Geyserville 2018 | Ridge | California

Name: Geyserville 2018 | Ridge | California
Brand: Ridge Vineyards
SKU: 281
Price: 69.89 EUR
Availability: InStock

69.89 €

69.89 €

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Ridge Vineyards, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California. A blend of 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet from three adjoining vineyards on gravelly soils. Hand-harvested.

Destemmed and crushed. Natural primary and malolactic fermentations. Daily pump-overs; pressed at 8 days. Aged 13 months in American oak barrels (11% new, 42% one to two years old, 47% three to four years old).

Wine Identification
The Geyserville 2018 is a red wine produced by Ridge Vineyards, sourced from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County, California. This vintage represents the winery’s flagship Zinfandel blend, distinguished by its specific composition and extended aging process.

Origin and Winemaking
Grapes for this cuvée are harvested manually from three contiguous vineyards characterized by stony soil. The blend consists of 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah, and 2% Alicante Bouschet (Garnacha Tintorera). Post-harvest, the grapes are destemmed and crushed. Fermentation involves both alcoholic and malolactic processes conducted naturally, with daily pump-overs to manage extraction. The wine is pressed after eight days of maceration. It then undergoes aging for thirteen months in American oak barrels. The barrel composition is carefully tracked: 11% are new, 42% are one to two years old, and 47% are three to four years old.

Tasting Profile
The wine presents an incredibly alluring aromatic profile featuring layers of warm, tricolored fruits complemented by abundant spicy accents. A dusty, mineral-tinged undercurrent adds depth and appeal to the nose. On the palate, it is generously fruited and fantastically juicy. The structure is supported by silt-like tannins that provide adequate backbone without overpowering the fruit. The finish is noted for being very long and layered, reflecting the complexity gained from its specific oak regimen and blend composition.

Critical Reception
The Wine Advocate awarded this vintage a score of 96. The review highlights the wine’s appeal, noting the balance between its juicy fruit character and supportive tannic structure. A total of 9,900 cases were produced for this release.

Overall Character
Geyserville 2018 stands as a robust yet refined expression of Sonoma County viticulture. By combining traditional blending techniques with precise oak management, Ridge has crafted a wine that balances immediate aromatic allure with long-term structural integrity.

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Geyserville 2018 | Ridge | California

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PARKER: 96

The 2018 Geyserville is a blend of 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet. It's incredibly alluring, offering up layers of warm, tricolored fruits and loads of spicy accents on the nose, with a dusty, mineral-tinged undercurrent that adds to its appeal. In the mouth, it's generously fruited and fantastically juicy, its silt-like tannins providing just enough support, and it finishes very long and layered. 9,900 cases produced.

Learn more about Ridge Vineyards

In 1885 Osea Perrone, a doctor and a prominent member of San Francisco's Italian community, bought 180 acres (73 ha) near the top of Monte Bello Ridge, at 2,600 feet —792 metres— above the bay. He terraced the slope, planted vines and used limestone quarried on the mountain to build the winery that gave the wine its name: the first vintage under the Monte Bello label is from 1892.

The estate was reborn seventy years later, and in a distinctly un-winemaking way. Four Stanford Research Institute engineers —Dave Bennion, Hew Crane, Charlie Rosen and Howard Ziedler— made a quarter-barrel of Cabernet from the old vines still standing. It convinced them enough to re-bond the winery in time for the 1962 harvest. In 1966 they bottled the first Geyserville Zinfandel, and in 1969 Paul Draper joined, raised on a farm outside Chicago and drawn to wine after living in Italy and France. He was the estate's winemaker for forty-seven years, retiring in 2016 at eighty.

He described his own method as pre-industrial: native yeasts from the vineyard itself, minimal sulfur, and not a single commercial enzyme or nutrient. The house rule fits in one line —find intense fruit, intrude only when necessary— and it explains the quirk Ridge is best known for outside the trade: since 2011 it prints the full ingredient list on the back label, something no regulation required and almost nobody did.

The proof came twice. At the 1976 Judgment of Paris, the 1971 Monte Bello placed fifth. Thirty years later, on 24 May 2006, those same bottles were re-tasted: the 1971 won both the United States and United Kingdom panels and, in the combined result, finished eighteen points clear of the runner-up.

In Sonoma the story runs longer than ownership suggests: Ridge has made Geyserville since 1966 —from vines over 130 years old— and has worked Lytton Springs since 1972, though the property only became theirs in 1991. Since 2022 every estate vineyard is certified organic.

See all wines by Ridge Vineyards →