2013 Ridge Geyserville- USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (5/13/2019)
Opened for Game of Thrones night, and this was the highlight! No decanting needed it was beautifully layered with spiced red and blue fruits, sagebrush, mint, soil, and a beautiful salinity that I remember from my previous bottle some 4 years ago. I always find the aromas here are reminiscent of Tuscan wines. Palate is quite fresh and the tannin, while smooth, is still making itself heard. This feels quite youthful though it is also in full on Claret mode and could sneak in a Medoc tasting with no one the wiser (and rank quite highly as well). It may be beating a dead pony, but Geyserville is among California’s most consistently elegant and outstanding wines at this price point.
Popped my last one of these last night. Shame, as I think it would be really interesting to see where it goes from here. The nose was starting to evolve some, and even had a slight prune creeping in, but it wasn’t pronounced enough to distract. As I said in my TN, though, this really showed like a top-end, very well balanced, medium-weight claret and not like a Zin at all. I’ve had several vintages of Geyserville, but this was the oldest. The others I would’ve been able to peg as at least partly Zinfandel, but this would’ve fooled me if tasted blind.
2013 Ridge Geyserville- USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (7/15/2020)
Not decanted. Aromatic nose combines raspberry coulis, coffee shop, and cherry syrup. Showing its evolving adolescence, in a good way. On the palate, this is still very exuberant, not showing its age as much as on the nose. Masquerading as a classy Bordeaux blend with cherry and spice. Long finish. Delicious. Drink now or hold. (92 pts.)
I popped and poured a 2013 Ridge ‘Geyserville’ [Alexander Valley] over the prior two nights. 14.2% full bodied and a big mouthful of brambly raspberry fruit. Tannins are resolved, acid feels low, and it has entered prime balanced drinking age. No sediment in glass/bottle, color appears dark ruby to me. Zinfandel is a varietal I don’t consume much of, and Ridge is the only producer I cellar for this varietal/blend, but I’d fired up the rotisserie yesterday to make Huli Huli chicken, and zin + bbq are good pairings for me. I don’t see how tasters can find this ‘claret like’ at this young age - it doesn’t have the earth, grip, scorch that most Bordeaux AOC will have to some degree. Geyserville can have a pepperiness that I don’t get in Bordeaux varietal blends. Maybe some Rhone blends could feel comparable in their youth. And sometimes really old Zin can have the fruit levels of old Bordeaux, but for my tastes, usually not the bouquet. I’d pulled this bottle from storage to have something flexible to appeal to geeks/non geeks, but as fate would have it, ended up drinking the whole bottle myself over a few days! I’d give it an A- and am glad that Ridge’s pricing still remains accessible.
'16 and '17 Three Valleys were hot mess-literally felt like chewing on a piece of oak. Used to love Three Valleys but feels like oak has been prevalent to the extent that I doubt aging them would tame it.
