Ridge makes a range of great quality Zinfandel's and the Paso Robles is amongst my favorites because of a good bottle of the 00' vintage that I enjoyed with some close friends about a year ago. This wine is very young and actually just released not too long ago but as always I like to taste them asap for my readers!

(A note for the readers: I taste about 80% of these wines I review right here in front of the computer screen, and write exactly what my thoughts are as I am tasting. The wine in this post is right in front of me as are most when I write these reviews.)

The nose on this wine reveals notes of wild strawberries, licorice, red raspberries, milk chocolate and kind of a spirituous brandy smell. The aromas are very subtle and perhaps the bouquet will develop with additional bottle age. The flavors are tart and young and display nuances of raspberry, sweet tobacco, tea leaf, and a zip of strawberry rhubarb. The key in this wine is the raspberry flavors and when it ages a bit more the tea leaf and sweet tobacco notes will become more affluent. The finish is a bit warm right now but when the alcohol dissipates the raspberries chime in.  An interesting effort that I score 88 points.