Owen Bargreen Reviews our Spring Releases
OwenBargreen.com
March 2022
Owen Bargreen recently released his review of our spring wines, giving a special nod to our 2020 Estate Chardonnay, and 2020 Geyserville, stating:
“I love the new Ridge wines which are simply stunning across the board. Do not miss out on the sensational 2020 Ridge ‘Estate’ Chardonnay (OB, 94) which is fresh, vibrant and shows sensational flavor density, improving after several hours of air. Look for their 2020 Ridge ‘Geyserville’ Red Wine (OB, 94) which deftly captures the art of blending and comes off velvety and soft, with some great cellaring potential.”
— Owen Bargreen
Bargreen is the founder of OwenBargreen.com and has been writing about wine for more than ten years, having reviewed thousands of wines from around the world. He also writes part-time for Decanter Magazine and recently joined the Vinous Media team.
Featured Wines
2019 Monte Bello | 97 Points
A masterpiece by the Ridge winemaking team. This really needs an hour or two in the decanter prior to enjoying, as it is very tightly-wound like most new release Monte Bellos. Once aroused this shows incredible nuance aromatically from wintergreen and dried herbs to cassis and creme de violette notes, with scorched earth undertones. The palate is very fresh and vibrant with a seamless texture and wonderful length. Try not to touch this beauty for at least two more years, as this has both the weight and finesse to cellar well past two decades. Drink 2024-2045
2019 Boatman Zinfandel | 95 Points
Red plum, cigar ash and blood orange zest all mark the nose. The palate is silky and elegant, with refined tannins framing everything brilliantly. Ripe red and black fruits combine with bergamot, cardamom and tobacco leaf on the palate. This is utterly sensational, well-balanced Zinfandel that has both the stuffing and acidity to cellar for another fifteen to twenty years.
2020 Estate Chardonnay | 94 Points
This Chardonnay exudes class with great aromatic range from buttered popcorn and ripe banana tones alongside Challah bread and suggestions of nectarine rind. The palate is very elegant and shows a Burgundian sense of finesse, with lovely salty undertones and a ripe core of melon and citrus fruits. Finishing very long, this outstanding new Chardonnay will be sure to cellar well over the next decade.
2020 Geyserville | 94 Points
Needing an hour in the decanter to be fully expressive, the nose comes off very pretty with red roses and ripe raspberry with bramble undercurrents and shades of black plum that all dazzle in the glass. Silky tannins frame a core of bright red fruits with baking spices bergamot and suggestions of persimmon. Finishing long, this a truly outstanding effort that is already showing beautifully and will be sure to satisfy over the next ten to twelve years.
2019 San Lorenzo | 94 Points
The outstanding 2019 Ridge Vineyards ‘San Lorenzo’ Zinfandel is crafted from extremely old vines which were first planted in 1892. The wine comes off very silky and elegant, with refined tannins that frame a rich core of boysenberry preserves, black currants, black licorice and pipe tobacco. Exceedingly good even to consume now at the three-year mark, this surely has another fifteen years in front of it.
2020 Paso Robles Zinfandel | 94 Points
This wine gets even better following a one-hour decant. Bramble and red raspberry cordial mark the nose alongside suggestions of bay leaf and cherry tomato. The palate is fresh and energetic with a seamless texture and wonderful length. The concentration and finesse here is lovely. A complete wine, this is already beautifully evolved and will surely cellar well over the next twelve-plus years.
2019 Syrah Grenache Mataro | 94 Points
The nose is almost pure Sonoma Syrah with bacon fat, violets, and a dusting of white pepper, with Earl Grey accents. The palate shows incredible poise and texture with medium-bodied red and dark fruits that combine with black licorice, tar, and shades of creme de violette. The levels of mouth-watering acidity make this really difficult to put down. Complex and highly novel, if enjoying in its youth be sure to give this at least an hour in the decanter.
2019 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon | 93 Points
Graphite and wild blackberry compote mark the nose alongside shades of dark chocolate shavings and pipe tobacco. The palate is very fresh and refined with a soft mouthfeel and soft tannins. Ripe dark currants parade with espresso bean, and shades of chocolate cake on the palate. This is seriously good stuff to enjoy young but has both the structure and stuffing to go for another fifteen-plus years.
2020 Buchignani Ranch Carignane | 93 Points
Bay leaf and red currant cordial mark the nose alongside tilled soils and smoky undercurrents. The palate shows a strong degree of astringency and acidity, with firm tannins holding in place a deep core of red fruits and menthol flavors. Enjoy this beautiful wine after a one to two-hour decant.
2020 Blasi Zinfandel | 93 Points
Sourced from this vineyard in the Chalk Hill appellation of Sonoma County, this reveals bramble notes with bright Bing cherry, summer sausage and wintergreen tones on the nose. The texture imparted is insanely good as rich red fruit flavors collide with minerals, dusty soils and the seamless texture.
2019 Estate Merlot | 93 Points
Sourced from the Monte Bello Vineyard, this has 4% Cabernet Sauvignon blended in. Very dark in the glass, this delivers pencil lead, garrigue and chocolate fudge notes alongside black currant accents on this seductive nose that shows outstanding range. The wine shows brilliant flavor density and weight, yet offers great finesse and mouth-watering acidity. Finishing very long with black fruits and minerals, this fabulous effort will cellar well over the next fifteen years. Drink 2022-2037
2020 East Bench Zinfandel | 92 Points
The nose is very appealing with its blood orange zest and wild strawberry tones alongside shades of wintergreen. The palate is very soft and approachable with bright acidity and red raspberry, pomegranate seed, and sour red cherry flavors alongside this brilliant vein of tension. Just an infant now, this medium-bodied, well-structured Zin will surely cellar well for another ten years or more.
2020 Halter Ranch Grenache Blanc | 92 Points
The 2020 ‘Halter Ranch’ Grenache Blanc has a high portion of Picpoul (20%) blended in. Sourced from this site in Paso Robles, and weighing in at only 12.9% alcohol, this unveils ripe cantaloupe with vanilla cream and minerals on the palate, with flinty undercurrents. This is gorgeous stuff for a hot summer day. Drink 2022-2027.
2020 Three Valleys | 90 Points
The outstanding 2020 Ridge ‘Three Valleys’ Red Wine blends 74% Zinfandel with smaller parts Petite Syrah, Alicante Bouschet and Carignane. Medium-bodied red fruits collide with smoke and bramble with Mandarin orange zest flavors on the palate. Enjoy over the next five years. Drink 2022-2027
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