February 20, 2014 – Wine: 2008 Ridge Geyserville

I have long been a fan of Ridge’s Geyserville Zinfandel blend wine.  While most folks prefer the softer and flamboyant Lytton Spings blend for its immediate appeal, I have always leaned toward the Geyserville’s development potential, its depth and complexity.  I fell in love with the 2003 vintage and worked my way through a couple of cases of half-bottles.  (A magnum still slumbers in my cellar.)  When I tasted this 2008, it reminded me most of the 2003 vintage, so I collected another case of half-bottles.  I opened the first bottle of 2008’s in 2011 and found it a bit restrained.  Tonight, this wine has opened up and reveals depth and complexity typical of the Geyserville blend.  This wine needed 90 minutes to come into balance.  When it did, it was delicious and deep with flavors of cherry, pomegranate, leather, mineral, and baking spices on the palette.