Provenance

Private Client

Critics Ratings

‘Dark color. Smells young, jammy and earthy, with a big blast of black-cherry fruit. Tremendous extract and depth. Huge, with lush tannins and firm acidity. Remarkably pure, this is a very fine Zinfandel.’ – Wine Enthusiast, 92/100 (Feb 2000)

‘Dark, ripe, rich and concentrated, with chewy black cherry, blackberry, chocolate and cedar, finishing with chunky tannins. Drink now through 2006.’ – James Laube, Wine Spectator, 90/100 (Nov 1999)

‘The opaque purple-colored 1997 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch (88% Zinfandel, 7% Mataro, 3% Petite Sirah, and 2% Alicante Bouchet that achieved 14.6% alcohol) exhibits what the French call sur maturite (over-ripeness). A monolithic wine with huge, muscular, concentrated flavors, it had not yet begun to reveal much delineation or evolution, despite the fact it is already in bottle. There are layers of concentrated fruit, plenty of blackberry, plum, jammy notes, and enough acidity and tannin to buttress this enormously-endowed wine. It will be even better with another six months of bottle age, and will last for 7-8 years.’ – Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 90/100 (Jun 1999)

‘Bright deep ruby. Superripe aromas of blackberry, pepper and spice; a real fruit bomb on the nose. Pungent and peppery in the mouth, but not as delineated or vibrant as the last three samples. Big but a bit monolithic. Finishes with ripe, dusty tannins.’ – Stephen Tanzer, Vinous (May 1999)