Spotted the latest release of this Ridge restaurant wine:
1. Ridge Calif SonomaCnty ThreeVllys (74% Zin/11% PS/5% Carignane/4% Mataro/3% Syrah/3% Grenache; 14.2%; Bttld: Dec'09; Drk: 8/09-8/14: JO/EB) 2008: Dark color; strong blackberry/Zin/raspberry light vanilla/smokey/oak bit earthy/dusty very attractive nose; tart bit lean/hard/tannic strong blackberry/Zin/raspberry light pencilly/oak flavor; med.long blackberry/Zin/raspberry some vanilla/pencilly/oak bit hard/tannic finish; pleasant enough Zin at $23.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I'd long given DonnReisen a raft of $hit about the Ridge 3Vllys, nee SonomaStation nee CoastRange Zin as not being anything special and doing nothing for the Ridge name, just something to drink in a restaurant if you had to have Ridge. He, of course, always gave me this patronizing grin, told me calm down, and take another Valium.
When the '07 3Vllys came out, as I am wont to do, I tried it immediately. It was heads&shoulders above previous 3Vllys...a serious Ridge Zin. Alas, I never got to share w/ Donn my appreciation for this '07 version.
So I was eager to try this latest version when I spied it on the shelf at WholeFoods last night. Couldn't wait to try that sucker out last night.
So.....it's not quite as good as the stellar '07 version...but it's pretty darned good and much better than '06 and previous versions. Very attractive Zin character, not the rich/lushness of the '07, and a bit of a hard/tanic bite. I would suggest giving it another 6 months to smooth out a bit and drink more of the '07 3Vllys, which is still pretty widely available. And hoist a glass to Donn for whipping those guys over on the production side at Ridge into shape on the 3Vllys.
Tom