91 2000 Ridge Geyserville 3/03 ($32)
66% Zin, 17% Carignane, 17% PS 14.9% alc
Color: Purplish-garnet. Could be deeper, but not a huge vintage. (3.0) Bouquet: Briar, bayleaf and black pepper combine with blackberry-boysenberry-Zinberry fruit. Delicious. (3.5) Body: Concentrated fruit with excellent acidity and just a touch of tannin. Could be more ageworthy, but well-balanced and should drink well for 2-3+ more years. (3.0) Flavor: Rich, complex Zinberry fruit. Delicious. (3.5) Finish: Parallels flavor, but restrained. (2.5)
Overall: An excellent wine that drinks more like Pagani Ranch than Geyserville with concentrated fruit, but lacks the typical funky-earthy component that distinguishes Geyserville. This is obviously not a great Geyserville, but is a delicious early drinker that will probably be at its best within the next 3 years. (15.5)Note: I drank this a few more times in the next 3 years and found that it became less and less impressive as it aged. So, the snapshot given above seems to have caught it at its best. Definitely an uncharacteristic vintage for Geyserville, which typically improves with age.