2008 pagani ranch

Varietal Information

bottled February 2010
85% zinfandel, 10% alicante bouschet, 3% petite sirah, 2% carignane
15.0% alcohol by volume

History

Since 1991, Ridge has made zinfandel from the old Pagani vineyard on the east-facing side of Sonoma Valley. Almost all the vines here were planted more than a hundred years ago. Pagani Ranch is a fine example of what we look for in a vineyard: low-yielding old vines, carefully tended by a quality-conscious family who, in this case, have worked the land for four generations. The vineyard's long survival is proof of its merit. An average site would have been abandoned during the thirteen years of Prohibition, or during the Depression.

Vintage

Harvest Date: 30 October
Grapes: Average Brix 25.5 degrees
Fermentation: No inoculation; natural primary and secondary. Pressed at five days.
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (25% new, 25% one year, 50% three and four years old)
Aging: Sixteen months in barrel

Growing Season

Rainfall: Below average (less than 30 inches)
Bloom: Early May
Weather: A dry spring and a warm, dry summer with no sustained heat spells

Winemaker Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes - Cherry preserve nose, highlighted by red plum, dried cranberry. Appealing mix of exotic fruit and spice on entry, bright flavors enhanced by firm acidity. Structured, balanced. Very long finish. EB (6/10)

Winemaker Video Tasting Notes

YouTube video (1:58) - winemaker Eric Baugher presents the 2008 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch.

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• 2007 ZINFANDEL PAGANI RANCH Zinfandel, Charles E. Olken , Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 01-2010 , Tasting
  2007 RIDGE Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley
  
  SCORE: 85
  
  5% Alicante Bouschet; 3% Petite Sirah. Pushing its ripeness far beyond what one expects of Ridge and even ...(more)
• 2006 ZINFANDEL PAGANI RANCH Zinfandel, Charles E. Olken , Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 01-2009 , Tasting
  RIDGE VINEYARDS Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley 2006
  
  SCORE: 95 ***
  
  7% Alicante Bouschet; 3% Petite Sirah; 2% Carignane. In this outing, the Pagani Ranch wine...(more)
• 2005 ZINFANDEL PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL - More New Releases, Nicholas Ponomareff , California Grapevine 08-2007 , Tasting
  2005 Ridge, "Pagani Ranch," Sonoma Valley – Medium ruby; attractive, spicy, herbal, briary, raspberry jam aroma with notes of tobacco and American oak; medium-full body...(more)
• 2004 ZINFANDEL PAGANI RANCH Zinfandel, Charles E. Olken , Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 01-2007 , Tasting
  RIDGE VINEYARDS Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley 2004
  
  SCORE: *** 95
  
  16% Alicante Bouschet; 4% Petite Sirah; 4% Other. This wine often reaches exagge...(more)
• 2004 ZINFANDEL PAGANI RANCH Zinfandel - New Releases, Nicholas Ponomareff , California Grapevine 10-2006 , Tasting
  2004 Ridge, "Pagani Ranch," Sonoma Valley ($35) -- Medium to medium-dark purplish ruby; attractive, intense, very spicy, jammy, sweet blackberry fruit aroma with some...(more)
• 2003 ZINFANDEL PAGANI RANCH Zinfandel, Charles E. Olken , Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 01-2006 , Tasting
  RIDGE Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley 2003
  
  **SCORE: 90
  
  6% Alicante Bouchet; 4% Petite Sirah. It has never been known for its restraint or delicate nature, and ...(more)
• 2003 ZINFANDEL PAGANI RANCH Zinfandel - New Releases, Nicholas Ponomareff , California Grapevine 10-2005 , Tasting
  2003 Ridge, "Pagani Ranch," Sonoma Valley ($35)
  
  Medium-dark ruby color; attractive, forward, intense, very expressive, jammy, briary, very ripe blackberry fruit aroma; full...(more)
• 2003 ZINFANDEL PAGANI RANCH Golden Oldies, W. Blake Gray , San Francisco Chronicle 07-2005 , Press
  2003 Ridge Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley Zinfandel ($35) -- My favorite from this tasting; so alive that I kept smelling it to see what it would do next. At one point it s...(more)
• 2001 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL New Releases From California, Stephen Tanzer , International Wine Cellar 02-2004 , Press
  2001 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch California ($28; includes 8% alicante bouschet and 4% petite sirah): Full ruby-red. Somewhat porty aromas of roasted red berries, spicecake,...(more)
• 2001 PAGANI RANCH Zinfandel - New Releases, Nicholas Ponomareff , California Grapevine 11-2003 , Tasting
  2001 Ridge, "Pagani Ranch," Sonoma Valley ($28)
  
  Medium-dark ruby color; attractive, intense, briary, jammy, raspberry and boysenberry fruit aroma with notes of dill and van...(more)
• 2001 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL California Zinfandels – A Very Good Vintage, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 10-2003 , Press
  2001 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch -- SCORE: 91
  
  Paul Draper continues to perform brilliantly with his diverse group of Zinfandels and Zinfandel-based blends. His recent portfolio...(more)
• 2001 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL Zinfandel, Charles E. Olken , Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 09-2003 , Press
  Score 93 ~ 2 Stars ** RIDGE Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley 2001
  
  88% Alicante Bouchet; 4% Petite Sirah. Ridge's Pagani bottlings have been a bit uneven in success, but this late...(more)
• 2000 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL More Sensational California Zinfandels... , Decanter -- Supplement, "California 2003" 01-2003 , Press
  Ridge Vineyards, Pagani Ranch, Sonoma Valley 2000 ****
  
  An earthy, spicy, exotic character adds to the rich berry fruit. Good acidity and tamed tannins make for a food-frie...(more)
• 2000 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL American New Releases, Joshua Greene , Wine & Spirits 12-2002 , Press
  2000 California Pagani Ranch Zinfandel --- Score 90 Ö $27.50
  Pagani's centenarian vines grow in northern Sonoma valley, the vineyard mostly zinfandel, with alicante bouschet ...(more)
• 2000 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL , Nick Ponomareff , California Grapevine 10-2002 , Tasting
  2000 Ridge, "Pagani Ranch," Sonoma County ($27.50)
  Medium-dark ruby; attractive, rich, plummy, cedary, spicy, very ripe berry fruit aroma with notes of vanilla; full body; bi...(more)
• 1999 PAGANI ZINFANDEL Guide to California Wine , Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 01-2002 , Press
  RIDGE Pagani Ranch Sonoma County 1999. 7% Alicante Bouschet; 3% Petite Sirah. It might be easy to find fault with this bottling’s over-reliance on runaway ripeness, but ...(more)
• 1999 PAGANI ZINFANDEL , Nick Ponomareff , California Grapevine 11-2001 , Press
  1999 Ridge, Pagani Ranch, Sonoma County ($27.50) Medium-dark purplish ruby; somewhat funky, intense, jammy, briary, very ripe blackberry fruit aroma; full body; big, intense, ...(more)
• 1998 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL Current Tasting Notes , The Insiders' Wine Line 02-2001 , Press
  The 1998 Zinfandel, Pagani Ranch-Sonoma Valley (88% Zin, 9% Alicante Bouschet, 3% Petite Sirah) has a bright perfumed nose of jammy blackberries, cigar box, pie cherry and ros...(more)
• 1998 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL Zinfandel, Nick Ponomareff , California Grapevine 08-2000 , Press
  Medium-dark ruby; attractive, deep, intense, cedary, jammy, ripe blackberry fruit aroma; full body; big, intense, lush, concentrated, high-extract, slightly tart, cranberry an...(more)
• 1998 PAGANI RANCH California's 1998 Zinfandels, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 06-2000 , Press
  A more Amarone-like late harvest character can be found in the 1998 Pagani Ranch (a blend of 88% Zinfandel, 9% Alicante, and 3% Petite Sirah). A dense ruby color is followed b...(more)
• 1997 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL The Best New Releases from California, Stephen Tanzer , International Wine Cellar 11-1999 , Press
  1997 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch California (includes 7% mourvedre, 3% petite sirah and 2% alicante bouschet): Red-ruby. Port-like aromas of chocolate and black cherry; shows a dis...(more)
• 1997 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL Red Wines/California, Claude Kolm , Fine Wine Review 09-1999 , Press
  I found even more complexity in the Pagani Ranch Zinfandel with fig and allspice in the nose and fig and plums on the palate....(more)
• 1997 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL 1997 Zinfandel, Nick Ponomareff , California Grapevine 08-1999 , Press
  Medium-dark ruby; attractive, intense, cedary, toasty, chocolatey, peppery, briary, very ripe red berry fruit, clove, and dill aroma with good depth; full body; big, rich, jam...(more)
• 1997 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL California's 1997 Zinfandels, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 06-1999 , Press
  The opaque purple-colored 1997 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch (88% Zinfandel, 7% Mataro, 3% Petite Sirah, and 2% Alicante Bouchet that achieved 14.6% alcohol) exhibits what the French...(more)
• 1997 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL Ridge Vineyards, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 12-1998 , Press
  I immensely enjoyed the 1997 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch, which offers copious quantities of glycerin, fat, and raspberry fruit intermixed with cherries, pepper, and smoky oak. Thi...(more)
• 1996 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL Zinfandel , Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 01-1999 , Press
  RIDGE VINEYARDS 1996 Sonoma Valley Pagani Ranch. 11% Mataro: 4% Petite Sirah: 3% Alicante Bouschet.
  One rarely finds a Ridge wine with a winemaking problem, but thi...(more)
• 1996 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL Zinfandel , Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 01-1999 , Press
  ...(more)
• 1996 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL The Best New Wines from California, Stephen Tanzer , International Wine Cellar 11-1998 , Press
  1996 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch (includes some mourvedre, petite sirah and alicante bouschet): Bright ruby-red. Cherry, red berries, nutmeg and oak spice on the nose, with faint r...(more)
• 1996 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL 1996 California Zinfandel, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 08-1998 , Press
  Lastly, the dark ruby-colored 1998 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch (82% Zinfandel, 11% Mataro, 4% Petite Sirah, and 3% Alicante) offers up aromas of earth, prunes, and ripe black fruit...(more)
• 1996 PAGANI RANCH ZINFANDEL 1996 Zinfandel, Nick Ponomareff , California Grapevine 08-1998 , Press
  1996 Ridge, “Pagani Ranch,” Sonoma Valley -Medium-dark ruby; assertive, jammy, somewhat herbaceous, green pepper, green olive, berry fruit aroma with hints of anis...(more)