Tried these two Fri night w/ friends:
1. Newlan JohannisbergRiesling LateHrvst/BerrySlctd NapaVlly (10.7%; SaH: 35.6%; RS: 18.0 Brix; 130 cs) Napa 1981: Deep brown/PX color; very intense botrytis/peach syrup/apricotty bit caramel slight pencilly/smokey/old wine nose w/o signs of oxidation; quite sweet acid/tangy intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty slight raisened/caramel bit smokey/pencilly bit raisened/PX complex flavor; very long/lingering quite sweet very acid/tangy intense botrytis/apricotty/peach syrup/rotted peaches some raisened/PX slight smokey/pencilly finish; no signs of oxidation or falling apart; much like a lighter PX w/ lots of botrytis; a wonderful example of an old Calif TBA. $16.75/hlf (Belt)
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2. MontereyPeninsulaWnry Zin Calif LateHrvst (17.5%; RS: 5.0%; SaH: 29 Brix; Essence Style; old dry-farmed Lodi vnyd) SandCity 1980: Med.light brown/sherry color; intense raisened/pruney/prune juice slight alcoholic smokey/pencilly/oak slight LateHrvsty/earthy/LodiZin rather perfumed exotic/complex nose; quite sweet rather tangy/tart strong raisened/pruney/PX/Madeira quite smokey/pencilly/oak rather earthy/Lodi/mushroomy/LateHrvsty Zin slight hot/fumey very complex flavor; very long/lingering quite sweet very tart/tangy/sweet-sour intense raisened/pruney/LateHrvsty/PX rather pencilly/smokey/coffee bit hot/fumey finish; because of the high acidity, resembles strongly a Madeira; much like the Ridge Lodi Essence '72 at 30 yrs of age; quite an interesting LateHrvst. $7.00/hlf
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. TriviaQuestions: I, of course, followed MontereyPeninsula from the very start. Actually, CharlieOlken/EarlSinger were there about 6 months ahead of me...one of the few times I was part of the flock of sheep of famous wine critics. MP was known for their huge/intense/extracted Zinfandels.
a. Name the names of the two founders of MPWnry?? What was their profession?
b. What was the location of the original MP winery, afore it relocated to cheaper digs in SandCity? Where the heck is SandCity? Who took over their old wnry space?? What airport was it located below?? What famous composer/singer took off from that airport and crashed at sea (Hint: Not Mozart...think RockyMtnHigh...nothing to do w/ legalized marijana)
c. What vnyd in the ShenandoahVlly did they take Zin grapes from?
d. In 1972, Ridge made their one & only Lodi Zin Essence. Describe in two words the shape of that btl. What was the SRP for that Essence?
Tom