February 20, 2024 - This is fine but near the end of its life. Still has some acid, but the fruit energy has faded. Some of the nice floral qualities remain. Obviously carignane shouldn't be aged 8 years. Drink up.
January 19, 2024 - Had this 2016 bottle open for 2 hours .. not extremely flavorful .. borderline bland. A bit dry on the tongue with first sip, hints of black cherry. Thinking its past its prime.
December 3, 2023 - This has thrown some sediment now. Still strongly tannic. Still with the great acidity too. That's what gives this a nice old world character. It's even starting to pick up hints of a lethary complexity. Still a bit fleshy too. This one is gonna go a long time and good still get better. Very good.
January 6, 2023 - Not a fan. We love Ridge zins and cabs, but this just didn’t work for us. There is a funkiness to it that I can’t quite put a finger on.
November 17, 2022 - Flavors of cranberries & raspberries. Not my favorite Ridge wine. Past it’s prime if it ever had one.
June 11, 2022 - Tasted at The Triple Door Club headlined by Ian McFeron.
The tannins were totally resolved and the soft muted plum fruit was somewhat disjointed and never changed much over the course of the evening.
On day 2 the remaining third of a bottle which I refrigerated and stored in a smaller bottle overnight is a more enjoyable sip. After warming to cellar temperature, The palate is more in focus with subtle savory pepper notes and longer finish . Drink soon with a slow ox or brief decant.
May 13, 2022 - Tasted with a group of 2016 Ridge Zinfandels, which may have been unfair. Still, very nice. Surprisingly deep color. Some astringency. Peppery.
April 29, 2022 - Still pretty lively, although the energetic acid is pretty much gone. Good dark solid fruit, a bit of leather, herbs, tar and the typical Ridge bergamot. Well resolved. A pretty wine. Drink now or in the next few years.
March 20, 2022 - Better than the 2015, which was clearly less ripe (at 13.0%) than this (at 13.7%) which shows not just in the acid which is more restrained in the 2016, but the lack of aromatic interest in the 2015. This has some subtle rose petals and herbal notes to go with the red fruits and acid and was quite nice with a lasagne. Of course, being carignane, there is not much tannin, which is to the benefit of pairing with tomato-based dishes, but it won't be a long lived bottle. While they seem to develop subtly for a few years - to the point of developing some secondary character - that's about as far as they go. I think this bottle is about as good as it will get and will be drinking the ones I have left over the next several months.
January 3, 2022 - Popped without decanting. Not many tannins left, but all has a lot of fruit. No longer balanced due to the heavy fruit.
Drink up quickly. This is pretty much at the end of its life.