91 2004 Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel 9/12/10 $25100% Zinfandel 14.7%alc
Color: Medium deep garnet with a touch of onion skin around the rim. (3.0) Bouquet: Cooking spices of bayleaf and clove complementing restrained Zinberry fruit. (3.0) Body: Light heavyweight with excellent fruit, acidity and cooking spices. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet with sweet, spice-infused wild berries and buttered rum. (3.5) Finish: Parallels flavor, but not quite as intense. Delicious fruit and complexity still linger. Fresh mint goes on and on. (3.0)
Overall: This has turned out to be as good as I hoped, but in a different way than I expected. I thought the delicious, concentrated fruit would be the most prominent component when its youthful heat calmed with age. But I now find the intricate spicy complexity (bayleaf, fresh mint and clove), which compliments the delicious Zinberry fruit to be most compelling. The bottom of the bottle showed even more complexity and concentration than the rest, implying that this could improve a little with 1-2 more years bottle age. (15.5)
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