Winemaker Notes
Jammy black raspberry, orange zest and garrigue on the nose. Silky tannins and firm acidity. Flavors of blackberry, honeycomb and white pepper linger on the finish.
Blend: 82% Zinfandel, 9% Alicante Bouschet, 5% Petite Sirah, 4% Mataro
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Alluring spice aromatics tip off this classically California Zinfandel from this cooler site in the Sonoma Valley appellation, always Ridge's last pick. The Pagani Ranch Zinfandel comes from selected blocks of vines planted between 1896 and 1922, this bottling is a bit of American wine history. Clove, frankincense, spiced blood orange, and black liquorice aromas meld with black fruits, sugar plums, and crushed ripe figs. The palate is buoyant, with ripe black raspberries, plump blackberries, dusty mineral tones, and a mixture of exotic spices, which finish this wine with a sense of grace amid its ripe fruit profile.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch is a blend of 82% Zinfandel, 9% Alicante Bouschet, 5% Petite Sirah and 4% Mataro. It has layered scents of blueberry preserves, yellow peach, toasted coconut and floral perfume. The palate combines generous, layered, fragrant flavors with silky tannins and bursts of mouthwatering acidity, and it has a long, expressive finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This opulent Zinfandel that’s blended with a bit of Alicante Bouschet, Petite Sirah and Mataro brings concentrated aromas of blackberry, plum skin and nutmeg on the nose. The palate displays rich tannin and flavors of black cherry, anise, barrel spice and a streak of raspberry-lime acidity that lifts the wine across the finish.
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James Suckling
An extra-bold and full-bodied wine that stays balanced and fresh due to moderate tannins and some cranberry-like acidity. Huge aromas of crushed cherries, strawberries and blackberries, then the ripeness of jam without the sweetness. It’s a blockbuster in terms of concentration, but not too heavy or tannic.
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Vinous
The 2022 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch smells like the freshest orange juice imaginable. Dump that orange juice on a pile of smashed blueberries and pulverized rocks, then crush some rosemary in your palm over the top of the whole ordeal, and you’ll get an idea of the uniquely Pagani expression here. The old vines convey so much depth and seriousness. There’s ample nuance and energy to burn.
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Wine Spectator
Elegance meets a deep core of concentrated fruit, offering blackberry and blueberry notes, plus details of green olive, licorice and Asian dark spices that build richness toward fine-grained tannins.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The Pagani Ranch has often produced some of my favorite Zinfandels from Sonoma Valley; it is generally quite concentrated. The 2022 vintage offers aromas and flavors of bold berries that stay long on the palate. This wine shows aromas and flavors of aromatic American oak, dried berries, and a slight note of black earth. Try it with BBQ baby back ribs. (Tasted: September 22, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
RIDGE's history begins in 1885, when Osea Perrone, a doctor and prominent member of San Francisco's Italian community, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He planted vineyards and constructed a winery of redwood and native limestone in time to produce the first vintage of Monte Bello in 1892. The historic building now serves as the RIDGE production facility.
In 1962, Ridge Vineyards made its first Monte Bello, and two years later its first zinfandel. The RIDGE approach is straightforward: find the most intense and flavorful grapes, guide the natural process, draw all the fruit's richness into the wine. Decisions on when to pick, when to press, when to rack, what varietals and what parcels to include and when to bottle, are based on taste. To retain the nuances that increase complexity, Ridge winemakers handle the grapes and wine as gently as possible. There are no recipes, only attention and sensitivity.
In August 2021, Ridge Vineyards joined International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), a group of like-minded wineries that are dedicated to decarbonizing the global wine industry. RIDGE is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050 and completes a biannual greenhouse gas audit utilizing the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol methodology and be verified by an internationally accredited, third-party auditor.
Unapologetically bold, spice-driven and jammy, Zinfandel has secured its title as the darling of California vintners by adapting well to the state's diverse microclimates and landscapes. Born in Croatia, it later made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, and it later made its way to New England in 1829. Parading the true American spirit, Zinfandel found a new home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Somm Secret—California's ancient vines of Zinfandel are those that survived the neglect of Prohibition; today these vines produce the most concentrated, ethereal and complex examples.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.