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Ridge Sonoma Station Zinfandel (Sonoma County) 2001

Sonoma Station is a second wine of Ridge, which gets a blend of grapes from all of their Sonoma County vineyards, which means its pulling grapes from all three major Sonoma valleys: Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian River. The 2001 vintage divided the major critics: the Wine Spectator scored it at only 82, while Robert Parker scored it an 89. My reaction is closer to the Parker score. A medium deep purple-black denotes the youth of the wine, but it is nevertheless ready to drink now. Good nose of classic zinfandel brambly fruit, with a touch of vanilla-ish oak. Intensely fruity flavors. Raspberries and blackberries. Medium finish with moderate tannins. Very clean with none of the funky flavors that a lot of Ridge zins had in 2000. Highly quaffable. Grade: B