John Benedetti

9.0

Definitely not your run of the mill Zin. Classic Ridge balance and structure, with many years to run left in her legs. Approachable now, but I'd love to see her 5-7 years down the road. Firm acid, integrated tannins, nice medium-dark fruit that's very lively, but with a complexity underneath that appeals to my love of nuance. — 8 years ago

John Benedetti

9.2

John had this 8 years ago

with Jivan

John Benedetti

9.1

John had this 8 years ago

with Jivan

John Benedetti

9.3

They say on the label that 10 years is the aging potential, and I'm happy to report that they were correct in that assumption. This was fantastic with 10'years age. — 8 years ago

John Benedetti

9.6

With almost 7 years bottle age, this is a gorgeous, structured and almost decadent wine. Still very fresh, and ripe with all the spice and dried cranberry notes that are signature of this vineyard. Loved loved loved it. — 8 years ago

John Benedetti

10

This wine is insane. Immaculate. Inspiring. There's some earth there now. But it's all soft and velvety. Nice dark fruit that's not overripe- it's actually still pretty lively underneath a velvety mouthfeel. Tannins are totally integrated, so the mouth-pucker effect is gone. Just straight velvet with a nice structured core. Unbelievable that this wine is still so vibrant. I'm so impressed. Paul Draper is King. — 8 years ago

John Benedetti

9.2

Lots of oak, but fruit still present, if mellow. Blueberries and vanilla. Really pretty as a standalone. Won't stand up to food anymore. Nevertheless, I loved it. Still very much intact after 14 years. — 8 years ago

with Jivan

John Benedetti

8.3

I remember this wine being fantastic when it was young, but the last decade has definitely not been kind to her. My bad for cellaring so long, I should have drank all of these while they were young and opulent. What was nice ripe cherry has turned somewhat pruney. Structure is gone, fruit is mostly gone. Will work my way up the chain to '08,09 and 10 soon and see if there is a sweet spot.
Tried a new vintage recently that was top-tier. — 8 years ago

John Benedetti

8.8

John had this 8 years ago

with Jivan

John Benedetti

9.4

This was incredible with pasta and homegrown tomato sauce tonight. Brooding fruit with savory edges and hints of meat. Structured enough, but with an incredibly rich mouthfeel. A truly excellent wine. — 8 years ago