Ridge Shenandoah, Esola Vineyard Zinfandel 1978. 95% Zinfandel; 5% Petite Sirah; 15.9% alcohol by volume; bottled March 1980; 25.4% sugar in grapes; 0.27% residual sugar in wine; late harvest; from old vines.
This is a very good example of a late harvest Zinfandel. It still has a strong dark berry fruit bouquet and taste and not the prune or raisin character of much late harvest Zinfandel. It tastes a bit sweeter than you might expect for 0.27%, probably because of the intense fruit and adequate, but not high, acidity. It is now smooth and the considerable medium tannins are resolved. It reminds me somewhat of some of the big red table wines made in the Oporto region. This would be a good match when you need a strong red wine for a dish with rather sweet fruit sauce and such. Most Zinfandels of this age have lost most fruit, but late harvest Zinfandels from Ridge that age well are not uncommon.
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