Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days and best on Day 2. The 2022 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful with notes of ripe and tart red and black fruits: currants, blackberries, tobacco, leather, dry earth, a combo of cool and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and a bit more tart than the nose previously suggested. So fresh right now. Drink now with patience; better after 2027 and through 2047. — 11 days ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.2

Skin contact Slovenian Pinot Grigio. Beautiful light copper/peach color. Aromas and flavors of ripe pear, melon and nectarines. Additional notes of minerals and yeast. Nice creamy texture. Full flavored and nice mouthfeel. Crisp acidity. Very dry, delicate and quite fresh tasting. Wonderful complexity. Great quality for the price. — 2 months ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.2

Bright silver/gold color. Aromas of lemon candy, apple, white flowers and lime. Expressive flavors of lemon, tropical fruit, Granny Smith apple and peaches. Hint of fresh herbs on the medium-plus finish. Mouth watering acidity and excellent balance. Pleasant mouthfeel and aftertaste. So flavorful, bold and well crafted. Heard very good things about Trefethen Dry Riesling and I am glad I finally tried it. Unique Riesling style. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Better on Day 2. The 2023 Zinfandel pours a ruby/purple color with a magenta rim; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful with notes of ripe and tart black, red and some blue fruits: black berries, black cherries, raspberries, fig, green herbs, a touch of rubber pool toy, black pepper, dry earth and some gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. From my experience, this is the most youthful expression of Rafanelli Zinfandel I can recall. Good, but to my palate this will probably be better after 2028. — 19 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Decanted about an hour in advance and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2022 Cuvée Réservée pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of ripe and tart bramble fruits: blackberries, Marionberries, raspberries, “Oops All Berries!!”, garrigue, red and purple flowers, black pepper, licorice, a balance of cool and warm spices, river rock. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from nose; particularly the power and quality of fruit. The finish is long. Early days for the 2022 Cuvée Réservée but holy smokes is it already pretty special. The ABV is a scorching 16% but you would never know it. The power and freshness of fruit with the titanic structure keep everything in balance. Drink now through 2042. — 19 days ago

Jerry Raphael

9.0

Excellent Zin with a lot of fruits; blackberries, cranberries and some dark cherries. Also, spice, cedar and more. Did not know what to expect as Zin’s don’t go for a lot of aging. Happy I found this one in my cellar and have a couple of other Ridge wines I need to drink up.

I stopped purchasing Ridge years ago as I got into lighter wines. Visited Ridge Winery last century and had an excellent tasting as I remember and met and chatted with Paul Draper. — 4 months ago

Tom Nguyen

9.2

Great zin blend I first had at House of Prime Rib in SF. Spicy, aromatic and rich paired really well with roast lamb. — a month ago

David Shaw

9.1

Good fruit, strawberry, touch of lemon, peach and cream (?), good acid but not at all tart, honeydew, citric and malic notes on finish. Dry but not bone dry. Complex but missing savory and mineral notes from previous vintages, oh well, drinkable enough why wish for the moon? — a month ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Medium garnet , quite pronounced terracotta , garnet rim . This is more closed on the nose , slightly darker , less fruited , more tobacco , earthy , iodine , mineral, dry spices . On the palate more intensity with fresher acidity and grippy tannin . Darker fruits , with cherry , blackcurrant , but with a strong seaside , oyster shell componente . Good length and very elegant , slightly tannic finish . This is quite serious and restrained, more complete and complex than the 2011. Needs a bit of time to open, probably better in a 3-5 years and will show well for a further 5-10. From magnum . — 17 days ago

Austin Hohnke

9.2

From magnum. Last vintage of this ever made and in an amazing spot. Light on its feet while still showing wild and somewhat brooding character. This disappeared rather quickly. — 4 months ago