Tasting Note                         

91+  2010  Ridge  East Bench Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley)   12/2/12 ($25)

100% Zinfandel  15.1% alc
Color: Deep purple garnet. (3.0) Bouquet: Blackberries, boysenberries and zingy black cherry. Briar, vanilla/cedar. The fruit is precise with a fierce, youthful edge. (3.0) Body: Light heavyweight with a rich, creamy mouthfeel. Excellent fruit and acidity. Chalky, youthful acidity and a healthy edge. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels with even more precision to the multi-dimensional fruit. Boysenberries prevalent with some blueberry added. (3.5) Finish: Tasty and long, but youthful edge reappears. (3.0)
Overall: A young, delicious Dry Creek Valley Zin with multilayered fruit (boysenberries, blackberries, black cherries and blueberries) where you can taste all of the above with precision. Excellent, fierce youthful acidity propels it all, but has a chalky edge at this point, which will smooth with time. A nice kiss of vanilla/cedar oak combines with DCV briar and smooth tannins to round it out. Delicious now, but has outstanding potential in the next 4-6 years. This and the '07 are the two best East Bench yet! ('06 being the first vintage). (15.5)

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