The Still & The VineSchool of Wine & Spirits
Ridge Vineyards Geyserville 2021
Red WineIssue 30

Ridge Vineyards Geyserville 2021

Ridge Vineyards · Ridge Vineyards, Geyserville estate, Sonoma County, California

Rich and structured. Black fruit and dark cherry open the palate, followed by waves of blackberry jam, cracked black pepper, and a savory iron-like mineral note. The 130-plus-year-old carignane brings a wiry tannin backbone, while the Ridge house style keeps everything in elegant balance.14.4% ABV proofIn Geyserville, at the northern end of Sonoma County's Alexander Valley, Ridge Vineyards has been bottling a field-blend red from the Trentadue Ranch since 1966. The vines are planted in the estate's gravelly benchland soils — the Old Patch section contains zinfandel and carignane vines more than 130 years old, plantings that Ridge has tended without replanting for nearly six decades. Everything happens at the estate: farming, harvesting, fermenting with native yeasts in open-top tanks, aging in air-dried American oak, and bottling on the same property. Paul Draper built Ridge's reputation on the radical idea that California wine should express a single vineyard's personality without winemaker interference. Geyserville is Ridge's Alexander Valley answer to that idea — a single-vineyard red that has been continuously made from the same blocks for nearly sixty vintages.
Tasting Notes

Nose

Long and layered with lingering black fruit, sweet oak spice, and a savory earthy note that fades gradually into a dry, peppery finish.

Palate

Berry (Generic), Cherry, Blackcurrant, Cedar, Violet, Toasted

Finish

Ridge Geyserville is what happens when a single vineyard, a single winemaking team, and a single philosophy come together over six decades of continuous vintages. The Trentadue Ranch is Ridge's estate laboratory — the same blocks, the same native-yeast fermentation, the same air-dried American oak for nearly sixty years. What lands in the glass is not just wine from Sonoma but a specific field, a specific bench, a specific cluster of 130-plus-year-old vines. Paul Draper's guiding principle was that the winemaker's job is to get out of the way; Ridge Geyserville is the clearest proof that when a single estate is trusted to speak for itself, the result is a California wine of genuine place.

Specifications
Blend
76% Zinfandel, 16% Carignane, 6% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet
Vineyards
Deep ruby with purple highlights
Serve & Pair

Cocktail Suggestion

Serve it straight. Ridge Geyserville is a single-vineyard field blend whose complexity deserves a Bordeaux glass at 62°F. Decant 30 minutes before serving to allow the old-vine aromatics to open. No mixing.

Food Pairing

Grilled rib-eye with rosemary and cracked black pepper — the wine's savory spice and peppery old-vine structure echo the herbs while the ripe black fruit balances the char.

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