M. Christopher Roebuck

9.1

Super interesting, southern Rhone wine from Paso Robles. Perfumed nose,

91+ points — 4 months ago

Michael Belligan

9.0

Great bottle, full-bodies but not too jammy. I’d grab any fableist red off the shelf if I saw it, you can’t go wrong imo. — 5 months ago

John Malcolm

9.2

A powerful Zin. Tasting dark cherries, blueberries, chocolate, and a bit of spice. — 8 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

10

Ridge Vineyards – Zinfandel – 2023
Benito Dusi Ranch – Paso Robles – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
An extraordinary single-vineyard Zinfandel from one of the most historic and consistent sites in Paso Robles. The 2023 vintage delivers depth, purity, and that unmistakable Dusi Ranch character—old-vine concentration wrapped in Ridge’s signature balance and finesse. This bottling remains one of the benchmark Zinfandels in California.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackberry compote, ripe plum, and raspberry preserve with accents of warm spice, licorice, dried herbs, and a touch of cracked pepper. Subtle cocoa and cedar from restrained oak play in the background.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied and richly textured, yet never heavy. Juicy acidity energizes the palate while fine, structured tannins keep everything focused. Long, plush, and satisfyingly powerful.

Food Pairings
BBQ ribs, grilled lamb chops, wood-fired pizza, smoky brisket, or aged Gouda.

Verdict
A stellar expression of old-vine Paso Robles Zinfandel, opulent, balanced, and deeply flavorful. A true standout in Ridge’s portfolio.

Did You Know?
The Dusi family has farmed this vineyard for generations, and Ridge has made wine from the site since 1967. These old vines consistently produce some of the most character-rich Zinfandel in the state, making Benito Dusi one of Ridge’s most iconic single-vineyard bottlings.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
This sits at the very top of my favorite Zinfandels, extraordinary from start to finish, and a reminder of why Ridge continues to define the category. — 10 months ago

Lee Lightfoot

9.4

Phenomenal balance Syrah character dominates, lush perfume and rich dark fruit. Crushed after a 30 min decant, could have used a lil more development time but too delicious to complain about how it was consumed — 5 years ago

Mike Colantonio

9.4

Very smooth blend. Not too acidic. Not sweet. — 6 years ago

Andrei Shustov

9.5

Always a blast!! — 8 years ago

Rhonda Stone

9.0

A very nice malbec blend recommended by Zack. — 8 years ago

Marshall Michener

9.2

Very nice, richer than a Pinot — 12 years ago

Patti Petree

9.6

Yum. So good. — 14 years ago

Rudi Sanchez-Colberg

9.4

At peak. Beautiful wine. — 5 months ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.1

Nice. These guys make elegant wines for Paso. — 5 months ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Deep ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Strong nose of black currants, plums, oak, dark chocolates, earth, tobacco leaf, herbs, eucalyptus, light vegetables and black pepper.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with black currants, black plums, cooked cherries, spices, chocolates, oak, licorice, light cola, vegetables and peppercorn.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 8 year old Malbec based blend from the house of Cheval Blanc is starting to drink very nicely now. Feels like a Right Bank Bordeaux.

Soft, smooth and elegant. Rich and fruit forward. Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel. Complex and interesting.

Needed 90 minutes in the decanter to open up properly, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years.

Wine Advocate 97 points.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food.

A blend of 62% Malbec and 38% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged in (50% new) French oak barrels for 15 months.

14% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$110. — 9 months ago

Raul Puga

9.3

Yummmy as usual. — 2 years ago

Brandon Passley

9.0

Great cab for under $10 — 4 years ago

Nina

9.0

Juicy. Yummy. Great for price. $14. — 6 years ago

Phil Evans

9.0

We loved this wine very smooth and paired well with our dinner. We had some friends over to enjoy and they also loved the wine. — 6 years ago

Sam Reeves

9.0

Half-bottle at Sarabeths Central Park south — 8 years ago

Maynard Yu

8.9

Maynard had this 11 years ago

P A

9.2

Always a good bet — 12 years ago

Donald Williams

9.5

Delightful wine with both rack of lamb and filet au poivre. Decent price for a restaurant. We’ll be back. — 5 months ago

with Bonnie

Mariko

9.0

Earthy and peppery. — 7 months ago

Diana Gifford

9.0

This was lovely addition to pizza! — 9 months ago

with Melany

Jack Petras

9.0

This 2022 Syrah petit Verdot blend is a very easy drinking wine. Has som finesse and subtleties. Cooling finish refreshing palate. — 2 years ago

Matthew W.

9.1

Black jammy fruit, sweet cedar, a bit of grip on the finish.

The head to head Turley terroir challenge is a push. Great wines! — 3 years ago

Morgan Reese

9.2

Another Field Recordings hit for me. At the ranch for NYE. — 5 years ago

with Andrew

Brandon T

9.3

Always enjoyable - one hour decant, assorted red fruits. — 6 years ago

Lee Richey

9.3

2016 vintage, very reliable fun wine for the budget. Easy drinking yet flavorful. — 8 years ago

Palmer Emmitt

Owner/Winemaker Judge Palmer

9.3

With this much age this is a really fun bottle! Nose has baked stone fruit and tons of hazelnut with a hint of dried citrus peel. Palate is lively and rich with amaretto, bananas foster, peach crumble, and lemon custard. Fantastic. — 8 years ago

Paul Carelli

9.1

I'm not sure why there are some low scores for this wine. Quite frankly it is one of the best QPR cabs on the market. Great structure and the fruit shines. Let it open for an hour and it is luscious Paso fruit perfect with some grilled steak. — 11 years ago