92 2004 Ridge Geyserville (Alexander Valley) 2/21/16 ($24)
75% Zinfandel, 18% Carignane, 7% Petite Sirah 14.9% alc
Color: Medium garnet with some browning at the rim. (3.0) Bouquet: Game, minerals and brambly briar complement elegant black raspberry, blueberry and tart cherry fruit. (3.5) Body: Solid middleweight with a silky mouthfeel. Excellent acidity, minerality and fruit. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but not as expressive. (3.0) Finish: An almost Burgundian finish with intense minerals lingering. The game and bramble nuances combine with the fruit to make it exotic. (3.5)
Overall: At a point in its develpment where it's really starting to strut its stuff. Drink now and in the next few years. Not particularly concentrated in fruit or full in body, but makes up for it with intense minerality and elegant, exotic nuances. If you served this at a blind tasting, I don't think many would recognize it as Zinfandel. Elegant Northern Rhone always comes to mind for me, except that the fruit doesn't taste like Syrah, it tastes like what it is, a blend of Zin and old vines Carignane. The latter being essential to its character. (16)
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