Recommendation: A GREAT California Zinfandel that is worth the extra price.
Winery/Producer: Ridge Vineyards; Healdsburg, California.
Grape Variety: Zinfandel Blend: 74% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignane and 2% Mataro (Mourvedre.
Geographic Region, Appellation: Dry Creek Valley; Sonoma County, California.
Vintage: 2013
Price: $34.95 (reduced from $38.00)
Purchased From: Woodland Hills Wine Company, Woodland Hills, California.
Paired With: Fish tacos with chipotle cream sauce, tomatillo salsa, jicama slaw and blue cheese slaw (quite a spicy dinner).
Tasting:
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He said: Opened 1-hour before drinking. Clear, dark purple color with a light rim. Plum, cherry and wet leather aromas. Smooth and dry mouth-feel and ripe blueberry taste with a touch of current and sage. Long, flavorful and slightly tart finish. From the first sip to the last there was mystery to the tasting sensation…layers of new flavors kept appearing. Subtle and not overpowering, GREAT soft tannins, VERY well balanced and each sip just encouraged another. We blind tasted this side-by-side with Sin Zin Alexander Valley Zinfandel from the grocery store and the Ridge easily separated itself. A GREAT California Zinfandel that is worth the extra price. Our next bottle of this delicious Zinfandel will be paired with Lexington, North Carolina pulled pork!!!
She said: Dark purple/red, opaque, lots of nicely moving legs. We had this wine as part of a blind tasting with another less expensive Zinfandel that we had previously and liked. I have to admit up front that I failed to identify the more expensive one and Ray is ready to put me out to pasture. My saving grace was that my son and daughter in law felt the same way I did and Ray can not easily divorce all of is. That being said, the three of us had a hard time deciding which one we preferred because both were very good and the sauces on the fish tacos were so spicy my the taste buds were quaking. Once the dinner was over, the spiciness subsided, and we could sip the wines the difference came forth. The Ridge had a pleasant light aroma of fresh fruit that carried through to the mouth but with added complexity that lasted into the long finish. The only negative was the tad of courseness as the wine passed from the mouth into the throat. A very good wine but not a good choice for the spicy dinner.
Alcohol: 14.3%
UPC Code: 7 44442 90100 5
Imported by: NA
Photo from Ridge Vineyards.