2023 Ridge Zinfandel Paso Robles

Derived from lower-elevation blocks, the 2023 Zinfandel Benito Dusi Ranch offers a deeper, broader profile than the Paso Robles Zinfandel bottling, derived from a different section of the Dusi site. The nose combines black fruits, honeyed peaches and anise aromas, followed by a supple, delicious palate that transitions to a layered finish framed by pleasantly drying, fine-grained tannins that add a lovely sense of seriousness.

Full bottle 1,225 g. 100% Zinfandel from Benito Dusi Ranch. Full crush. Both primary and secondary (malolactic) fermentations are completed by ambient yeasts and bacteria. Aged 12 months in 100% air-dried American oak barrels (15% new oak, 10% one-year-old, 75% four- and five-year-old barrels). Minimum effective SO 2 for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 136 ppm over the course of ageing); pad-filtered at bottling.  Medium verging on deep purple. Classic brambly, spicy, bold Zinfandel nose with ripe red and black fruit. Plush palate with moderate amounts of rounded tannin and mouth-watering acidity. Juicy berry-flavoured finish. Consistently one of the boldest and richest of Ridge's Zins while retaining a dry finish. (SCJ)

The 2023 Zinfandel Paso Robles is made from 100% Zinfandel grown at Benito Dusi Ranch, the vines old and established; Ridge's first vintage was 1967. Featuring full-bodied, jammy red fruit, it is juicy, broad, and fleshy while also offering a high-toned, restrained style. A hallmark of the vineyard is its great acidity, with brightness a consistent characteristic across vintages. Round, it's not sweet but allows enough sweetness from the fruit to be lush and appealing from start to finish, spending 12 months in 15% new American oak. Drink now through 2033. Set in the Santa Cruz Mountains with a second winery and vineyard acreage in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley called Lytton Springs, Ridge made its first Monte Bello in 1962 (the Monte Bello Vineyard dates back to 1885) and is devoted to single-vineyard winemaking, what it calls “pre-industrial winemaking,” organic and sustainable farming, and full transparency; it is one of the few wineries to list ingredients on its back labels. Winemaker Paul Draper joined in 1969. The winemaking team today consists of head winemaker John Olney, who has been on the team since 1996, Lytton Springs winemaker Shauna Rosenblum, and assistant winemaker Michael Bairdsmith. It remains one of the great names in California wine, celebrated for making ageable wines.