I find that Ridge Sonoma County Zinfandels and blends incorporating Zinfandel pretty much taste the same. They all have a sort of metallic-cardboard character, and their fruit fades within 10 years or less. And they finish with an alcohol burst. It seems to me that today's Ridge wines are all overrefined, unlike the great — tho sometimes flawed — wines of the Paul Draper/David Bennion era.
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Tasted blind. Dark fruit, pepper, and more savory than the other Mazzonis on the nose. Medium+ tannins with red and dark cherries and good balance. Quite interesting and pretty wine. Nice finish.
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Tasty, pleasant zin, with good richness and complexity. Cherry and plum flavors, with a bit of brambly berry notes. Drinking great now and the the next few years.
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dark medium clarity, slightly cloudy, brownish red edges Nose: raspberry, black cherry, earth, chocolate, silver, cigar, tobacco, oak Pal: raspberry, black cherry, milk chocolate, silver, cigar, tobacco, oak Feel: medium, silvery, acidic Finish: medium T8
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Radically different, and much better, than two yrs ago. Whereas 2 yrs ago this was unbalanced, and lacking acidity, it now drank wonderfully. Good balance, and most impressive of all was its lip smacking acidity - very refreshing, it kept wanting me to go back for more. Oak well integrated, tannins fine and unobtrusive, delicious fruit, brambly, spicy. Textbook zin from a cool vintage with a long growing season where fruit ripened slowly. Wish I had more!
Served with homemade sourdough pizza (sausage, mushrooms, caramelized onion). Eye: light red/medium ruby. Nose: yummy, strawberry/cherry fruit with touch of blueberry. Palate: acid/tannin in balance with fruit, maybe a touch of bitterness in mid-palate. Acid shows up very late. Pizza has some pickled sweet pepper, and the wine picked that up, and echoed some of the flavors. Drink now.
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This is an easy drinking Zinfandel with lots of bramble, blackberry fruit, and light tannins. I would not wait to drink this vintage as the finish is a little bit hollow.
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A nice Zinfandel that is relatively low in alcohol at 13.8%. Red fruits and light tannins combined with moderate ripeness make this an easy zin for current drinking.
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I'm very pleased with this bottle. Transparent, dark red. Fresh aromas. Good fruit, not jammy. Good alcohol level. Elegant structure. A lot to like here.
Evolved well from nearly a year ago, more slick and elegant. Toast, black fruit and butterscotch aromas. Dry, medium(+) lively acidity, medium(-) tannin, medium(+) alcohol and body. Slighty astringent texture, red and black fruit-driven palate with pepper and hints of tobacco. Good length with balanced fruit-driven finish.
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Served with grilled pork tenderloin, corn on the cob. Opened 45 minutes before serving, did not decant. Deep garnet, still clear and lively. No sediment apparent in the bottle. Nose was plum with maybe a hint of chocolate. Very integrated wine - nice balance. Drinking very nicely, will hold but may not improve any. I think we caught this one right on time. Certainly a very good wine, maybe 90!?
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Solid zin, mostly well balanced - but lacking a little bit of acidity. Absolutely delicious nose, pleasant (but just pleasant) on the palate. I will hold on my remaining bottle for two or three yrs. Still young, although already well integrated for the most part.
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Solid Ridge Zin, but nothing spectacular. Well integrated, I don't expect this wine will get better with age. Now is the time to drink. Not overpowering, medium bodied. Red fruit, brandy flavors. Not a long finish.
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Day-1: Right from the opening I noticed a strong dark chocolate and Hershey chocolate powder aroma eminating from the cork and bottle. I ended up doing a 2hr decant. - Pale to Medium crystal clear ruby hue with well formed, colorful legs. - Nose is clean and Med+ intensity. Alcohol and slightly solvent right off the bat fading to fruit and cement. Blackberry brandy with overtones of raisin and prune juice. Very faint whiff of floral spice - perhaps lavender. Very tiny bit of vegetation/asparagus rounding out the aromas. The aromas of this wine made me salivate in anticipation of that first sip, actually that first gulp after my day today - went to a funeral for a colleague in the morning, met a good wine buddy for lunch and then to the lab to set up for next week's testing. Today I took stock of the blessings in my life and how fleeting this experience of the human person can be. This Ridge Mazzoni blend became a big part of my life today. I tried like heck to appreciate it but something was missing as you can read below. - Palate: Dry, low acidity, Med+ Grippy tannins but fade quickly. Full body up front again quickly fading to McDonalds butter bisquit. The finish was a mere 7secs. It fades to bread crust then nothingness in under 10secs. What a downer!!! - Conclusions: This appears to be a complex wine on the surface. I went into it with the mindset of not judging a book by its cover but I was dissapointed. This turned out to be very simplistic with a hypersonic finish - BOOM! then nothingness. I'll try again on day-2 and beyond to see if anything changes. Based on my experience with Ridge, tomorrow we should see a 5-7pt. swing upward.
Day-2: 84 Pts. - I was wrong about the 5-7pt. upswing. The finish is now down to 6secs. The only reason I gave an extra point (84) is due to the better nose and palate than on day-1. This is a marginal wine. Would be a good value if priced around $12.
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Opened for ~2 hrs. Medium(-) ruby, medium-fast moving transparent legs, slightly garnet rim. Medium aromas of tar, pipe tobacco, leather and slightly green notes. Dry, medium(+)-high acidity, medium(-) ripe and integrated tannin, medium alcohol and mediu (+) body. Medium(+) flavors of red berries, sour cherries, smoked meat/leather, and sweet tobacco notes. Slightly chew texture, well structured. Great length with dry finish. Due to fruity acidity, a rather fresh yet restrained finish. Well done, good flavor palate, approachable with intriguing complexity.
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Aroma: rose petals and lemon oil. Cherries. Freshly cut grass. Palate: juicy red currant flavors with bright acidity and floral notes. Light body. Moderate complexity and structure. Some tannins offer aging potential. Much more finesse than the typical Zinfandel.
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8/24/2022 - casjf Likes this wine: 89 Points
Garnet color with flavors of red cherry, raspberry and mint. Paired well with spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and meat sauce.
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2/19/2022 - oakville72 Likes this wine: 89 Points
I find that Ridge Sonoma County Zinfandels and blends incorporating Zinfandel pretty much taste the same. They all have a sort of metallic-cardboard character, and their fruit fades within 10 years or less. And they finish with an alcohol burst. It seems to me that today's Ridge wines are all overrefined, unlike the great — tho sometimes flawed — wines of the Paul Draper/David Bennion era.
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12/2/2021 - rhanke wrote: 90 Points
Very nice aged zin. As good as it will be. I have one more bottle to go. Will try to consume in the next 9 months.
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10/24/2021 - casjf Likes this wine: 89 Points
Needs to breathe. Strong anise flavors.
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12/15/2020 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 91 Points
In an extremely good place right now!
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11/1/2020 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 92 Points
I am very excited by the way this wine has integrated and held up over time. I love the fact that it is 42% Carignane.
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8/28/2020 - moxielady wrote: 94 Points
Exceptional. Probably still great another few years
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8/24/2020 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted blind. Dark fruit, pepper, and more savory than the other Mazzonis on the nose. Medium+ tannins with red and dark cherries and good balance. Quite interesting and pretty wine. Nice finish.
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4/6/2020 - pgm wrote: 91 Points
Tasty, pleasant zin, with good richness and complexity. Cherry and plum flavors, with a bit of brambly berry notes. Drinking great now and the the next few years.
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4/4/2020 - cos65 Likes this wine:
Still scarlet purple with a pink rim
Bright cranberry acidity
This is in great shape at 9 and perfect with dinner.
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8/29/2019 - J&Ka wrote:
On the downhill... fine but a little sour.
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3/11/2019 - Frijole wrote:
dark medium clarity, slightly cloudy, brownish red edges
Nose: raspberry, black cherry, earth, chocolate, silver, cigar, tobacco, oak
Pal: raspberry, black cherry, milk chocolate, silver, cigar, tobacco, oak
Feel: medium, silvery, acidic
Finish: medium
T8
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2/9/2018 - bravo.solares Likes this wine: 91 Points
Radically different, and much better, than two yrs ago. Whereas 2 yrs ago this was unbalanced, and lacking acidity, it now drank wonderfully. Good balance, and most impressive of all was its lip smacking acidity - very refreshing, it kept wanting me to go back for more. Oak well integrated, tannins fine and unobtrusive, delicious fruit, brambly, spicy. Textbook zin from a cool vintage with a long growing season where fruit ripened slowly. Wish I had more!
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9/1/2017 - bjschmitt Likes this wine: 88 Points
Served with homemade sourdough pizza (sausage, mushrooms, caramelized onion).
Eye: light red/medium ruby.
Nose: yummy, strawberry/cherry fruit with touch of blueberry.
Palate: acid/tannin in balance with fruit, maybe a touch of bitterness in mid-palate. Acid shows up very late. Pizza has some pickled sweet pepper, and the wine picked that up, and echoed some of the flavors.
Drink now.
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3/9/2017 - JM_MadTown Likes this wine: 88 Points
This is an easy drinking Zinfandel with lots of bramble, blackberry fruit, and light tannins. I would not wait to drink this vintage as the finish is a little bit hollow.
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11/15/2016 - JM_MadTown Likes this wine: 88 Points
A nice Zinfandel that is relatively low in alcohol at 13.8%. Red fruits and light tannins combined with moderate ripeness make this an easy zin for current drinking.
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11/12/2016 - Italiana Likes this wine:
I'm very pleased with this bottle. Transparent, dark red. Fresh aromas. Good fruit, not jammy. Good alcohol level. Elegant structure. A lot to like here.
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10/4/2016 - Barolo Raymond wrote: 89 Points
Evolved well from nearly a year ago, more slick and elegant. Toast, black fruit and butterscotch aromas. Dry, medium(+) lively acidity, medium(-) tannin, medium(+) alcohol and body. Slighty astringent texture, red and black fruit-driven palate with pepper and hints of tobacco. Good length with balanced fruit-driven finish.
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8/28/2016 - Italiana Likes this wine:
Solid. Not too much of anything. A good go-to wine for those times when you want to concentrate on friends.
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8/14/2016 - bjschmitt Likes this wine: 89 Points
Served with grilled pork tenderloin, corn on the cob.
Opened 45 minutes before serving, did not decant.
Deep garnet, still clear and lively. No sediment apparent in the bottle.
Nose was plum with maybe a hint of chocolate.
Very integrated wine - nice balance. Drinking very nicely, will hold but may not improve any. I think we caught this one right on time. Certainly a very good wine, maybe 90!?
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8/14/2016 - bjschmitt wrote:
- Crimsom color.
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6/16/2016 - bravo.solares Likes this wine: 89 Points
Solid zin, mostly well balanced - but lacking a little bit of acidity. Absolutely delicious nose, pleasant (but just pleasant) on the palate. I will hold on my remaining bottle for two or three yrs. Still young, although already well integrated for the most part.
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3/27/2016 - klmarshall Likes this wine: 88 Points
Solid Ridge Zin, but nothing spectacular. Well integrated, I don't expect this wine will get better with age. Now is the time to drink. Not overpowering, medium bodied. Red fruit, brandy flavors. Not a long finish.
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3/26/2016 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Another solid zin (predominantly) by Ridge.
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1/8/2016 - skip2mylu wrote: 83 Points
Day-1: Right from the opening I noticed a strong dark chocolate and Hershey chocolate powder aroma eminating from the cork and bottle. I ended up doing a 2hr decant.
- Pale to Medium crystal clear ruby hue with well formed, colorful legs.
- Nose is clean and Med+ intensity. Alcohol and slightly solvent right off the bat fading to fruit and cement. Blackberry brandy with overtones of raisin and prune juice. Very faint whiff of floral spice - perhaps lavender. Very tiny bit of vegetation/asparagus rounding out the aromas.
The aromas of this wine made me salivate in anticipation of that first sip, actually that first gulp after my day today - went to a funeral for a colleague in the morning, met a good wine buddy for lunch and then to the lab to set up for next week's testing. Today I took stock of the blessings in my life and how fleeting this experience of the human person can be. This Ridge Mazzoni blend became a big part of my life today. I tried like heck to appreciate it but something was missing as you can read below.
- Palate: Dry, low acidity, Med+ Grippy tannins but fade quickly. Full body up front again quickly fading to McDonalds butter bisquit. The finish was a mere 7secs. It fades to bread crust then nothingness in under 10secs. What a downer!!!
- Conclusions: This appears to be a complex wine on the surface. I went into it with the mindset of not judging a book by its cover but I was dissapointed. This turned out to be very simplistic with a hypersonic finish - BOOM! then nothingness.
I'll try again on day-2 and beyond to see if anything changes. Based on my experience with Ridge, tomorrow we should see a 5-7pt. swing upward.
Day-2: 84 Pts. - I was wrong about the 5-7pt. upswing. The finish is now down to 6secs. The only reason I gave an extra point (84) is due to the better nose and palate than on day-1. This is a marginal wine. Would be a good value if priced around $12.
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12/2/2015 - sbfern wrote: 88 Points
Darking color very rich lots of dried fruit. Tenants maturing nicely easy to drink now but will be better in a year or two.
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11/19/2015 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Solid ridge zin.
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11/10/2015 - EMTAME wrote: 88 Points
The Carignane come through on the nose, while the palate showcases light-to-mid weight Zinfandel notes and an assertive spicy kick on the finish.
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11/3/2015 - Barolo Raymond wrote: 90 Points
Opened for ~2 hrs. Medium(-) ruby, medium-fast moving transparent legs, slightly garnet rim. Medium aromas of tar, pipe tobacco, leather and slightly green notes. Dry, medium(+)-high acidity, medium(-) ripe and integrated tannin, medium alcohol and mediu (+) body. Medium(+) flavors of red berries, sour cherries, smoked meat/leather, and sweet tobacco notes.
Slightly chew texture, well structured. Great length with dry finish. Due to fruity acidity, a rather fresh yet restrained finish. Well done, good flavor palate, approachable with intriguing complexity.
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8/14/2015 - TashNYC wrote:
Wine tasting in Healdsburg; 8/14/2015-8/15/2015: Tasty wine. Bright cherry, currant, floral, spice and good acidity. $32 retail winery only
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3/15/2015 - Aldhib Likes this wine: 91 Points
Light red fruits, raspberries, slight spice on the finish.
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3/6/2015 - kosinski wrote:
Aroma: rose petals and lemon oil. Cherries. Freshly cut grass.
Palate: juicy red currant flavors with bright acidity and floral notes. Light body. Moderate complexity and structure. Some tannins offer aging potential. Much more finesse than the typical Zinfandel.
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6/25/2013 - ledocq Likes this wine: 91 Points
Totally satisfying zin. Good mouthcoat, full of flavor but not overbearing. Happy I have another bottle of this.
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