Should I buy a Geyserville '09?

Yep!
That's Geyserville!
Actually, a good, not overblown Zin should get that sort of quality - more rustic perhaps than refined, but layered and intriguing.

John

Ridge had to stop calling the wine a zinfandel when the California labeling laws were amended to require minimum 75% varietal for varietal labeling. The wine was always in the low 70s% for zinfandel. Now "Ridge Geyserville" is a registered trademaark for this wine.

Exactly right, Yoel. Yet many California Zinfandels contain considerable percentages of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Carignane, and DamnIfIKnow grapes. For many years, and especially during Prohibition, a farmer would find a few vines that needed replacement and would just go down and get a dozen "Red that doesn't cost too much". It's only been in the last few years that genotyping has become a practical thing to do, and lots of 70+ year old red wine grape vines that have always been head-pruned aren't easy to identify by traditional methods.
One should take the stated cepage (if there is one) of Zinfandel rather lightly.

John

Though those who said that I need to age these are right.

Otto, I've bought every vintage of Geyservile since the mid 1980s and generally they are best about 10-12 years from the vinatage (in my humble opinion , of course). Certainly 8-14 years is probably OK. You're missing a ton of complexity by drinking them any sooner.

Ridge Geyserville and some other Ridge zins are among the few zins I know that can take ten years aging (or more) and still shine (the other wineries I know whose zins can age that long or longer are Joseph Swan, Lucas and Spenger).

Ridge Geyserville and some other Ridge zins are among the few zins I know that can take ten years aging (or more) and still shine (the other wineries I know whose zins can age that long or longer are Joseph Swan, Lucas and Spenger).

I'm not trying to be argumentative but I would say that Ridge Geyserville takes 10 years BEFORE it shines.

I won't argue that, Tom. But Ridge isn't the only winery that makes Zins and Zin blends that age quite nicely.

John

I won't argue that, Tom. But Ridge isn't the only winery that makes Zins and Zin blends that age quite nicely.

John

John,

Nobdy said it was!! This is a thread about Ridge Geyserville started by a question "should I buy it". Of course certain other Zins age nicely!!

Sorry, Tom, I got confused about who was saying what. Yoel's post looked to me as if I had written it myself! GMTA, I guess.

John