WTN: 1992 Ridge Geyserville

[Brad Ballinger]

1992 Ridge Geyserville, Sonoma County. The wine is a blend of 65% zinfandel, 20% carignan, and 15% petit sirah. It is also gloriously in its prime drinking window. I brought this wine to a restaurant on Sunday evening, and spaced that their stemware was less than ideal. But this wine was able to rise above that, and still made a strong statement. The nose showed a heavy dose of blackberry with some tobacco leaf, molasses, and earth. And it didn’t let up whatsoever from first pour to last. In the mouth, there was terrific balance between fruit, mineral, oak, acid, tannin, you-name-it. The tannins are softening and silky, but the integrity of the structure is not yet compromised. The wine is held together seamlessly and in beautiful harmony. And there is still a massive amount of fruit. The fruit has not dried up by any stretch, and has not gone stewed. With each sip, it shows a new dimension. This bottle is why we age our Geyservilles. And it’s why we drink wine.