Winemaker Notes
Deep garnet color. Black cherry and plum fruit aromas, pepper spice, and toasted oak. Ripe cherry fruit entry, medium-full bodied, rich tannins, with lively acidity. Long spicy finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted from barrel, the 2017 Zinfandel Paso Robles is also very promising, offering up youthful primary aromas of ripe cherries and currants. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and succulent, with melting tannins and a pure, juicy, fruit-driven profile. In 2017, Ridge was able to pick their entire block of the Benito Dusi vineyard in one go, meaning that all the grapes arrived at the Monte Bello winery the day that they were harvested, and that will also be the practice going forward. While the Paso Zinfandel is never the most complex of Ridge's Zinfandels, it's inordinately appealing for its generous expression of Zinfandel fruit.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Zinfandel Paso Robles is a bigger, richer wine compared to the Dry Creek Release, and its deep purple color is followed by tons of sweet blueberry, mulberry, brambly herbs, and cigar wrapper notes. Rich, medium to full-bodied, sweetly fruited, and with ripe tannin, this is one sexy Zinfandel that can be drunk today or cellared for 10-15 years.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel is a full-bodied wine with loads of beautifully-ripened fruit. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines in its black fruit aromas and flavors. Pair it with grilled short ribs topped with red onion rings. (Tasted: March 26, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Briary and rustic yet appealing for the deep blackberry, mineral and savory underbrush accents that build toward broad-shouldered tannins. Best from 2021 through 2027.
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.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.