2021 Ridge Vineyards "East Bench" Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

Supreme concentration and great depth characterize this powerful, structured and age-worthy wine. It boasts luscious dried plums and dried blueberries, plus plenty of black pepper and light wood-smoke accents, all backed by firm tannins. *Cellar Selection* (JG)

The 2021 East Bench from Ridge is a beauty! Though not from ancient vines like many of the winery's offerings, this is from a block that was very purposefully planned and re-planted in 2000 using every scrap of knowledge the team at Ridge had learned over many decades of working with Zinfandel. Also, they planted the block with massale selection cuttings taken from the very best heritage vines across their vast holdings of some of the best old vine vineyards in the state. So basically you've got a historic site that was originally planted in the very early 1900s. A custom planted Zinfandel block calling on many decades of viticultural expertise, using the best of the best old vine cuttings from iconic vineyards across the region! And that is why this wine often stands shoulder to shoulder with its more expensive stablemates. Word on the street is that this may well be the last vintage of East Bench being being released to the broad market as a single vineyard bottling. The quality of the fruit is now so proven that it will become a component of higher-end wines and a Ridge mailing list only selection. The wine is stunning, 2021 is a near perfect vintage for just about every grape variety in NorCal, and Zinfandel certainly benefitted from the lack of big heat spikes that can so easily raisin this thin skinned grape. Instead 2021 resulted in wonderfully pure, ripe, juicy, naturally balanced wines with big concentration of flavor from the ongoing drought conditions. The East Bench is packed with boysenberry, brambly blackberry fruits, mulberry too. Dusty earthy notes and hot stone, dried garrigue and briar patch. Vibrant acidity and a lick of exotic oak spice frame it perfectly. So, don't hold back here, secure some of this 95-point, picture perfect Zin for a ludicrously low price offered to our Insider's Advantage mailing list customers. It's almost too good to be true! Pinch me!