I was worried it would be over the hill but the bottle was in a good place - really nice.
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3/10/2017 - ajfret01 Likes this wine:
In a really nice place. Jammy with fine tannins.
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9/5/2015 - rossta0825 wrote:
Needs more time for tannins to subside.
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11/9/2014 - bjschmitt Likes this wine: 90 Points
With 8 bean chili.
Clear ruby, medium depth.
Sweet bramble on the nose, perhaps dark raspberry.
Smooth, medium weight, drinking very well right now. Stood up to the chili very nicely.
I have no hint this one is on the down slope. If you have them, now's the time. Unfortunately this was my last bottle.
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10/12/2014 - moxielady wrote: 92 Points
Balanced, smooth - not too fruity
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9/30/2014 - WineCPA wrote: 89 Points
Not as good as previous bottles. Has a sweetness to the still abundant fruit. Plenty of spice to be had on the finish on this full bodied beast. Drink it now.
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9/27/2014 - boogeyone Likes this wine: 92 Points
I wish this wasn't my last bottle. Smooth, rich and spicy.
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6/21/2014 - sbfern wrote: 89 Points
This bottle is past is prime.. drink now if you have any.
Color: deep purple, dark
The first taste was hot, spicy and rich. Then decanted for over a hour.
The wine still had a spice but it moved to the middle to end of taste. I was say it is full and rich with dark flavors; leather, dates, acai.
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2/4/2014 - fredb Likes this wine:
NB: This was the primitivo bottling, which appears to have a lot of label commonality to to the base Lytton Estate in this vintage (later vintages prominently label it Primitivo instead of Zinfandel). Dark red color. Aromas of briar, blackberry, raspberry, and some earth. Palate is sweet fruited without any cooked notes with lots of blue and red berry elements that carry into a medium finish. Drinking well now. Drink or hold.
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7/4/2013 - Doblk Likes this wine: 90 Points
Mildly sweet nose. Still has prominant fruit. Berries and cassis. Very well balanced and good with food. Made for an enjoyable July 4th bbq.
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5/17/2013 - missionpk Likes this wine: 87 Points
Hot. Ripe. And yet still fun and interesting in a very Ridge way. Good tannins, but I generally agree with the note on the bottle that points towards drinking this early.
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5/8/2013 - WineCPA Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent. Full bodied, ripe dark fruit. A sweetness and some spice on the palate and finish. Not tannic. Drink now-2014.
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4/21/2013 - mfriedman12 wrote: 90 Points
Drank last three bottles with a shard, wild mushroom and veal stuffed Lamb. Perfect match. The blackberry, pepper and dark chocolate flavors hit the right notes. This is always a solid wine at a fair price
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4/6/2013 - bjschmitt wrote: 91 Points
With Meatloaf, baked potato, Green Beans.
Medium/dark crimson, good color all the way to the rim.
Really nice nose, young and bright.
Palate: smooth, almost (but not quite) a hint of cassis crossed with blackberry and some tannin to balance.
I think this is at its peak. Stood up nicely to the meatloaf's onion and adobo pepper.
A really beautiful Zin.
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3/8/2013 - jrlamia wrote: 90 Points
Soft and fragrant, blueberry and vanilla notes, rich mouthfeel
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2/22/2013 - anonymoose12345 Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP. This is all around an impressive wine. My favorite Ridge zin yet. Nose of ripe black and blue fruit. On the palate, very smooth and silky mouthfeel. Fruit forward but not jammy or overly ripe. Just really well balanced fruit with a finish of acidity and oak.
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2/4/2013 - mflesh wrote: 91 Points
Jammy zin lovers of the world be aware: you won't love this one. You won't even like it probably. Wow what a zin. If I'm grading this on a typical zin, it's probably more like an 88. But, I'm grading the wine and the experience, which is easily a 92. This wine was uncorked almost 1 year to the day of buying the bottle at the winery. Cork withdrawn intact. Decanted for 30 minutes. The nose was consistent with fig, dark chocolate, and almost a ketchup kind of note. The palate is consisent with heat in the front with some blackberry, fig, a very small hint of wild jam, that then turned as dark as a petite sirah. Earth, black pepper spice and a hint of vanilla and cumin are on the finish. Alcoholic heat was actually quite welcome in this offering. A bit heady, and perhaps an indicator that this wine needs to sit another year? I tend to like my zins a little heady, but I honestly think this one is right in the perfect part of the drinking window this year. Probably will keep another 3-4 years with proper cellaring, and done by 2017.
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9/15/2012 - stvjackson wrote: 92 Points
Nose of rich blackberry, slight oak, leather, gravel and a hint of cocoa. Very juicy dark fruit up front that balances well with good acidity. Dark chocolate in the middle, giving way to a slightly peppery finish with beautifully rounded tannins. Really, really lovely.
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9/1/2012 - dchisholm Likes this wine: 91 Points
Aromas of blackberry spice with a hint of vanilla. Raspberry, pomegranate,vanilla and a hint of spice, like eating a raspberry pie. Up to Ridge's usual standards. Great with BBQ ribs. Always wanting for more.
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7/29/2012 - anonymoose12345 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Some bottle time really help this one shine. Very dark in the glass with a translucent red rim. Expressive nose of ripe, mature red and black fruit, plus a bit of heat. More fruit on the palate but the mouthfeel is the real champion--very silky and smooth. Finish of ripe fruit, slightly bitter fruit, alcohol, tannin and oak.
A very generous fruit forward wine that's drinking well right now. Not terribly complex...but who cares?
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7/15/2012 - 23dex wrote: 91 Points
good stuff - not an overbearing zin, tasted great. went well with a nice ribeye.
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6/2/2012 - rhanke wrote: 90 Points
very good
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4/30/2012 - pete s. wrote: 90 Points
A really nicely balanced zin from Ridge. Lots of berry and spice on the nose and palate. This one could definitely age, but the structure was not overbearing at all. It was a great pairing for skirt steak tacos.
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2/26/2012 - ogres3 wrote:
The first night an average zin. The second was much better. Great mature fruit with lingering finish.
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1/14/2012 - ogres3 wrote:
Very good
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1/12/2012 - raydawgone wrote: 91 Points
Tasted at Ridge during private tour/reserve tasting. Medium color. Very berry, fresh baked spice cake on nose. Herbal & earthy attack, with red raspberry, elderberry & rhubbarb on mid-palate. Nice, lively tannins.
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12/18/2011 - rhanke wrote: 90 Points
great zin, smooth nice finish
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9/5/2011 - anonymoose12345 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasted at the Lytton Springs winery. Actually primitivo and not zinfandel, this is the first time Ridge has bottled the primitivo separately and not as part of their Lytton Springs estate. This is a big wine that's still young. Looking forward to drinking this again in a year or so.
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8/31/2011 - PVJC wrote:
Like this wine, not a stunner but solid Zin for $30. 100% primitivo.
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8/18/2011 - jtsherman wrote: 89 Points
Delicious, but I'd really like Ridge to make a Bulwer-Lytton Estate for dark and stormy nights.
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6/22/2011 - pete s. wrote: 89 Points
Tasted at the winery. Red berry and chocolate nose. Very smooth on the palate with more chocolate. ripe cherries and spice. Balanced and great with some age on it.
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5/22/2011 - SearedAji wrote: 91 Points
A wonderfully concentrated, classic Ridge Zin.
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5/6/2011 - kosinski wrote:
Faint nose. Very spicy and jammy Zinfandel flavors with a fair amount of puckery tannins at the end. Cherries. Long finish. Big and assertive. Quite good but needs a few years.
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3/20/2011 - mfriedman12 wrote: 90 Points
Sadly, this was the last bottle drunk in a night of many, so tasting notes are sketchy at best. Lots of fruit and spice. Held up against a very spicy dish
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1/29/2011 - Briangray77 wrote: 91 Points
great fruit and tannins made this wine an enjoyable one. i like all of ridge wines, and i especially like zin.
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