Ridge Vineyards Geyserville 2021

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Ridge Vineyards
Geyserville 2021

Vintage : 2021
Country : USA
Region : California (AVA Sonoma)
Subregion Sonoma
Type : Red
Style Deep Full Bodied
Format : 75cl
Alcohol : 14,7°
Grappes : 73% Zinfandel, 17% Carignan, 9% Petite Syrah, 1% Mataro

Quantities are limited, but this is a superb Geyserville, showing intense fruit, and strong vineyard character. Enjoyable now, it will continue to develop over the next ten or twelve years

Experts		Score	Vintage
DCT	Decanter	96	2020
W&S	Wines & Spirits	95	2020
WS	Wine Spectator	92	2020
VN	Vinous (Antonio Galloni)	91	2020
JS	James Suckling	94	2019
RP	Robert Parker	96	2018
JD	Jeb Dunnuck	95	2018
CG	Connoisseurs' Guide	91	2018
JR	Jancis Robinson	17.5	2017
WE	Wine Enthusiast	92	2011

More information on wine critics and ratings

Description
Video
Reviews
From the same producer

A long winter delayed the start of the growing season. Having escaped late spring rains, the vines set a large crop - more than an unusually cold summer could ripen. Severe thinning became essential.

Harvest began September 21, and ended October 3 - a day before the first rain.

Twenty-four parcels were fermented, and kept separate. In late spring, during rigorous blind tastings, we chose twelve parcels to make up the 2011.

Quantities are limited, but this is a superb Geyserville, showing intense fruit, and strong vineyard character. Enjoyable now, it will continue to develop over the next ten or twelve years.

Decanter (DCT) : 96 Points (2020)

Enormously complex and full of personality. Lots of juiciness and briaryness, with notes of espresso, soy sauce and gaminess. Very rich, impressive and structured, 2020 was Ridge’s 55th consecutive vintage of Geyserville, a wine that many Ridge collectors consider the winery’s best Zinfandel blend. Its pedigree is uncontested. Made from old vines, some of which are more than 125 years old and 60% of which are 50 years old or older, leading of course to tiny yields. A historic field blend of approximately 69% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 8% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet and 1% Mataro (the old name used in California for Mourvedre). The grapes are grown in three adjoining vineyards, all of which are defined by an ancient washout of the Russian River that carried and deposited gravel and river stones to the site. (KM) (11/2022)

Wines & Spirits (W&S) : 95 Points (2020)

The founding partners at Ridge purchased the Monte Bello Winery from Leo and Evelyn Trentadue, who also farmed some of the oldest surviving vines in Sonoma County at their ranch on the Alexander Valley floor near Geyserville. The Old Patch, planted in the 1880s, has provided the base of the blend for Ridge’s single-vineyard wine since 1966. In 2020, it was harvested just as the first fires broke out; generations of vines at the Trentadue’s ranch provided 28 different lots, with John Olney selecting 20 for this wine. He finds that carignan, which makes up 20 percent of the mixed planting (along with small amounts of petite sirah, alicante bouschet and mataro), provides the acidity to refresh the zinfandel, which accounts for 69 percent of the vines. The early harvest produced a ripe, rich Geyserville with racy energy. The dark blueberry flavors are layered with red cherry, their seemingly weightless concentration sustained in a sleek, clean and graceful impression that lasts. A great 2020. (JG) (6/2022)

Wine Spectator (WS) : 92 Points (2020)

Deeply structured and briary, with a mix of red and black fruit accented by licorice, dill and savory underbrush flavors. Finishes with medium-grained tannins. Zinfandel, Carignan, Petite Syrah, Alicante Bouschet and Mataro.

Vinous (Antonio Galloni) (VN) : 91 Points (2020)

The 2020 Geyserville is quite soft in this vintage. Bright red-fleshed fruit, crushed flowers, cedar, spice and sweet pipe tobacco all grace this mid-weight edition of Geyserville. All things considered, the 2020 is nicely done. (AG) (3/2022)

James Suckling (JS) : 94 Points (2019)

A beautiful red with lots of blackberries, cloves, stone, spice and purple fruit. It’s full and balanced with a creamy texture and a flavorful finish. Some graphite to the black fruit. More zin this year in the blend. 71% zinfandel, 19% carignan, 7% petite sirah and 3% alicante bouschet.

Robert Parker (RP) : 96 Points (2018)

The 2018 Geyserville is a blend of 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet. It's incredibly alluring, offering up layers of warm, tricolored fruits and loads of spicy accents on the nose, with a dusty, mineral-tinged undercurrent that adds to its appeal. In the mouth, it's generously fruited and fantastically juicy, its silt-like tannins providing just enough support, and it finishes very long and layered.

Jeb Dunnuck (JD) : 95 Points (2018)

A wine that always delivers, the 2018 Geyserville from Ridge comes all from a single vineyard in the Alexander Valley and checks in as 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah, and the rest Alicante Bouschet. It has a big, cedary bouquet of red and black plums, sandalwood, potpourri, and Asian spices that develops and fills out nicely with time in the glass. This carries to a more medium-bodied Zinfandel that has wonderful purity of fruit, present yet ripe tannins, flawless balance, and a great, great finish. This structured yet ethereal example of this cuvée ranks with the finest vintages to date. Drink it any time over the coming 10-15 years.

Connoisseurs' Guide (CG) : 91 Points (2018)

68% Zinfandel; 20% Carignane; 10% Petite Sirah; 2% Alicante Bouschet. Ridge’s iconic Geyserville bottlings are always rich and complex wines that stray a bit from the Zinfandel norm, and the latest, as usual, is a deep and substantial, near-brooding offering whose ample dark berry fruit is laced with lots of distinct earthy spice and is up to the task of fighting through no small measure of tannins. Sure to be long-lived and, in fact, emphatically asking for age, the 2018 version is years away from coming fully into its own and should be laid away in the hard-to-reach realms of the cellar for a full half-decade or more.

Jancis Robinson (JR) : 17.5 Points (2017)

68% Zinfandel, 18% Carignan, 12% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet. Fresh fruits, subtle aromatics – quite young with a lot to offer. Lightly tactile, palate-cleansing tannins while still very fine grained. Beautifully stimulating but needs a lot more time to relax and reveal itself. Will have a lot to offer with time. (ECB) 17.5/20 points (5/2019)

Wine Enthusiast (WE) : 92 Points (2011)

This is a fine wine that shows its terroir. It’s bone dry, moderate in alcohol, and with lovely acidity. The flavors suggest open fields of lavender and thyme, wild strawberries and cherries, and richer, spicier notes of red licorice. A classic Ridge blend of Zinfandel, Carignane and other varieties, it’s one of the most complex and enjoyable wines of its type in California.

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