"95 Points - Ana Carolina Quintela, Decanter.com
Just a mile from the winery in Lytton Springs, the Geyserville vineyard sits in an overall warmer pocket of Sonoma, but even here, 2023 was unusually cool and slow to start. The winemaking team states that this was the latest Geyserville harvest on record, since the first vintage in 1966. The crew was picking grapes up to November 1st. This classic old-vine field blend is always anchored by Zinfandel, with Carignane, Petite Sirah, and a few other varieties playing supporting roles in varying proportions, depending on the vintage. In 2023, with 70% of Zinfandel, the blend feels expressive and aromatic, with black and blue fruit leading the way, lifted by fresh herbs, a touch of mint, and a layer of baking spices. The oak is still settling in, but the structure is already in place, thanks in part to the 18% Carignane, which adds depth and acidity. It’s a young wine with plenty of promise, already showing well, with slightly chalky tannins, but it will really hit its stride with a few years in bottle. April 2025
95+ Points -Billy Norris, Vinous.com
A blend of 70% Zinfandel, 18% Carignane, 9% Petite Sirah and 3% Alicante Bouschet, the 2023 Geyserville is dark and brooding. Virile and intense, this is a monster wine that’s only at the very beginning of its evolution. So impressively articulated, the 2023 somberly marches from the glass with dark shadings of tobacco, inky black fruit, cracked pepper, sage, turned earth and pine, building powerful minerality with aeration. The 2023 will need several years to come around. It’s a sleeping giant today. September 2025"
Ridge has made the Geyserville as a single-site zinfandel in every year since 1966. The grapes are grown in three adjoining vineyards on a defined stretch of gravelly soil approximately one-and-a-quarter miles long and a half-mile wide.
Geyserville Vineyard is located on the Western edge of Alexander Valley, Sonoma County. Soils: Gravelly loam, Age of Vines: Youngest 10 years; oldest over 120 years; sixty percent 45 years or older.
Sustainably farmed, hand harvested estate-grown grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally-occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (25 ppm at crush; 129 ppm over the course of aging); pad filtered at bottling.
Heavy winter rains replenished groundwater. Moderate temperatures during the growing season were followed by cooler weather in August and September that pushed harvest late into October. The extended ripening period resulted in a wine with dark fruit and supple tannins balanced by beautiful acidity. Enjoyable now, this classic field blend will continue to evolve over the next ten years.
