94 2001 Ridge Pagani Ranch 1/27/07 ($27)
15.4% alc
Color: Very deep garnet. Not young, but no signs of maturity. Looks dense. (3.5) Bouquet: A wall of sweet blackberry and excellent acidity with just enough oak to make it interesting. A touch of heat, but the intense fruit covers it well. (3.0) Body: Excellent fruit-to-acid-to-oak balance. A heavyweight with very rich, sweet fruit (a touch of residual sugar?) and no rough edges. Fine, acidity-driven structure that should keep it on top for another 3-5 years. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but even richer. Classic, dense Sonoma Valley fruit with gamy old-vines complexity underneath. (3.5) Finish: Parallels flavor with excellent tang. The complex, multi-dimensional fruit goes on and on. (3.5)
Overall: Rich, delicious, multi-dimensional, dense, complex and even elegant (for such a fruit bomb). This might be too sweet for some at present, but I enjoyed it very much and suspect the fruit will become more tame with a little time, allowing the old-vines complexity to surface more. (16.5)