91+ 2012 Seghesio Pagani Ranch Zinfandel (Sonoma Valley) 10/22/17 ($40)
14.8% alc
Color: Deep black cherry garnet. (3.0) Bouquet: Dusty tart blackberry and black plum with an herbal sherry wood component. (3.0) Body: Light heavyweight with excellent ripe fruit, very good acidity and smooth tannins underneath. Tangy mouthfeel that coats. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but more rich and expressive with black licorice added. (3.5) Finish: Parallels flavor step for step. Long and delicious with a little licorice bitterness. (3.5)
Overall: A seriously delicious Pagani Ranch with many of the characteristics one finds in Ridge's Pagani (which is the best Pagani in my opinion). It is a bit more ripe than Ridge's version with fruit tending toward black plum, but the tannins and alcohol are balanced and the fruit and the weight and mouthfeel are what's expected. The one characteristic that this and all other Pagani's lack versus Ridge's version is the elegantly perfumed bouquet. Nonetheless, I really like this wine. Can be enjoyed now, but could improve in tthe next 2-4 years. (16)
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