1994 Dusi Ranch Zinfandel

The old vines on the Dusi family ranch were harvested over a four-week period, and the lots kept separate. We chose this wine especially for our Advance Tasting Program. Most Ridge zinfandels are fermented with the grape skins submerged, but we further differentiated the Dusi by using a floating cap, and pumping the juice over for extraction. About twenty-five percent was aged in new, air-dried american oak-the rest in tempered three-year-old wood. The sweet, ripe berry fruit is balanced by full tannins. Already quite developed, this wine will be at its best over the next five years.

The zinfandel on this Paso Robles ranch was planted in 1923. It was purchased soon after by Sylvester and Catarina Dusi, who raised three sons there—Guido, Dante, and Benito. When Guido and Dante went to war in 1944, vineyard cultivation was left to Sylvester and young Benito—eleven years old at the time. Beni, as his many friends call him, maintained the vines from then on. Ridge’s long relationship with Beni and the Dusi vineyard began when Dave Bennion— scouting the area in 1967—knocked on the Dusis’ door and asked to buy five tons of grapes.

Average Rating: 87

No. of Tasting Notes: 2

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