Tried these two new arrivals last night:
1. CowanCllrs RibollaGialla RRV/SonomaCnty (12.5%) 2014: Pale yellow color; strong floral/mango/RG/aromatic slight peppery/stony/chalky attractive/fragrant nose; rather tart/brisk/bright bit stony/chalky light floral/mango/RG/peppery perfumed flavor; very long tart/bright light RG/peppery/floral/mango/lemony some stony/earthy finish; speaks quietly of RG w/ its light/peppery character; quite a pretty/low-key/mild-mannered (like FJ!)RG that I suspect will get better w/ age & put on some weight. $28.00
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2. Ridge Zin Ponzo RRV/SonomaCnty (93% Zin/7% PS; 14.8%;
Bttld: 12/14; Drk: 9/14-9/18-9/19: JO; 1.6% water addition) 2013: Med.dark color; strong vanilla/Am.oak/smokey very strong blackberry/very spicy/boysenberry/peppery/Zin rather dusty/OV fairly complex nose; slightly tart very spicy/peppery/blackberry/RRV Zin/ripe/boysenberry some vanilla/Am.oak rather dusty/OV/bit earthy structured/balanced flavor w/ some smooth/gentle tannins; quite long very spicy/RRV Zin/peppery/boysenberry some vanilla/smokey/oak quite dusty/OV finish w/ modest/smooth tannins; speaks more of Ponzo and less of Ridge winemaking than past versions;quite a beautiful example of Ridge Zin at a very good price. $27.00 (Z-List)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Cowan: This was quite stylistically different than most of the Calif RG's I've tried. Jim's comments:
Our Ribolla Gialla was harvested early, on September 3rd. The chemistry was almost perfect so we left the grapes in the cold room overnight and pressed them in the morning. By keeping them whole for 24 hours, we are allowing the enzymes within each grape to start working in the absence of air and fermentation. This technique is akin to carbonic maceration and is used to bring more fruit aromas and flavors to wine.
The juice was immediately transferred to barrel and stashed back in the cold room to spontaneously ferment. Fermentation lasted about eight days and the temperature never got above 70 degrees. In theory, that coolness should help the wine retain its fruit aromas better than hot ferments do.
We have stopped the secondary fermentation so that the wine will be crisp and bright from the bottle. I anticipate about five months in barrel before bottling.
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2. Ponzo: It used to be in the past that the Ridge Ponzo was just....meh...another pleasant Ridge Zin that's one small step above the Ridge 3Vllys or their CoastRange Zin. Starting w/ last yr's '12; the Ponzo (and Carmichael) has taken a real jump in quality & impact and worthy of standing, shoulder to shoulder, w/ any of the top Ridge Zins. Another superlative Ponzo whose balance & structure will do it well w/ time.
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3. Tannin management: I'm not sure what they do different from other folks, but Ridge seem to be the masters in Calif of tannin management. When I look at the finish of a red, I look for the level of tannins and then their texture/mouthfeel. The Ridge tannins, though seldom all that high, almost always have a smooth/velvety/silky mouthfeel to them. I can hardly wait to try the YorkCreek '09 I just received.
Nebbiolo is a variety that always has very hard/bitey/scratchy/astringent tannins...even if it's a Langhe and the tannins levels are not that high. I'd love to see what Ridge could do w/ Nebbiolo. The, in fact, have one lone Nebbiolo vine up on MonteBelloRidge. Paul relates that its never been able to ripen those grapes.
Tom