1999 Geyserville

99 Geyserville Vineyard, bottled January 2001 Despite the season’s late start, moderate temperatures and a long, lovely autumn fully matured the fruit at Geyserville; harvest began in the last days of September. The old zinfandel (c.1900) was picked first, then the young vines, planted in 1990. We waited until mid-October for the forty-year-old zinfandel and one-hundred-twenty-year-old carignane, finishing with petite sirah. Each of the eighteen parcels was held separate; naturally-occurring yeast and natural malolactic bacteria carried out the fermentations. Twenty-five percent of the wine was aged in new, air-dried american oak, the rest in older barrels of similar wood. This Geyserville is among the finest of a great decade, and will be at its best over the next seven or eight years. PD (11/2000)

Ridge has made Geyserville Zinfandel from the Trentadue family ranch every year since 1966. The majority of grapes are grown on the thirty-six-acre Whitten Ranch portion of the property. We obtained a long-term lease on Whitten Ranch in 1990, guaranteeing access to this exceptional fruit for several more decades. All the vines at Geyserville are head-trained and spurpruned; we leave six to ten spurs per vine. Over half the vines are thirty-five years of age or older, some more than one hundred twenty. There were several good rains in November and December, and the new year continued with well-spaced precipitation and cold weather from January through March. The last days of March brought a big storm and—again—cold temperatures. A cool April slowed bud break, but moderate warmth in May induced bloom by month’s end. We had thought 1998’s record late start to be unique, but cool rains in early June set us back just as far. The weather caught the old vines in bloom, seriously reducing crop. Warm—even hot—weather in July moved the season forward. August was fine; typically, there was light rain at September’s full moon. October continued clear and the grapes ripened fully, but almost as late as in ’98. Yields on the old-vine

The Wine Advocate (October 2015): 93 Points “More fruit forward and sexy than the Lytton Springs, the 1999 Geyserville Proprietary Red Wine sports a youthful ruby color to go with complex notes of sweet plums, licorice, cinnamon and exotic spices. Made from 68% Zinfandel, 16% Carignan, and 16% Petite Sirah that checks in at just under 15% alcohol, it’s aging brilliantly and has full-bodied richness, a full, layered mid-palate and a great finish. It’s fully mature, but will evolve gracefully going forward.” – Jeb Dunnuck

JebDunnuck.com (February 2019): (91 Points). “The 1999 Geyserville is 68% Zinfandel and the rest equal part Carignan and Petite Sirah. This was another vintage were yields were down considerably, yet the wines are classic and incredibly age-worthy. This still ruby/plum-colored effort sports fully mature notes of red and black fruits, cigar wrapper, and spice, and it’s slightly more voluptuous and evolved than the Lytton Springs. Both are fully mature, with no upside, yet these wines have an incredible ability to hold nicely at this point for longer than I ever give them credit for.” – Jeb Dunnuck

Average Rating: 90.2

No. of Tasting Notes: 75

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