Ridge Vineyards Z-List Spring Shipment

Ridge Vineyards Z-List Spring shipment included the 2007 Geyserville, East Bench, and Paso Robles zinfandels. We tasted these wines blind over the past five nights, with a 2004 Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon thrown in to mix things up. I'm happy to say that 2007 zinfandel so far has exceeded expectations.

We had no clear favorite among these wines, but the 2007 Geyserville *** has the composition, depth, and balance to age the longest. 55% zinfandel, 22% carignane, 18% petite sirah, and 2% mataro, aged in 12% new American oak (the balance 1-5 years old) the Geyserville is from the western edge of Alexander Valley. Day 1 this was clearly the darkest and most reserved wine, with a complex nose of briarpatch. I was put off initially by a whiff of ethanol which later subsided. The acidity and tannin tasted balanced, and overall this was much more elegant than the other two wines - almost Bordeaux. By Days 3-5, this was clearly progressing in a much more elegant fashion than the East Bench or Paso Robles, without losing definition or dark fruit notes. This needs time to develop, and will benefit from extended aging.

The 2007 East Bench *** from Dry Creek Valley was raised in 25% new American oak, and it tastes like it. Dark ruby in color, with nice black cherry on the palate and a hint of black licorice. But the predominant note on day 1 was the vanilla. The tannin is chunky but not overwhelming, and after 3-5 days of aeration, the oak had integrated into the wine very nicely. This needs a little time to come together, but is more pleasurable in the short term. I recommend this wine for drinking with friends and small plates of cheese and olives.

The 2007 Paso Robles *** was our clear favorite for drinking with dinner. A paler ruby than the East Bench, this shows its terroir very nicely, with striking raspberry and graphite notes and citrus hints on the finish. Having fully absorbed its 9% new American oak treatment (the rest only 1-3 years old) this has kick and finesse and is almost Burgundian in style. Drink this with dinner over the next 4-5 years. The acidity is refreshing and balances very well with food.

The 2004 Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ** by contrast was mote black and abundantly oaky on the nose at first glance. From 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 4% Petite Verdot, .5 % Cabernet Franc., .5% Petite Sirah, this wine (which received 90 points from Robert Parker) was disappointing at first because of its seemingly over micro-oxygenated chunky tannin ("channin") and severe vanilla. But this wine also developed very nicely over the next 5 days, integrating those unpleasant notes and allowing mellow green vegetal cabernet notes to emerge. I was pleasantly surprised by this wine after tastes on Days 3 and 5, and like the 2004 Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet, this is a good wine at a decent price relative to other 2004 Napa Valley Cabernets that sell for 5-10 times as much.