At tasting. Brief note. Nose and palate are powerful and structured showing deep baking spices, purple and blue fruits, bitter/amaro notes with time. There's nothing jammy or confected about this. Midpalate has a rich mouthfeel that is at once coating yet light on its feet and not sluggish thanks to the perky acidity. If this is what balanced Cali zin can aspire to be consider me a fan. Well made and a lovely wine.
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Still excellent. Obvious Paso old vine zin fruit. Chewy big ripe fruit. Way past it prime but still delicious. Save some for desert with cheese. Stored perfectly since release.
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100% Zinfandel, from a vineyard I've never tried before... Spicy, candied nose, filled with Christmas spices, black cherry and blueberry compote, lavender, cloves, anise, creosote, amarone and young vintage port. The palate is quite sweet, cherry-medicinal with a spicy new oak element that Zinfandel embraces effortlessly (in a way that cab or merlot might not), but with plenty of juiciness and drinkability. There's a rustic, wild note that reminds me of Ridge's Geyserville, is Dusi Ranch an old-vine vineyard? Crystal clear, smooth, polished without being slick, and a pitch-perfect weight despite all of the sweetness and alcohol. I don't know how Ridge does this, year after year, bottling after bottling, but there is something so fun in their zin-based wines that never comes at the expense of seriousness. I suppose some might find this too sweet, too spicy, but I love it. Still has years ahead of it, but drinking great now.
Frozen for 2 days, thawed, and finished... this is still interesting but is now all spicy anise and coconut. Invokes many Priorat wines. Good, but with less focus than on day 1.
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Still drinking beautifully. Classic Dusi nose of dried raspberry / cherry, pepper & spice with a hint of earth. Palette of dark dried cherries, licorice, pepper, tea & chocolate. Long finish that lingered & lingered. Has developed beautiful secondary characteristics. Reminds me why Dusi Ranch remains one of my favorite Ridge bottlings.
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To me, this bottle had lost some of its fruit driven energy. I think I held it too long. It had really mellowed, starting to resemble more of a zinfandel/merlot blend. Still very good, but past its prime - my fault. :-(
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EWG does Zinfandel and Sliders (Conrad Green's Abode): Lots of ripeness on the nose with a touch of VA. Jammy, bright, thick and juicy. This seems to stick to the palate. Well made for a Paso Zin but still too ripe and forward for me. This doesn't need anymore age but isn't on the down slope yet.
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Rich & Dana put this into the Blind Drunks tasting in January. Garnet color. Initial aromas of truffle and earth, maybe even garrigue. Abundant red fruit on the palate, along with some spice. Finishes well. Raisin and spice notes emerged from the glass with a bit more air.
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I did not get this at first but my wife picked up a hint of cork in this bottle. It was far enough in the backnote that the wine was still drinkable. I would guess Ridge would replace it (part of my ATP shipment) but probably not worth the hassle. Hot zin with some notes of eucalyptus on the nose. The berry is prevalent and the tannin and a hint of cork follow. I could almost forgive the cork but it is there and is a flaw. The wine is probably closer to a 90 without the cork. Maybe a little bit of madeira type roasted flavors in the long finish.
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A medium to dark ruby, with a very fruity and and slightly raisin-like and candied nose. Flavors are similar, with a bit of sweetness but not overly sweet. Alcohol was not too high in my view and the wine was well-balanced, with enough zing and smoky flavors to balance the fruit. Perfect early fall grilling wine -- had with BBQ pork chops, which was a great match.
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dark garnet. On the nose: Peanut butter and razzberry preserves, sweet spice and a hint of oak. Intense, rich, dark berry fruit with decent acid and mellow tannins. Had this with BBQ'd pork ribs from Memphis Minnies. Ribs had intense smoke that was matched with the hint of smoke herein and full chunky texture. A little short on a delicious finish. good value
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6/30/2018 - ESTEELE90 Likes this wine:
At tasting. Brief note. Nose and palate are powerful and structured showing deep baking spices, purple and blue fruits, bitter/amaro notes with time. There's nothing jammy or confected about this. Midpalate has a rich mouthfeel that is at once coating yet light on its feet and not sluggish thanks to the perky acidity. If this is what balanced Cali zin can aspire to be consider me a fan. Well made and a lovely wine.
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2/16/2018 - William.Smyth Likes this wine: 90 Points
Rich plummy fruit you would expect from San Luis obisbo . Drinking wonderfully
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7/12/2015 - Birorganic Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still excellent. Obvious Paso old vine zin fruit. Chewy big ripe fruit. Way past it prime but still delicious. Save some for desert with cheese.
Stored perfectly since release.
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5/1/2015 - JoeGr Likes this wine:
Still drinking quite nice, even on the second night
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7/26/2014 - blanquito wrote: 92 Points
100% Zinfandel, from a vineyard I've never tried before... Spicy, candied nose, filled with Christmas spices, black cherry and blueberry compote, lavender, cloves, anise, creosote, amarone and young vintage port. The palate is quite sweet, cherry-medicinal with a spicy new oak element that Zinfandel embraces effortlessly (in a way that cab or merlot might not), but with plenty of juiciness and drinkability. There's a rustic, wild note that reminds me of Ridge's Geyserville, is Dusi Ranch an old-vine vineyard? Crystal clear, smooth, polished without being slick, and a pitch-perfect weight despite all of the sweetness and alcohol. I don't know how Ridge does this, year after year, bottling after bottling, but there is something so fun in their zin-based wines that never comes at the expense of seriousness. I suppose some might find this too sweet, too spicy, but I love it. Still has years ahead of it, but drinking great now.
Frozen for 2 days, thawed, and finished... this is still interesting but is now all spicy anise and coconut. Invokes many Priorat wines. Good, but with less focus than on day 1.
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3/9/2014 - JoeGr Likes this wine:
Tasting remarkably young after all these years. Was afraid that I would be regretting holding these in the bad of the cellar, but was nice.
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9/13/2013 - oaxaca90049 wrote:
Still drinking beautifully though not as fruit driven as the younger Dusis that I so love. Everyone was very impressed by it.
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8/10/2013 - mlwhitfi wrote: 93 Points
Still drinking beautifully. Classic Dusi nose of dried raspberry / cherry, pepper & spice with a hint of earth. Palette of dark dried cherries, licorice, pepper, tea & chocolate. Long finish that lingered & lingered. Has developed beautiful secondary characteristics. Reminds me why Dusi Ranch remains one of my favorite Ridge bottlings.
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2/4/2012 - JERB Likes this wine: 88 Points
To me, this bottle had lost some of its fruit driven energy. I think I held it too long. It had really mellowed, starting to resemble more of a zinfandel/merlot blend. Still very good, but past its prime - my fault. :-(
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10/20/2010 - llink wrote:
VA and brambly fruit on the nose. Ripe, rich zin, lacking structure and complexity. The VA is troublesome.
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5/30/2010 - WetRock wrote:
EWG does Zinfandel and Sliders (Conrad Green's Abode): Lots of ripeness on the nose with a touch of VA. Jammy, bright, thick and juicy. This seems to stick to the palate. Well made for a Paso Zin but still too ripe and forward for me. This doesn't need anymore age but isn't on the down slope yet.
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11/26/2007 - guitarguy wrote: 91 Points
Outperformed Turley's '02 Dusi at a side-by-side tasting. More in balance, smoother, not hot. A pretty nice showing, really.
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2/5/2007 - feather wrote: 89 Points
One of my favorite Zins and this did not disapoint. Very jammy, lots of rasberry.
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1/14/2007 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Rich & Dana put this into the Blind Drunks tasting in January. Garnet color. Initial aromas of truffle and earth, maybe even garrigue. Abundant red fruit on the palate, along with some spice. Finishes well. Raisin and spice notes emerged from the glass with a bit more air.
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8/26/2006 - guitarguy wrote: flawed
I did not get this at first but my wife picked up a hint of cork in this bottle. It was far enough in the backnote that the wine was still drinkable. I would guess Ridge would replace it (part of my ATP shipment) but probably not worth the hassle. Hot zin with some notes of eucalyptus on the nose. The berry is prevalent and the tannin and a hint of cork follow. I could almost forgive the cork but it is there and is a flaw. The wine is probably closer to a 90 without the cork. Maybe a little bit of madeira type roasted flavors in the long finish.
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10/23/2005 - MJHDC wrote: 89 Points
A medium to dark ruby, with a very fruity and and slightly raisin-like and candied nose. Flavors are similar, with a bit of sweetness but not overly sweet. Alcohol was not too high in my view and the wine was well-balanced, with enough zing and smoky flavors to balance the fruit. Perfect early fall grilling wine -- had with BBQ pork chops, which was a great match.
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3/6/2005 - Erik R. wrote: 88 Points
dark garnet. On the nose: Peanut butter and razzberry preserves, sweet spice and a hint of oak. Intense, rich, dark berry fruit with decent acid and mellow tannins. Had this with BBQ'd pork ribs from Memphis Minnies. Ribs had intense smoke that was matched with the hint of smoke herein and full chunky texture. A little short on a delicious finish. good value
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8/19/2004 - twoamps wrote: 90 Points
plum and stone fruit, not at all pruny. not too spicy, smooth finish but enough tannins to keep it going.
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