We tried last week:
1. Ridge Cabernet Calif MonteBello/Jimsomare (72% Jimsomare/28% MonteBello; SantaCruzMtns; 12.0%; bttld:
Dec 1983; Drk: 11/84-11/89-11/90: PD) 1981: Dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong herbal/Cab/bit weedy very dusty/OV very slight brett toasty/coffee bean/smokey very Bdx-like very complex very old-timey Cab beautiful nose; tart very slight leathery/brett strong toasty/smokey/coffee bean/pencilly/pungent bit lean/tart/hard light blackcurranty/Cab some herbal/dusty/weedy/OV complex flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long/lingering bit herbal/weedy quite dusty/OV strong pencilly/cedary/coffee bean/smokey/oak light blackcurranty Cab complex finish w/ light gentle/smooth tannins; a bit on the rustic/earthy side and very old-timey Cab character much like old-time Bdx of the '70's; starting to dry out a bit but a beautiful mature Calif Cab.
_______________
2. Ridge CabSauv MonteBello/SantaCruzMtns (100% CS; 12.4%; bttld Jan 1983; Drk: 11/88-11/90: PD) 1980: Dark color w/ little bricking; very intense smokey/coffee bean/charred/oak bit herbal/Bdx-like/earthy very strong blackcurranty/Cab/licorice very complex classic MB nose; very strong blackcurranty/Cab/licorice bit herbal/Bdx-like strong toasty/charred/oak/coffee bean/cedary/pencilly old-timey Cab very complex flavor w/ light smooth/silky tannins; very long/lingering strong toasty/charred/smokey/cedary/oak strong blackcurranty/Cab/licorice/pungent slight herbal/Bdx-like very complex finish w/ light gentle tannins; still loads of Cab fruit and a classic MB/mature Cab; beautiful old-timey Cab w/ some Bdx-character.
______________________________
A wee Bloody Pulpit:
1. These two wines were from my orphan stash, "stored" nearly 20 yrs under totally uncontrolled conditions, standing upright. Fill was less than 1" from the cork. Corks were solid & came out reluctantly w/ the Ah-So. The wines displayed no signs of heat damage whatsoever. And people go ballistic when UPS delivers their wines in 70F temps??
______________
2. Both of these wines were when Ridge was in their nadir. In the late '70's, the Ridge wines all started to show signs of a serious Brett infection in the wnry at MonteBello. The wines were so bretty & unclean & horsecollary that I pretty much had given up on buying Ridges. Around the '83 vintage, Ridge had done a wholesale cleaning of the infected barrels and was rapidly back on track. Both of these wines showed very little signs of brett...despite prolonged storage at elevated temps that should have encourage the brett growth.
______________
3. Of these two wines, the MB was clearly in the better state than the Jimsomare. Still very much alive and showing no signs of fading. Though the Jimsomare was not so shabby in its own right...it's starting to show some drying out.
Tom