RIDGE 2006 GEYSERVILLE ZINFANDEL

  

A recent sit-down luncheon and tasting poked and prodded us towards talking about the latest bottling of this venerable Alexander Valley field blend.  The wine showed brilliantly and would have to be one of our favorite examples of this bottling in quite some time.  One of those rare Cali blends that actually rocks the terroir of a given site (that distinctly Alexander Valley licorice and cocoa thing), with the century old Carignane making its presence felt in the structure and fortitude of the wine while the Zin (most of it 40+ years or older) contributing densly packed but not over-the-top berry fruit flavors.  All in all, we think this one's a Geyserville for the ages...