Special bottling of Whole cluster. — 5 months ago
Lovely with a long decant — 6 months ago
Rustic and hearty and a little bit boxy until it loosens. It's shy aromatically. Earthy, bing cherries, prunes, and crushed rosemary.
Tannin, structure, and acid seem intact when a little give would do.
Cali wildness that doesn't feel quite as psychedelic as the Chardonnay (see previous note) — 7 months ago

drinking perfect now….16 years age — 8 months ago
Great wine!! — 2 months ago
Dark in color. Super fruity on the nose. Blackberry and plumb notes. Peppery, leathery, earthy finish. — 5 months ago
Delicious Sauvignon Blanc - dry with citrus notes. Would get this again. — 6 months ago
This is my favorite Zinfindel blend from Ridge. I like it/them more with 8-10 years of bottle age. But this 2023 drank very well young. One of the best current releases I’ve had in a while. Fresh as it was very recently bottled! 93+ in time.
Sirloin Steak was tip top.
Pebble Beach Food & Wine 2025.
The ticket to this event has a pretty big price tag. But when you consider what a Napa etc. tasting or two and lunch would cost you, you are pretty much there and there is so much more than that. It ends up having great value. It’s wine, spirits and food candy land. — 7 months ago
Ridge Zinfandel blends always age well. This was no different. Tasted this blind and no one called Zinfandel. That’s how different they become with this kind of age. That Zinfandel jamminess fades and complexity rises.
Recent pick up at K&L $46.
Happy Birthday to me! — 8 months ago
One of the best zinfindel’s, dry, full bodied and a great nose, thoroughly enjoyed the complex notes in this one. 2017 is a good year right now. Aged nicely, but would love to have a few more to see how well they do in the next year or so — 3 months ago
Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2021 Pagani Ranch pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart black and red fruits: mixed bramble fruit, black cherry, black pepper, red flowers, tobacco, warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Yum. — 4 months ago
After reading the story of this producer, I inspired to try it. Especially, at $59.99 for a quality Napa Cabernet. These two brother’s are true pioneers of the Napa Valley. They do their own thing. Don’t follow trends and are not aggressive with their bottle price, nor do they really wish to. More rare than common in today’s Napa Cabernet market. I have a lot of respect for that and Napa Pioneers.
This also drinks pretty well for a young Napa Cabernet. I was expecting bigger/bolder based on write up. Not that this won’t benefit from cellaring.
The fruits are nicely ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, cherries & blueberry hues. I was expecting more teeth. Think it is showing the finesse & balance of most 21’s I’ve had. Dark spice, grilled meats, light black pepper, barrel dust, dry tobacco, leather, savory herbaceousnes, moist clays, dry crushed rocks, cola, flower bouquet of red, blue & purple fresh flowers, rainfall acidity with a well balanced, softly structured, elegant finish that lasts just over a minute and lands crushed rocks and touch of spice.
It will be interesting to see if this shows more in 5 years.
Photos of; Smith Madrone vineyards and brothers Stuart and Charles Smith — 5 months ago
Perfection. So glad I laid this one down. — 8 months ago
Nice but subdued overall. Expected more for the price. — 8 months ago
Nagib Nasr
Incredible — a month ago