1990 Ridge Vineyards, California, Geyserville

The color was dark purple with hints of brick around the edge. The nose was a little closed when first opened, but after a few minutes it showed rich aromas of raspberry and strawberry with a hint of oak. The palette had flavors of cherry, raspberry and strawberry with high acidity and a strong dose of tannins on the astringent finish. This wine is a blend of 64% Zinfandel, 18% Pettie Sirah, 18% Carignan. It still tastes surprisingly youthful for a 14 year old Zinfandel. I suspect the Pettie Sirah adds to the wine’s backbone. This is a very nice aged Zinfandel. I still have 2 more bottles of this, which I think can easily keep for a number years, although I’m not sure it is really improving. My rating 90.

I believe this wine is a field blend, and in earlier vintages than 1990, Ridge labeled this wine as a Zinfandel, but the label says they had recently completed a vine by vine survey in the Geyserville Vineyard, and realized that in most years the wine was not 75% Zinfandel, hence just the Geyserville label.