Ridge Vineyards’ 2023 Geyserville is the estate’s long-running single-vineyard red from Sonoma County, produced every year since 1966. It’s a traditional field blend led by Zinfandel (70%) with Carignane (18%), Petite Sirah (9%) and Alicante Bouschet (3%), bottled at 14.6% alcohol. The season was unusually cool and late, and the winery has noted it as the latest Geyserville harvest on record, with picking stretching into early November.

Critical reception is uniformly strong, with several excellent reviews clustered in the mid-90s. Jeb Dunnuck calls it “a perennial standout” and scores it 95, highlighting “great acidity” and “the perfect balance of dark fruit and freshness,” with a drinking window “now through 2033.” Decanter (95) also emphasizes the cool-year profile, describing it as “expressive and aromatic, with black and blue fruit leading the way,” alongside “fresh herbs, a touch of mint, and a layer of baking spices.” Decanter notes the “oak is still settling in,” but says “the structure is already in place,” pointing to Carignane’s role in “depth and acidity,” and suggests it will improve with a few years in bottle.

Vinous delivers one of the most emphatic appraisals at 95+ (Antonio Galloni), calling the wine “dark and brooding,” “virile and intense,” and “a sleeping giant today,” with notes of “tobacco, inky black fruit, cracked pepper, sage, turned earth and pine,” and advising patience. Wine Spectator (94) finds it “robust and simmering with intensity,” layering “black pepper, licorice, cardamom,” and recommends it “Best from 2026 through 2035.” James Suckling (94) underscores “focused acidity” and “finely integrated tannins,” while Wine Advocate (93+) describes “blackcurrant, tar, violet, mint” and a “mineral-driven” palate framed by “muscular, grippy tannins,” concluding it “should be long lived in the cellar.”