Dense black fruit flavors are underlined by warm spice and give way to charred oak in this robust wine. The vines of ‘Dragon Ridge’ produce big, rich wines that stand on their own or pair with bold, flavorful dishes.
Specs
Varietals: 77.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15.7% Petite Sirah, 6.7% Mixed Reds
Appellation: Lodi, California
Alcohol: 14.5%
Total Acidity: 6.0 g/L
pH: 3.60
Residual Sugar: 4.0 g/L
2021 Dragon Ridge Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi
Tasting Notes
Concentrated blackberry flavors are accentuated by toasted oak and supportive tannins in this bold wine.
Specs
Varietals: 81.8% Zinfandel, 12.5% Petite Sirah, 5.7% Mixed Reds
Appellation: Lodi, California
Alcohol: 15.0%
Total Acidity: 6.1 g/L
pH: 3.75
Residual Sugar: 7.0 g/L
What’s Included
6-bottles:
2x 2021 Dragon Ridge Red Wine Blend, Lodi
2x 2021 Dragon Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi
2x 2021 Dragon Ridge Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi
Case:
4x 2021 Dragon Ridge Red Wine Blend, Lodi
4x 2021 Dragon Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi
4x 2021 Dragon Ridge Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $276/case MSRP
About The Winery
Winery: Dragon Ridge
Location: Lodi, California
These wines are the stuff of legends, celebrated for their timeless allure and storied heritage.
Lodi is one of the most storied growing regions of California’s Central Valley, where wild vines used to grow along the river’s edge. It’s most well-known for old, fortuitous vines that produce wines of strength and character. The mountain range to the east resembles a sleeping dragon, one that overlooks and protects the vineyards, often cloaked in early morning fog that burns to sun in the afternoon.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Happy holidays and happy to be able to rat the 2021 Cabernet!
This was almost surprisingly good. A lighter style Cab, but still plenty of flavor. Medium bodied with a nice ruby red color I got cherry and spices with lots of acid. Not hot at all and pretty balanced and well made. We thoroughly enjoyed it with pizza. I mean this is not super complex or anything but a nice every day wine that goes down very smoothly. It kind of reminds me of something like the slingshot - for the price, something good you can open anytime and not be disappointed. This would be great to enjoy with a group, bring somewhere, or give as a gift.
I would be curious to try the other ones, they sound pretty good too. For about $25 you could try 3 different wines or give them as a set. Now that’s a cool deal.
As soon as I received the incoming bottle for rattage, I knew it was going to be a good one, Dragon Ridge Old Vine Zinfandel, 2021. Zinfandel is a favorite varietal of mine and my lab assistants. It can go a number of different ways, all of which are good IMHO.
Upon PNP it was quite pleasant; very jammy, fruity nose. On the palate, it was very smooth and mellow with a soft finish. It was very fruit forward with light tannins. It was less intense than most zins. One of the group confessed to normally preferring non-oaky whites, and they really enjoyed this.
After about an hour, the jammy nose is still extremely present but has another scent on the background that we couldn’t identify. It was still very smooth and fruity with a slight end note of oak. The finish was fuller after the hour to open up the wine – it was good at PNP but better after the wait.
We didn’t have any food with this tasting, unless holiday cookies or chips and queso count! The cookies did not enhance or detract from the wine. The chips and queso were spicier with the Dragon Ridge.
We just happened to have recently received some of Scott Harvey (auto-buy in our group) Zinfandel 2021, so we had to compare the Dragon Ridge alongside the Scott Harvey. The Dragon Ridge is more fruit forward on the front end than the Scott Harvey 2021. The white wine drinker preferred the Dragon Ridge over Scott Harvey. After an hour with each the Dragon Ridge Zinfandel opened up more and represented well!
I’m a bit sad this is a mixed case, as we were planning how to split and now we have to rethink our plans depending on the other rattage.
Thanks as always to Alice and WCC for the sample – Happy Holidays!
@kaolis@moondigger
I can’t imagine those numbers can go undetected in a pour. But again, good lube for the UPS staff and I’ll poach a few bottles for when I absolutely know they’ll be handy in a crowd.
@moondigger but . . . The numbers certainly could be ‘misleading’ depending upon acid levels, oak usage and the variety itself. Also - do you prefer your coffee black or usually with milk/creamer? And yea, this does matter . . .
@kaolis@rjquillin@tercerowines I know from 30 years of drinking wine that RS over 1 g/L is detectable to me.* That doesn’t mean I can’t like something with RS in the 1.0 - 2.0 g/L range, but striking a balance is critical.
These numbers aren’t even in that neighborhood, though. For example, looking at the Zin, there’s no way a pH of 3.75 and TA of 6.1 g/L is going to offset the sweetness that 7 g/L of residual sugar will impart. I have friends and relatives who might love something like this, but it’s not for me.
*Also, most of the charts you’ll find say anything up to 4.0 g/L is in the “dry” range, but I have never thought anything I’ve tried with RS above 2.0 g/L could be called dry.
@kaolis@moondigger@rjquillin still didn’t answer the question - do you prefer your coffee black or with milk/cream? My guess is the latter - which makes you extra sensitive to sweet things in general . . .
@kaolis@rjquillin@tercerowines I do like Scotch, and Japanese whiskies, which often taste like Scotch. I like higher-proof bourbons and ryes for mixing Manhattans.
Oh, also possibly relevant: I prefer the Perfect Manhattan, which cuts the sweet vermouth in half and substitutes dry vermouth for the missing portion.
@kaolis@moondigger@rjquillin and my guess is that you drink those scotches neat right? My guess - you are very sensitive to sweetness but not sensitive at all to bitterness. You probably preferearthy rustic’ reds vs fruit forward ones?
@kaolis@moondigger@rjquillin@tercerowines
I think the correlations here are pretty straightforward. Those with a high sensitivity to bitter tastes tend to prefer coffee or tea laced with varying amounts of milk and/or sugar. Those two things offset the bitterness. When you transpose that into the wine world that means you’d tend to gravitate toward wines that are more fruity and with more RS (even if not detectable as “sweet”) instead of wines that have more/harder tannin and more savoury or woodsy elements. The latter is more bitter, kind of like how black coffee is more bitter than coffee with milk and sugar.
I, for one, like my coffee all ways. I can taste bitterness but it’s never been a massively offputting flavour for me. molarchae, OTOH, doesn’t want coffee or tea without milk/sugar because she both perceives the bitterness and can’t handle much of it in a go. That’s also among the reasons we end up drinking a lot more aged wine where the tannins have polymerised and any bitterness has often resolved. Although sometimes the more specific tertiary flavours can do the same thing to her.
@kaolis@klezman@moondigger@rjquillin@tercerowines So what does it say that I drink my Islay Scotch neat, my coffee with cream only (not milk, not half & half), and my IPAs traditional & bittered properly (though I can enjoy a NEIPA, I’m not a fan of the lactose “milkshake IPA”)?
@corrado@kaolis@klezman@moondigger@rjquillin lots of other variables; my guess is that you drink your coffee w cream for the richness, not to cut the bitterness, but that you can enjoy it black too!!!
@kaolis@klezman@moondigger@rjquillin@tercerowines I think it’s more the tannin/fat relationship. Creaminess is one way to put it, but the [heavy] cream affects the [Americano] coffee in a way similar to pairing a CdR or Bordeaux with a fat-rich meal.
When I travel, my grab-and-go meal-on-the-run during a layover is a Breve Latte.
When it comes to beer, I prefer hoppy/bitter flavors such as those found in IPAs. But this wasn’t always the case. At first I found hoppy/bitter beers to be almost repellant. Over time I’ve acquired a taste for them, and now much prefer them to other options.
But this doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate sweet flavors as well. I like many fresh fruits, and a few ‘fruity’ sweet cocktails such as a well-made daiquiri. (“Well-made” being the key phrase. I mean good rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice and simple syrup I made myself. If it’s made with a pre-mix it’s garbage.)
@kaolis@moondigger@rjquillin@tercerowines Now that you mention it, I hate almost every bar margarita and old fashioned I’ve ever had. Every person has their own “perfect balance” in a cocktail and mine is decidedly about 1/2 the sweetness of the common recipe.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
Dragon Ridge Mixed Reds - $10 = 9.99%
2021 Dragon Ridge Red Wine Blend, Lodi
Tasting Notes
Specs
2021 Dragon Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi
Tasting Notes
Specs
2021 Dragon Ridge Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $276/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jan 13 - Tuesday, Jan 14
Dragon Ridge Mixed Reds
6 bottles for $49.99 $8.33/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $89.99 $7.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2021 Red Wine Blend
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
2021 Old Vine Zinfandel
Previous offer:
8/21/24 (meh)
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
Happy holidays and happy to be able to rat the 2021 Cabernet!
This was almost surprisingly good. A lighter style Cab, but still plenty of flavor. Medium bodied with a nice ruby red color I got cherry and spices with lots of acid. Not hot at all and pretty balanced and well made. We thoroughly enjoyed it with pizza. I mean this is not super complex or anything but a nice every day wine that goes down very smoothly. It kind of reminds me of something like the slingshot - for the price, something good you can open anytime and not be disappointed. This would be great to enjoy with a group, bring somewhere, or give as a gift.
I would be curious to try the other ones, they sound pretty good too. For about $25 you could try 3 different wines or give them as a set. Now that’s a cool deal.
2021 Old Vine Zinfandel
As soon as I received the incoming bottle for rattage, I knew it was going to be a good one, Dragon Ridge Old Vine Zinfandel, 2021. Zinfandel is a favorite varietal of mine and my lab assistants. It can go a number of different ways, all of which are good IMHO.
Upon PNP it was quite pleasant; very jammy, fruity nose. On the palate, it was very smooth and mellow with a soft finish. It was very fruit forward with light tannins. It was less intense than most zins. One of the group confessed to normally preferring non-oaky whites, and they really enjoyed this.
After about an hour, the jammy nose is still extremely present but has another scent on the background that we couldn’t identify. It was still very smooth and fruity with a slight end note of oak. The finish was fuller after the hour to open up the wine – it was good at PNP but better after the wait.
We didn’t have any food with this tasting, unless holiday cookies or chips and queso count! The cookies did not enhance or detract from the wine. The chips and queso were spicier with the Dragon Ridge.
We just happened to have recently received some of Scott Harvey (auto-buy in our group) Zinfandel 2021, so we had to compare the Dragon Ridge alongside the Scott Harvey. The Dragon Ridge is more fruit forward on the front end than the Scott Harvey 2021. The white wine drinker preferred the Dragon Ridge over Scott Harvey. After an hour with each the Dragon Ridge Zinfandel opened up more and represented well!
I’m a bit sad this is a mixed case, as we were planning how to split and now we have to rethink our plans depending on the other rattage.
Thanks as always to Alice and WCC for the sample – Happy Holidays!
The varietals and pricing are good, but the RS numbers are too high for my taste.
@moondigger quite the dollop of sugar
@kaolis @moondigger
I can’t imagine those numbers can go undetected in a pour. But again, good lube for the UPS staff and I’ll poach a few bottles for when I absolutely know they’ll be handy in a crowd.
@moondigger but . . . The numbers certainly could be ‘misleading’ depending upon acid levels, oak usage and the variety itself. Also - do you prefer your coffee black or usually with milk/creamer? And yea, this does matter . . .
@kaolis @moondigger @rjquillin they will go undetected by many and the wine will be considered ‘fruity’ to them but not ‘sweet’ . . .
@kaolis @rjquillin @tercerowines I know from 30 years of drinking wine that RS over 1 g/L is detectable to me.* That doesn’t mean I can’t like something with RS in the 1.0 - 2.0 g/L range, but striking a balance is critical.
These numbers aren’t even in that neighborhood, though. For example, looking at the Zin, there’s no way a pH of 3.75 and TA of 6.1 g/L is going to offset the sweetness that 7 g/L of residual sugar will impart. I have friends and relatives who might love something like this, but it’s not for me.
*Also, most of the charts you’ll find say anything up to 4.0 g/L is in the “dry” range, but I have never thought anything I’ve tried with RS above 2.0 g/L could be called dry.
@kaolis @moondigger @rjquillin still didn’t answer the question - do you prefer your coffee black or with milk/cream? My guess is the latter - which makes you extra sensitive to sweet things in general . . .
@kaolis @rjquillin @tercerowines I don’t drink coffee.
@kaolis @moondigger @rjquillin Scotch?
@kaolis @rjquillin @tercerowines I do like Scotch, and Japanese whiskies, which often taste like Scotch. I like higher-proof bourbons and ryes for mixing Manhattans.
Oh, also possibly relevant: I prefer the Perfect Manhattan, which cuts the sweet vermouth in half and substitutes dry vermouth for the missing portion.
I don’t add milk/cream to any of them though.
@kaolis @moondigger @rjquillin and my guess is that you drink those scotches neat right? My guess - you are very sensitive to sweetness but not sensitive at all to bitterness. You probably preferearthy rustic’ reds vs fruit forward ones?
@kaolis @moondigger @tercerowines
I do find these exchanges interesting; could be a bit more informative to understand the whys however.
@kaolis @moondigger @rjquillin @tercerowines
I think the correlations here are pretty straightforward. Those with a high sensitivity to bitter tastes tend to prefer coffee or tea laced with varying amounts of milk and/or sugar. Those two things offset the bitterness. When you transpose that into the wine world that means you’d tend to gravitate toward wines that are more fruity and with more RS (even if not detectable as “sweet”) instead of wines that have more/harder tannin and more savoury or woodsy elements. The latter is more bitter, kind of like how black coffee is more bitter than coffee with milk and sugar.
I, for one, like my coffee all ways. I can taste bitterness but it’s never been a massively offputting flavour for me. molarchae, OTOH, doesn’t want coffee or tea without milk/sugar because she both perceives the bitterness and can’t handle much of it in a go. That’s also among the reasons we end up drinking a lot more aged wine where the tannins have polymerised and any bitterness has often resolved. Although sometimes the more specific tertiary flavours can do the same thing to her.
@kaolis @klezman @moondigger @rjquillin @tercerowines So what does it say that I drink my Islay Scotch neat, my coffee with cream only (not milk, not half & half), and my IPAs traditional & bittered properly (though I can enjoy a NEIPA, I’m not a fan of the lactose “milkshake IPA”)?
And I do prefer drier wines over “fruity” wines.
@corrado That you know what you like?
@corrado @kaolis @klezman @moondigger @rjquillin lots of other variables; my guess is that you drink your coffee w cream for the richness, not to cut the bitterness, but that you can enjoy it black too!!!
@kaolis @klezman @moondigger @rjquillin @tercerowines I think it’s more the tannin/fat relationship. Creaminess is one way to put it, but the [heavy] cream affects the [Americano] coffee in a way similar to pairing a CdR or Bordeaux with a fat-rich meal.
When I travel, my grab-and-go meal-on-the-run during a layover is a Breve Latte.
@kaolis @rjquillin @tercerowines
I do drink my Scotch neat.
When it comes to beer, I prefer hoppy/bitter flavors such as those found in IPAs. But this wasn’t always the case. At first I found hoppy/bitter beers to be almost repellant. Over time I’ve acquired a taste for them, and now much prefer them to other options.
But this doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate sweet flavors as well. I like many fresh fruits, and a few ‘fruity’ sweet cocktails such as a well-made daiquiri. (“Well-made” being the key phrase. I mean good rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice and simple syrup I made myself. If it’s made with a pre-mix it’s garbage.)
@kaolis @moondigger @rjquillin @tercerowines Now that you mention it, I hate almost every bar margarita and old fashioned I’ve ever had. Every person has their own “perfect balance” in a cocktail and mine is decidedly about 1/2 the sweetness of the common recipe.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
Dragon Ridge Mixed Reds - $10 = 9.99%
Speaking of Scott Harvey…. Is it me, or do these bottles bear a striking resemblance to the new SH bottles?
@hscottk beat me to it
@hscottk definitely - I actually had trouble locating the newest Scott Harvey to to the tasting because I was looking for the old label!