Boston Wine + Poker, Salem, Mass.: Tasted blind. Dark color. Some tannin. Lots of caramel and spice and a flavor of raspberry candy. A big, impressive, voluptuous wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Just a beautiful wine. Sometimes these old Zins go into an aged Bordeaux profile, but this bottle had Zin like flavors lingering on. No sign of advanced age. Purchased on release and cold cellared since. Amazing longevity and a real treat to experience, savor and contemplate. So happy I held back to consume for a 31st birthday dinner.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cork came out whole and clean. Effusive nose. On the palate plum and dark cherry fruit suggested Bordeaux and Rhone wines, and there was a lot of mint as well. Looked/drank younger than the 1994 that followed it. As good a bottle as one could hope for.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Took ages to open up - was better the day after I pulled the cork. Sweet fruit, soft tannin, some freshness. Red poached fruit, medium length and complexity. Drink now is definitely past its best.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium to light garnet with no sign of bricking. Vanilla And cream on the nose. Probably waited too long by a few years to open this one but it’s still drinking well. Slight notes of prunes, and oldish raspberries; the profile resembles a 20-year old tawny port. Tasty pruny finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cork a little soft broke in half, could have been my fault...3rd bottle of evening with friends. No copious notes. First drink as others mentioned kind of Port like. Nice deep red color not at all showing age. Jammy fruit softened over short time it lasted. Nice 23yr old Zin from classic producer. Glad to have one more and would drink up soon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Could pass for an Amarone, really. Jammy, cocoa powder nose. Unusually concentrated for a Geyserville. More like a Zin essence. I can see the appeal, but this isn't among my favorite vintages.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep and dark-red. Garnet. Brightened rim, but overall still dense and powerful. Rich, but soft nose of Ripe, Dark Berries and mostly Cherries. Forest and Earthy characteristics. A lot of Dark Chocolate and Tobacco. Herbal Spiciness comes with Eucalypt and Mint. Warm, plush and inviting with decent freshness! Flavors of Cherries and Ripe, Dense Red Fruit. Dried Herbs, Earthy characters and some Tobacco. Little Sweetness, Dancing Acidity and Soft Tannin structure. Finishes medium-long with Present Spiciness and Warm Fruit Silky mouthfeel, nice complexity and perfect harmony!
Beautiful integrated mature Zinfandel. Started off a bit rugged, but after some time in the decanter the wine softened and found its great balance and harmony. Elegant, fully integrated, but with a very alive structure. What amazing soft and sweet aromatics! Highly drinkable now and doesn´t get any better (probably). See more at cellartv.wordpress.com
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nice and mature. Beautifully complex nose of cherries, cedar, forest floor and assorted red fruits.
The mouth feel was incredible. Tannins are fine grained and sweet. On the palate this was pure silkiness. Finish is long and almost liqueur like. Sweet red fruits, walnut, raspberry and nice balancing acidity (perhaps a bit on the lower side). This wine is in a great place right now, and judging by other notes, it seems I drank a very well stored bottle. I would say this will hold for at least 3-4 years.
Just delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
this is really good. I can't say the 15 years of aging is necessarily worth it, but the wine is excellent. it was restrained zind with really beautiful red brambly fruit, integreated palette and soft full finish. I love the weight, so maybe the aging does make sense.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
decanted for an hour and it opened nicely from a pretty muted first taste to have nice berry sweetness with a good aged spice to it. Finish was nice and left a good sweetness on the palate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped & poured carefully (fine sediment). Garnet red color. Cherry and strawberry fruit with some barnyard that blew off after 20 mins. A little chunky and unimpressive at first (along with the funk that showed in the nose too), but developed nicely in the glass; a delicious wine after 45 mins or so of air. Will finish remaining bottles over the next year or two.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lake’s: bramble, cassis, plum, macerated blackberry (cough syrup) hit me right away, along with a touch of sweet vanilla. For a 17 year old Zin (or any wine for that matter) it had very good balance and was excellent. It barely showed its age in the mellow fruit and subtle tertiary notes. Still has quite a few years left
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Appearance: Dark red, some minor sediment in the bottle. Decanted carefully.
Aroma: Immediately assaulted by strawberry candy smells. Also an initial mushroom aspect that blew off within 45 minutes to an hour. Then became very Bordeaux, with Cabernet aspects to go with the cherry candy. Nice floral, rose petal notes were present over time. After a couple hours there was also a campfire notes as well.
Taste: Initially a mix of very sweet and some sourness as well. Big sugary aspect up front and on the finish. Some big heat coming from this one as well. Didn't check the ABV, but I'd guess hovering close to 16. Overall it was an enjoyable wine with plenty of complexity, but was too much candy flavors for me to bump it any higher.
Note: The next bottle I'll let stand for a week or so to ensure proper settling of the sediment. This only stood for about 6 hours before opening. This might have affected it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Geyserville Vertical (My House): nose: more strawberry twizzler (the overriding flavor of most of the vertical, and I do mean that in a good way). SImilar to 1988 on the nose for me. palate: exhibited more alcohol on the palate than on the nose, with strawberry, high acid, and some bramble that was faint.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Day after from memory. This is indeed a memory, but regrettably, not much of one owing to my condition. Hauled out to be served blind and stump my brother as a pizza wine (I know, I'm evil). Hanging in there with a vein of sweet blackberry fruit, it performed admirably at its appointed task: delicious and completely unguessable. I'd say 3-5 more years of pleasure if well stored.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful, enrapturing nose of candied fruits, spice and cedar. Balanced palate, though not quite as remarkable as the nose, with fruit flavors and earth notes playing off of one another. Fully integrated and likely drinking at its peak. An example of how zinfandel and carignane should be.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep red color, no hints of age. Black, peppery, and spicy ripe raspberry fruit with balanced wood and tarry notes. Amazingly vibrant, youthful palate with surprising density and length framed by fine tannins. Still fairly high-strung. Enough primary elements here that young Geyserville lovers would enjoy this wine, but clearly has become more interesting with age. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was a pleasant surprise. I have had some hit and miss (mainly miss) experiences with older Ridge Zin’s of late, including the 95 and 93, but the 92 was great. Immediate notes of smoke and dried raisins just flow from the glass. Two hours later, the nose is still showing nice fruit, but clearly the wine is best consumed in the first hour of opening – no need to decant this one. Although the fruit is somewhat faded overall, the wine has gained some complexity. A short finish, that end with a little harsh note. I’m not a big zin fan overall, but this wine was pleasant and a good example of what an aged zin can become.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Raspberry in the nose, and in the mouth. A slightly bittersweet chocolate on the palate as well. Yum. A touch on the light side in the mouth, but it took on greater weight as it evolved in the glass. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
11/5/2023 - talbot61 Likes this wine:
Boston Wine + Poker, Salem, Mass.: Tasted blind. Dark color. Some tannin. Lots of caramel and spice and a flavor of raspberry candy. A big, impressive, voluptuous wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/18/2023 - dlduchon Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just a beautiful wine. Sometimes these old Zins go into an aged Bordeaux profile, but this bottle had Zin like flavors lingering on. No sign of advanced age. Purchased on release and cold cellared since. Amazing longevity and a real treat to experience, savor and contemplate. So happy I held back to consume for a 31st birthday dinner.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/22/2022 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Cork came out whole and clean. Effusive nose. On the palate plum and dark cherry fruit suggested Bordeaux and Rhone wines, and there was a lot of mint as well. Looked/drank younger than the 1994 that followed it. As good a bottle as one could hope for.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/24/2020 - Philip67 wrote: 92 Points
Took ages to open up - was better the day after I pulled the cork. Sweet fruit, soft tannin, some freshness. Red poached fruit, medium length and complexity. Drink now is definitely past its best.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/1/2020 - TexasBob Likes this wine: 88 Points
Medium to light garnet with no sign of bricking. Vanilla And cream on the nose. Probably waited too long by a few years to open this one but it’s still drinking well. Slight notes of prunes, and oldish raspberries; the profile resembles a 20-year old tawny port. Tasty pruny finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/6/2015 - redmancge Likes this wine: 90 Points
Cork a little soft broke in half, could have been my fault...3rd bottle of evening with friends. No copious notes. First drink as others mentioned kind of Port like. Nice deep red color not at all showing age. Jammy fruit softened over short time it lasted. Nice 23yr old Zin from classic producer. Glad to have one more and would drink up soon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/27/2014 - andtheodor wrote: 88 Points
Could pass for an Amarone, really. Jammy, cocoa powder nose. Unusually concentrated for a Geyserville. More like a Zin essence. I can see the appeal, but this isn't among my favorite vintages.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/20/2013 - WineCellarTV Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep and dark-red. Garnet.
Brightened rim, but overall still dense and powerful.
Rich, but soft nose of Ripe, Dark Berries and mostly Cherries.
Forest and Earthy characteristics. A lot of Dark Chocolate and Tobacco.
Herbal Spiciness comes with Eucalypt and Mint.
Warm, plush and inviting with decent freshness!
Flavors of Cherries and Ripe, Dense Red Fruit.
Dried Herbs, Earthy characters and some Tobacco.
Little Sweetness, Dancing Acidity and Soft Tannin structure.
Finishes medium-long with Present Spiciness and Warm Fruit
Silky mouthfeel, nice complexity and perfect harmony!
Beautiful integrated mature Zinfandel. Started off a bit rugged, but after some time in the decanter the wine softened and found its great balance and harmony.
Elegant, fully integrated, but with a very alive structure.
What amazing soft and sweet aromatics!
Highly drinkable now and doesn´t get any better (probably).
See more at cellartv.wordpress.com
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/27/2013 - AWBryce wrote: 95 Points
Nice and mature. Beautifully complex nose of cherries, cedar, forest floor and assorted red fruits.
The mouth feel was incredible. Tannins are fine grained and sweet. On the palate this was pure silkiness. Finish is long and almost liqueur like. Sweet red fruits, walnut, raspberry and nice balancing acidity (perhaps a bit on the lower side).
This wine is in a great place right now, and judging by other notes, it seems I drank a very well stored bottle. I would say this will hold for at least 3-4 years.
Just delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2013 - mhauser wrote: 95 Points
This second bottle was even more alive and vibrant than the first. Everything was in balance. Beautiful fruit and acidity. An ideal aged wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/31/2013 - Mark Does not like this wine: 80 Points
It's dead. Never opened up, low fruit, tannins. Not much interest.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/25/2012 - mhauser wrote: 93 Points
Still going strong. After a few hours of decant, sweet fruit, smoky meat, and a bite of spice. Could go a long time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/15/2012 - redwhiteandrich wrote: flawed
This had the slightest amount of tca on the nose and palate. however you could see how this could have been w/o it. sigh.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/7/2011 - rmgroves wrote: 90 Points
- Garnet color. It's balanced with a full body. Juicy texture with a long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2010 - beachbum wrote: 91 Points
this is really good. I can't say the 15 years of aging is necessarily worth it, but the wine is excellent. it was restrained zind with really beautiful red brambly fruit, integreated palette and soft full finish. I love the weight, so maybe the aging does make sense.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/25/2010 - Acohen wrote: 90 Points
decanted for an hour and it opened nicely from a pretty muted first taste to have nice berry sweetness with a good aged spice to it. Finish was nice and left a good sweetness on the palate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2010 - Jazzman wrote: flawed
corked...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/1/2010 - stoneb wrote: 91 Points
Popped & poured carefully (fine sediment). Garnet red color. Cherry and strawberry fruit with some barnyard that blew off after 20 mins. A little chunky and unimpressive at first (along with the funk that showed in the nose too), but developed nicely in the glass; a delicious wine after 45 mins or so of air. Will finish remaining bottles over the next year or two.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/17/2009 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Lake’s: bramble, cassis, plum, macerated blackberry (cough syrup) hit me right away, along with a touch of sweet vanilla. For a 17 year old Zin (or any wine for that matter) it had very good balance and was excellent. It barely showed its age in the mellow fruit and subtle tertiary notes. Still has quite a few years left
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/9/2009 - Jazzman wrote: 90 Points
Appearance: Dark red, some minor sediment in the bottle. Decanted carefully.
Aroma: Immediately assaulted by strawberry candy smells. Also an initial mushroom aspect that blew off within 45 minutes to an hour. Then became very Bordeaux, with Cabernet aspects to go with the cherry candy. Nice floral, rose petal notes were present over time. After a couple hours there was also a campfire notes as well.
Taste: Initially a mix of very sweet and some sourness as well. Big sugary aspect up front and on the finish. Some big heat coming from this one as well. Didn't check the ABV, but I'd guess hovering close to 16. Overall it was an enjoyable wine with plenty of complexity, but was too much candy flavors for me to bump it any higher.
Note: The next bottle I'll let stand for a week or so to ensure proper settling of the sediment. This only stood for about 6 hours before opening. This might have affected it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/18/2009 - tarheel17 wrote:
Geyserville Vertical (My House): nose: more strawberry twizzler (the overriding flavor of most of the vertical, and I do mean that in a good way). SImilar to 1988 on the nose for me.
palate: exhibited more alcohol on the palate than on the nose, with strawberry, high acid, and some bramble that was faint.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/5/2008 - bevetroppo wrote: 89 Points
Day after from memory. This is indeed a memory, but regrettably, not much of one owing to my condition. Hauled out to be served blind and stump my brother as a pizza wine (I know, I'm evil). Hanging in there with a vein of sweet blackberry fruit, it performed admirably at its appointed task: delicious and completely unguessable. I'd say 3-5 more years of pleasure if well stored.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/16/2006 - Wine Spam wrote: 94 Points
Beautiful, enrapturing nose of candied fruits, spice and cedar. Balanced palate, though not quite as remarkable as the nose, with fruit flavors and earth notes playing off of one another. Fully integrated and likely drinking at its peak. An example of how zinfandel and carignane should be.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/23/2006 - psmith wrote:
Deep red color, no hints of age. Black, peppery, and spicy ripe raspberry fruit with balanced wood and tarry notes. Amazingly vibrant, youthful palate with surprising density and length framed by fine tannins. Still fairly high-strung. Enough primary elements here that young Geyserville lovers would enjoy this wine, but clearly has become more interesting with age. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/3/2006 - Mark wrote: 90 Points
This was a pleasant surprise. I have had some hit and miss (mainly miss) experiences with older Ridge Zin’s of late, including the 95 and 93, but the 92 was great. Immediate notes of smoke and dried raisins just flow from the glass. Two hours later, the nose is still showing nice fruit, but clearly the wine is best consumed in the first hour of opening – no need to decant this one. Although the fruit is somewhat faded overall, the wine has gained some complexity. A short finish, that end with a little harsh note. I’m not a big zin fan overall, but this wine was pleasant and a good example of what an aged zin can become.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/28/2005 - luko wrote: 91 Points
Bot directly from winery and drank that same night. Delicious. Has lost most of its youthful zin fruit, but has taken on some older cab like notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/21/2005 - jt wrote:
Raspberry in the nose, and in the mouth. A slightly bittersweet chocolate on the palate as well. Yum. A touch on the light side in the mouth, but it took on greater weight as it evolved in the glass. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/13/2004 - jfloren wrote: 92 Points
Still glorious but slowly fading
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/24/2004 - thewinelake wrote: 84 Points
UK wine-pages Geyserville Vertical (London): Relatively sharp/acrid -not so good
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/25/2003 - buckeye76 wrote: 92 Points
RICH BERRY FRUIT IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR, RASPBERRIES, CHERRIES, AND BLACK CHERRIES. MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment