Ridge Wines Charity Tasting: The Rise of Single-Vineyard Zinfandels

Associate Editor and Taster Claire Nesbitt, left, at the Pebbles Charity Lunch with Jonathan Slone, center, and the host of the event, David Wainwright, right, of Wainwright Advisors, along with the wines they tasted. (Photo by JamesSuckling.com)

Contrary to conventional expectations of rich, fruity and sometimes off-dry reds that are best drunk young, a recent tasting of older vintages of Californian zinfandel showed that well-made expressions of the varietal are worthy of cellaring, even coming to resemble aged cabernet sauvignon.

The Ridge Vineyards for Pebbles Charity Lunch, hosted by David Wainwright at the Hong Kong restaurant Table last month, featured a memorable lineup of wines from the California winery, which is based in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The tasting included almost 40 vintages of zinfandel and Rhone varietals from 1972 onward. The wines were donated by David Wainwright, the founder and CEO of the fine wine consultancy Wainwright Advisors, and by Andromeda Rare Wine, a Hong Kong-based fine wine merchant also founded by Wainwright. All proceedings went to the Pebbles Project – a South African charitable organization that provides opportunities to disadvantaged children and families in the agricultural communities of the Western Cape.

Two Ridge Vineyards Zinfandels that stood out during the tasting were the Amador County Shenadoah 1980, left, and the Sonoma County Bradford Mountain 1987. (Photos by JamesSuckling.com)

Ridge Vineyards focuses on single-estate wines, and its flagship wine, the cabernet sauvignon-based Monte Bello, gained worldwide recognition at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 when the 1971 vintage took fifth place in the red wines category of the competition, which is now known as the “Judgement of Paris” because it was the first time a California wine finished first in every category (Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars of Napa Valley won the red wines category, beating Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, among others).

But the Ridge wines from single-vineyard zinfandels are perhaps equally as interesting. Ridge produced its first zinfandel in 1964, two years after its first Monte Bello, from 19th century vines on the Pichetti Ranch near the base of the Monte Bello Ridge. It has since added vineyards across California to its portfolio and is the largest grower of organically certified grapes in Sonoma County and the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, with 379 acres of organically farmed vines as of this year’s harvest.

Some of the Ridge Vineyards Rhone varietals tasted at the event showed fantastic freshness. (Photo by JamesSuckling.com)

The tasting gave testament to the ageability of great Californian zinfandels, which can develop fantastic complexity and savory character, in contrast to the intense berry fruit in their youth. Some of the highlights of the tasting were the Zinfandel Central Coast Range 1972, Zinfandel Amador County Shenandoah 1980, and Zinfandel Sonoma County Bradford Mountain 1987. These expressed the mellow, integrated nature of aged zinfandel as well as the unique characteristics of single-vineyard sites.

Rhone varietals such as the Carignan Sonoma County Oat Valley Vineyard 1996 and Grenache Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Lytton Estate 2000 also showed fantastic freshness. The Syrah Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Lytton Estate 1997, a Northern Rhone-inspired blend of 88 percent syrah and 12 percent viognier, displayed vibrant aromas of tobacco, peppercorns and raw cocoa, with plenty of energy and focus.

All the wines expressed the distinctive characteristics of their different vineyards. Some of them were 100 percent zinfandel, while others included a small amount of petite sirah. Below is the list of wines tasted.

– Claire Nesbitt, Associate Editor

Tasting Notes

Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Amador County Shenandoah 1980

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1980
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Central Coast Range 1972

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1972
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County Bradford Mountain 1987

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1987
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Ridge Vineyards Carignane Sonoma County Oat Valley Vineyard 1996

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1996
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Napa Valley York Creek 2006

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2006
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Santa Cruz Mountains Jimsomare 1993

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1993
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County Sullivan 2005

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2005
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Ridge Vineyards Alicante Bouschet Sonoma Valley Pagani 1996

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1996
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Ridge Vineyards Grenache Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Lytton Estate 2000

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2000
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County Canyon Road 1985

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1985
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Del Carlo 2001

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2001
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County Oltranti 2004

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2004
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County Russian River Valley Ponzo 2011

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2011
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Ridge Vineyards Syrah Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Lytton Estate 1997

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1997
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Paso Robles 2007

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2007
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel San Luis Obispo San Luis 1979

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1979
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County Sonoma Valley Pagani Ranch 1993

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1993
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Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma Valley Hooker Creek 2014

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2014
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Ridge Vineyards Petite Sirah Napa Valley York Creek 1975

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 1975
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Ridge Vineyards Mataro Contra Costa County Pato Vineyard 2003

Country United States
Region California
Vintage 2003
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