1995 Ridge Pagani Ranch Zinfandel -- late picked, 100-year old vines, 13% Mataro/Mourvedre, 3% Alicante, 2% Petite Syrah, a remarkable wine. A bouquet that actually caused people at the next table to ask what wine was in our bottle. Still very dark; big--no, HUGE--wafting nose of berries and sweet vanilla/spice; black raspberries, cherries, kirsch, pepper, spicecake, layers of chewy fruit with seemingly the sweetness (0.1% residual sugar remaining) of Port; long satisfying finish. No hint at all of the 15.2% alcohol. In the upper tier of all Zinfandels, perhaps the tiniest step below the legendary '92 vintage of this wine. At its peak today, to my taste. Will finish my remaining 3 this year or next. App. 93 pts.

I drank my last 1995 Ridge Pagani a couple years ago. This was the best Pagani I had tasted then or since. When I visited Ridge a couple years ago I was disappointed in most of the wines I had there. The other 1995 Pagani's -- I am pretty sure DeLoach made one as did St. Francis -- were very good but nowhere near the Ridge.