Tried w/ Susan at dinner last night:
1. Bedrock SauvBlanc KickRanch/SonomaCnty (14.4%; Musque clone + Clone 317; 13 brls; www.BedrockWineCo.com) 2010: Med.yellow color; lovely very perfumed/fragrant/floral slight muscatty/toasted marshmallows light herbal/melong slight stoney/minerally/metallic/earthy very attractive nose; very tart but rich/lush fairly mineral strong floral/melon/SauvBlanc rather tangy/grapefruity/lemony quite perfumed flavor; very long/lingering mineral/grapefruity/tangy tart fairly rich/lush/floral/melony slight herbal/SauvBlanc rather minerally/tangy/grapefruity/lemony finish; lots of Loire-like mineral but the rich/lush character of Calif; a really lovely SB at a great price. $22.00
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2. Tenuta Guado Al Tasso Vermentino DOC: Bolgheri (12.5%) SteMichelle 2009: Pale yellow color; light floral/carnations/muscatty/spicy/minty rather stony/earthy pleasant/simple nose; soft/fat/flat some stony/earthy very light floral/carnations slight lemony/grapefruity simple flavor; med. grapefruity/lemony rather stony/earthy finish; a nice/pleasant example of Vermentino but way overpriced at $28.00
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3. Ridge Calif LyttonEstate Syrah (LyttonWestVnyd; 92% Syrah/8% Viog; DryCreekVlly; 14.4%; 49 brls;
Bttld: Nov 2008; Drk: 9/08-9/18-9/20: EB) 2006: Dark color; strong toasty/oak/smoky/DraperPerfume somewhat strong licorice/blackberry/Syrah/spicy rather aromatic classic Ridge red nose; softer strong toasty/smoky/oak/DP fairly rich/blackberry/Syrah/licorice/spicy some tarry/pungent some tannic/structured flavor; fairly long smoky/pungent/toasty/oak/DP strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice/tarry fairly tannic/structured finish; needs 3-6 yrs of age; still distinctly Ridge red but more varietal Syrah character than usual and a bit softer/rounder; atypical Calif Syrah but quite a lovely Syrah. $33.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Bedrock: This was one of the best SauvBlancs I done did have in many a moon. The Musque SB gives it a perfume that I don't get from many other SB's.
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2. Vermentino: I try as many Vermentinos as come down the pike. It's a pleasant alternative white for me, usually showing a lot of earthy/stony character when coming from Italy. I think Calif makes the world's greatest Vermentinos; namely the TablasCreek. Will it ever make a great wine? Doubt it; but it's a nice wine when you be in the mood for something different/unusual.
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3. Ridge Rhones: I've often stated my perplexment w/ the Ridge Rhone program; Syrah, Grenache, and Syrah/Grenache blend. They often seem to me to be mostly about Ridge winemaking and little about varietal character. Sometimes the winemaking pretty much obliterates the varietal character. And I often find them on the rather hard/tannic side. So be it....I've come to accept that this is Ridge's unique expression of the Rhone varietals, very unlike other Calif wineries expression of these varietals. That said, I also find that often, they develop w/ btl age into some very/very good wines....again more about Ridge than about older expressions of Syrah or Grenache.
So...with this newest ATP release (an '06...what gives??); I was pretty much resigned to more of the same. Surprise/surprise..this was about the best (young) Ridge Syrah I've had upon release. It showed much more Syrah varietal character than they usyally show. And somewhat rounder/lusher/more balanced on the palate than earlier ones. A very nicely done effort by Ridge; I'm going back for more.
Tom