2021 Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley 750 ml

There is no more iconic and celebrated winery in California than Ridge Vineyards. 

Ridge has been named North America’s #1 Most Admired wine brand (and #3 in the world) by Drinks International. It has earned a spot in Wine & Spirits Magazine’s Top 100 Wineries 20 times, and it placed fifth at the 1976 Judgment of Paris—and then took the crown at a re-tasting 30 years later.

When it comes to Zinfandel particularly, there’s Ridge, then there’s everyone else: MICHELIN three-star restaurant SingleThread in Healdsburg has 40 Zinfandel selections on their wine list—and right now, 18 are from Ridge.

Pagani Ranch is one of Ridge’s most coveted bottlings—an ageworthy stunner from an iconic winery and vineyard. It will deliver decades of pleasure—a rare virtue in Zin, and one of the reasons that the perfectly balanced Ridge wines are so universally beloved. 

Pagani Ranch is a special place. Planting of the site began in 1896, and it is still farmed by the same family, it’s like a viticultural time warp. Unlike vineyards with a block or two of ancient vines among younger plantings, Pagani is dominated by wizened plants: Today, some of the youngest vines on the property are over 100 years old!

Of course, old vines aren’t just for show, because as they age they produce less and less fruit. That means all that trademark Zinfandel flavor gets crowded into fewer and fewer grapes as the years go on, so Pagani’s grapes pack the kind of concentration that only ancient vines can provide.