Ridge Vineyards Three Valleys Zinfandel Blend Sonoma California 2004. 14.1% alcohol. GRAPES: 68% ZINFANDEL, 11% CARIGNANE, 10% SYRAH,7% PETITE SIRAH, 4% GRENACHE. $8.00 a glass at Endless Vines. 15,000 cases.
Tanzer described this wine exactly right for me: "Bright medium red, [medium hue]. Red berries, rose petal and exotic spices on the nose. Then juicy, peppery and distinctly dry in the mouth, with a leanness to the red berry flavors. Finishes with dusty tannins and a building dryness. SCORE: 87." As the guy at the bar said: "The old reliable today, eh Bob." "Yep." 3*.
Notes: Winemaker. 04 Zinfandel Three Valleys, bottled 2/06. "Three Valleys" is the Ridge proprietary name for its only wine blended from multiple vineyard sites. To make it, we select softer, more accessible lots from our single vineyards, combining them to create the character we think will be most appealing. Younger vines on the Lytton Springs Vineyards in Dry Creek Valley provided roughly half the fruit; a third came from Geyserville, Mazzoni, and Stone Ranch Vineyards in Alexander Valley; the balance is from Pagani Ranch in the cool Sonoma Valley. The wines fermented on their natural yeasts, were pressed, on average, after eight days, and finished a natural (uninoculated) malolactic within four weeks. Enjoyable now, this spicy, beautifully-defined zinfandel blend will develop fully over the next four or five years. EB, JO, PD (1/06)