November 10, 2023 - We had this after dinner treating it as a dessert wine. No real sign of aging in the colour; still very dark on the rim. The perfume of the wine was intense with noticeable alcohol. Lots of brambleberry fruit, big mouthfeel from the alcohol with little acidity. A little more acidity would have helped with the balance. Still an enjoyable wine.
October 16, 2018 - Smelled like new sneakers , with a good background of dark fruit.
Not complex. It is, what it was.
July 6, 2017 - Still quite good
February 17, 2016 - Showing some age but opens up nicely after 15 minutes.
January 21, 2015 - CORKED, AND BADLY SO. With BBQ/barbeque
February 19, 2014 - Great bottle- full of fruit, leather and tannin. Deep purple with no sign of age.
November 23, 2013 - Despite a crumbly cork, still full bodied and full flavoredwith no signs of being past.
May 26, 2013 - Four years has passed since last pulling a cork on this wine. The wine is heady with a sweet bouquet of Zin funk, vanilla, rhubarb and coffee. Bold flavors of those notes sweep across the palate. A saddle leather quality adds on the palate. The alcohol (15.9%) powers some heat, but the sweetness offsets the heat on the ribs. Ridge’s Late Picked wines don’t thrill me, but even so, this works well enough with smoked ribs, but then what wouldn’t? Throwing some chunks of sediment. A blend of 78% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah, and 2% Carignane. Approx. 0.2% RS. With pork ribs, rubbed with some heat and brown sugar and smoked for several hours. Recommended.
February 13, 2013 - Superbole ripe black fruits. Dark brooding fruits with v8 capacity but definitely not over the top. Gob smacking powerful fruits with some pain grille.
February 12, 2013 - CNY Dinner 2013 - Welcoming the Year of the Snake (William & Gina's): This is such a strange wine – as if a Zinfandel needs further help with size, sweetness or alcohol. The nose was certainly big, with swirls of glycerol weaving its way through sweet notes of black fruit and kirsch. The palate then picked up where the bouquet left off. Warm, effusive, and choked full of big, black fruited notes dosed with liberal amounts of spice. There was nothing subtle about the wine, though I must say it was rather surprisingly balanced. A strange animal, and something that only a maker like Ridge would have succeeded in keeping honest perhaps. Not quite my thing, but there were a few on the table that enjoyed it. I dare say it has quite a bit of room to improve in the bottle as it shades the last vestiges of baby fat over the next few years as well.