Arista Winery Zinfandel Smokey Ridge Vineyard

Paired well with our Easter Sunday dinner of smoked ham and Brussel sprouts. Mellowed tannins and ripe fruits. Drank within 2 hours of opening and could tell it was starting to past prime.

Dark purple, good mouth feel. Very fruit forward, lots of blackberry, a little tart plum. Not much in the way of secondary notes, but a firm finish with enough tannin and acid to be food friendly without overpowering. I didn't notice the alcohol until the second glass, after I'd already looked at the bottle. So don't know if it pulled itself forward or my subconscious kicked in. 7/10/2022 Big, big fruit. Nice finish with toasted oak. Again, didn't notice the …

Big fruit in typical and younger zin has faded. Drinks more like a Merlot than a zin. After opening up over a couple of hours, alcohol was more pronounced. Will be interesting to finish it tomorrow night and see how it evolved.

86-90, because we are all over the place on liking or disliking this wine. Arista is a beautiful location to do a tasting, and the staff are exceptional. Tasted side-by-side with the (much better) 2014 vintage. This was opened the day before by the winery for our tasting, and we brought the rest of the bottle home and are writing this on day 3. Smells like cocoa and blackberry. The alcohol (15.9%) comes through offensively on the nose. Tasting on …

Popped and poured while making dinner. Red fruit and a little smoke on the nose. Red fruit follows on the palate. Medium weight. Dark color in the glass. High ABV (15.9%) but the alcohol not showing yet. Enough fruit remains to keep the wine in balance.

Drinking great.

Aroma of dark cherry and herbs. A bit tart and spicy on the palette, mellowing after opened for an hour. More tannins than I expect from a Zinfandel. Would hold up to some hearty food.

Nice body. Medium. Blackberry. Definitely can notice the high alchohol. Nice finish. Love this winery. Enjoyable, unique zinfandel.

Big and jammy, but necessarily a fruit bomb. Some smoke, but not overpowering. Alcohol is definitely noticeable, a touch too much so. Good, not great.

Dark, blackish red. Heavy, dark, fruit-forward blackberry nose with some spice after 4 hours breathing in the bottle. Dark cherries, more blackberries with a slightly smoky flavor. Tiny tannins. A baby Zin with enough body to be interesting, - no doubt the massive alcohol - but not super-sexy. Mega-jammy. Finish lickey-split. Far from Sonoma's best Zin, but 👌. 15.9%. USD36. 2025