WTN: 1998 Ridge Sangiovese and St. Patrick's Day

We had this wine with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots on St. Patrick's Day. My mom always made this for us on this day, though she was Scottish, not Irish. This was the 14th anniversary of her death, and, coincidentally, since I didn't realize it til we sat down for dinner with the wine, the wine was also celebrating its 14th year. A terrific bottle of wine with the food, very easy to drink, and a reminder, as if I needed it (my 2009 Monte Bello futures arrived this week and I was just charged for the 2011s), of how good Ridge wines can be.

• 1998 Ridge Sangiovese - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (3/18/2012)
  
  Dusty, spicy nose of a bit of cinnamon and pepper, nicely tart red fruit on the palate, with a hint of pluminess that was not at all distracting or a flaw. The tannins are fully resolved with just a bit of grip on the finish. As the bottle is open for a bit, the wine gains some weight and depth. This is probably 2-3 years beyond its peak (Draper put the drinking window 2000-2006), so it's not going to get any better, but on this night, it was a perfect choice.
  
  I bought this on WineBid for $15. One of 3 vintages of Sangiovese from Lytton Springs West, according to the back label (CT includes 4); this was an ATP bottlling. The only vintage of the three that was 100% Sangiovese. 13.4% abv.
  
  (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

'98 was an "interesting" year in Sonoma County. The wines were typically very hard, even with delayed release, yet those that had the fruit hiding behind all that forest of tannin turned out very well. It usually took roughly twice the "normal" (a meaningless term if there ever was one) time to mature.
That was when I was first paying close attention to vintages up here, and it was a good year to test my palate. I thought, contrary to common opinion, that there was some great wine, if you had patience. I'm happy with the ones I've opened, generally more than 10 years later. They usually taste young; those that don't taste young taste BAD! I guess you can't win 'em all.

John