We’ve been fortunate to have great cause for discussion of late, as regards the 2011 Geyserville, courtesy of a recent honorific bestowed by the Quarterly Review of Wines:
CO-BEST OF SHOW
2011 Ridge Geyserville, Sonoma County
2011 Ridge Geyserville, Sonoma County $38. Soft, spicy, textured, concentrated, with strawberry-cherry flavors and elegant finish. Delicious! CO-BEST OF SHOW
The Show in question was the 29th Annual Best of The Best, the category was California Zinfandel, and the Geyserville was in receipt of the rather lovely nod noted above.
Thanks QRW!!!
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And because of all this, I’ve been thinking about the Geyserville.
And when I think about the Geyserville, I think about zinfandel.
And when I think about zinfandel, I think about how it means so many different things to so many different people.
And how what it often doesn’t mean to people is cellarable.
And by cellarable, I don’t simply mean that something can be aged. Many wines can be aged, but few actually should. Just lasting is not enough. It has to develop. And just developing is not enough. It has to improve. It has to develop finesse, and character, and nuance, and subtlety. It has to integrate, and complexicate, and delicify. It has to gain the full measure of its soul.
To say a wine is cellarable is to note the embryosis of its soul.
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Many wines do not have soul.
Some have some soul, but they arrive with as much soul as they’re ever going to have. They can play one beat, and that’s that. No more grooves to dance to after that.
Zinfandel has soul, but it’s often fully-formed upon arrival. It arrives, it counts to four, it hits the dance floor.
To me, the Geyserville has deep soul. Growing soul. A nascent soul. A full-measure soul. It has funky drummer soul, and house soul, and swing soul, and waltz soul, and two-step soul, and second-line soul, and shuffle soul.
So when I think of Geyserville, I think of cellarable.
And when I think cellarable, I close my eyes and count to ten.
Which brings me to 2001, and the 2001 Geyserville.
Tasted recently, and enjoyed immensely …
The Remington in action …
2001 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville
Going garnet as the core spreads outward, but limned with clarity, and nicely glowing tones throughout … lots of elegant secondary on the nose: cedar, spice; very autumnal, with a slight herbality, and hints of candied Japanese plum coming through … touch of blackberry jam undergirding the aromatics, and possibly even a trace of higher-tone strawberry in there as well, though it’s tonally mostly lower … incredible mouthfeel, very velvety and smooth, with perfectly integrated tannins and the acidity very much in balance … fruit is smooth and sweet and very pretty … touch of black pepper and clove showing through, maybe even a strain of maple syrup and pine sap; just incredibly decadent without being overpowering … Good Lord, where is Mt. Tam when I need it?
