November 24, 2022 - Last of a case purchased back on release. Holding up very well. Served with traditional Thanksgiving meal. Brambly red fruit and black pepper. Still light on its feet with great balance. Always a treat and over delivers.
June 10, 2022 - Give this some air, and the fruit will shine. It is elegant in a Pinot Noir way with berries, florals, and licorice. Blind, you will never call it Zinfandel. It has acidity that will have you thinking Tuscany and the reason it was perfect with our pizza.
April 15, 2022 - Perplexing... similar to my 7/20/2021 TN. Slightly orange rim, lighter in style. Some sweet raspberries on the nose. Fruit seemed a bit dry with a spicy character. Medium finish. Tasted a decade older than 2012...
Interestingly, none of the seven other blind tasters identified this as Zin - guesses ranged from older Barolo to Chianti Classic Res....
November 25, 2021 - Thanksgiving Dinner with the B Family (Their House): Slo-oxed for 30 minutes with some sediment. Red fruit and spice on the nose. These carry over to the medium bodied palate along with a modest earthy component and balancing acidity. Enjoyed with the main course for Thanksgiving dinner. This wine should easily make the decade mark.
August 7, 2021 - A totally different wine! Still has a lighter color with a touch of brown at the edge, with nice dried cherries and a bit of earth on the nose. On the palate this bottle exploded with brambleberry and raspberries. Fairly deep albeit still medium bodied, this harkened back to older Ridge Zins that I've loved. Can't wait for the next bottle!
July 20, 2021 - Decanted 30 minutes as recommended by other tasters. A very light version of Zin, especially considering these are "old vines". Somewhat muted nose, dried raspberries, but somewhat hollow mid-palate. I get the elegance, no question, but there was something lacking in terms of depth... Look forward to trying this again in the near future.
April 4, 2021 - Well stored bottle since release. Needs 30 minutes of air to blow off a bit of sulfur. Metallic cherries, tea, and milk chocolate in the nose. Like all of Fred’s wines, this is beautifully balanced, medium weight and concentration, and finishes after 30 seconds with elegant peppery acidity. This will drink well for 15 years, and is a few years away from dropping sweet fruit, allowing briary complexity, cocoa, and herbs to blossom. Wont surprise me if this gains a point or two by 2024, although tonight it makes me miss his brilliant 2011. Fine tonight w pan seared pork chops and mushrooms.
January 27, 2021 - Better second time around, more fruit and less tea PnP.
December 18, 2020 - The nose is a beautiful cherry compote. Palate is floral, cherries, licorice,black pepper, lots of acidity. Hides the alcohol well. Another Scherrer I describe as new world that drinks like old world.
November 14, 2020 - Strong tea notes to start, overwhelming the fruit. After 1-2 hours it came together. Should've saved some for days 2+3.