A Tasting of RidgeRhones w/ Eric Baugher (6/9)
Several months ago, as I was making plans for attending RhoneRangers'16, the thought occurred to
me that there are a lot of Rhone-heads in the area around that time. Somebody should take advantage
of that fact.
I've (mostly) long been a fan of the Ridge Rhones. Syrah/Grenache/Syrah-Grenache blends/Mataro/
PetiteSirah/Carignane. At release, they often speak strongly of Ridge winemaking. They often don't
have a strong varietal character that other Calif Rhone producers show. They're just a lot different
in style than most other Calif Rhones. But they have this uncanny knack of (often), with some btl
age, of rising up and biting you on the a$$ with how good they've evolved.
It has not always been thus. Their first real Rhone was the '96 LyttonEstate Syrah. About '98,
DonnReisen brought to SantaFe Wine&Chile Fiesta an (unreleased) sample to show me...knowing my passion
for Calif Syrah. He poured me it at our DaveJones Memorial Potluck during the event....eager for
my approval (not really, though). I was very excited to be able to taste it and see what Ridge could
do with that variety. He could tell from my crestfallen look that it did not meet my approval. I
chided (more like scolded) him that it tasted like yet another Ridge red and had no Syrah varietal
character, at least as I recognized Syrah in Calif. Donn sorta rolled his eyes, put his hand on my
shoulder in his avuncular style, and admonished "Tom...give it some time & try it again...you'll see".
From tasting that same wine below, Donn was, of course, dead right.
As more Ridge Rhones came down the pike, I was less than enamored by them. When I would taste them,
they seemed to be dominated by the Ridge winemaking style. They were often rather underwhelming. They
didn't taste like the other Calif Rhones I was tasting. They continued to stack up in my cellar.
Then, maybe about 10 yrs ago, I started going back and retasting some of those early Syrahs. "Holy $hit...
that tastes really good". I hate giving up my convictions & predjudices, but I've come around to
realizing that they can (usually) evolve into very good old-bones. Maybe, just maybe, Ridge knows
more about winemaking than I gave them credit for.
So, Eric pulled these ten wines from the Ridge archives to show us:
1. Ridge PetiteSirah YorkCreek (13.9%) 1974: Med.dark color; beautiful smokey rather peppery/PS/gamey/
pungent rather floral/lilacs light smokey/vanilla/oak/pencilly very complex nose; soft rather
smokey/pungent quite peppery/spicy/PS light vanilla/pencilly/oak flavor w/ light smooth/silky
tannins; very long/lingering finish w/ graceful tannins; as good as a mature PS can get.
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2. Ridge PetiteSirah YorkCreek (14.5%) 1978: Med.dark color; very strong peppery/spicy/PS bit gamey/
earthy strong DraperPerfume/vanilla/amokey/oak/bit pencilly much younger quite complex nose;
lightly tart strong peppery/PS/gamey/very spicy some vanilla/smokey/Am.oak/pencilly slight earthy/
dusty fairly complex flavor w/ light bit hard/fine-grained tannins; very long/lingering finish
w/ modest fine-grained tannins; probably going to go on for another 10 yrs; much more youthful
than the '74.
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3. Ridge PetiteSirah YorkCreek/Devil'sHill (14.0%) 1985: Dark color; very strong PS/peppery/intense fruit
quite smokey/pungent/toasty/oak rather meaty/gamey complex nose; soft very lush/rich/ripe youthful
peppery/PS/spicy rather smokey/pungent/Am.oak/bit pencilly dusty/OV some complex flavor w/ ample
hard tannins; very long big/ripe/lush very strong peppery/PS/blackberry some smokey/oak finish w/
hard firm tannins; starting to show some evolution but still a youthful PS; needs more age.
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4. Ridge PetiteSirah YorkCreek 1989: Very dark color; very strong smokey/oak/pencilly/vanilla intense
peppery/PS/very spicy lush fruit bit complex nose; lightly tart rich/ripe/lush very peppery/PS/spicy
rather vanilla/smokey/oak some dusty/OV bit complex flavor w/ ample hard tannins; very long huge PS
fruit very peppery/PS rather smokey/vanilla/oak finish w/ ample hard tannins; still a youngster.
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5. Ridge Mataro BridgeHeadVnyd/ContraCostaCnty (13.1%) 1995: Med.color; quite meaty/sauvage/plummy
slight tarry/pungent light toasty/smokey/oak some earthy/mushroomy rather complex nose; soft rather
gamey/plummy/Mourv quite dusty/OV/erathy/mushroomy light toasty/smokey/oak rather complex flavor
w/ light smooth/graceful tannins; very long/lingering finish; unlike any other Calif Mourvs and
actually resembles some old Dao reds; a very interesting/complex Mourv.
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6. Ridge Syrah LyttonEstate 1996: Med.color; beautiful some smokey/toasty/pungent/oak strong very spicy/
smokey/roasted/mature Syrah/peppery quite complex nose; lightly tart rather roasted/smokey/pungent/
bit tarry/light blackberry/Syrah light smokey/toasty/oak quite complex flavor w/ modest smooth/gentle
tannns; very long/lingering quite complex finish w/ some smooth tannins; shows a bit of a roasted/
Rhonish/Cornas-like character; definitely an old Ridge red but bit Rhonish/Syrah character; seems
pretty youthful for a 20 yr old Syrah.
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7. Ridge Grenache Lytton Estate (18% Zin/2% PS; Lytton East + LyttonWest) 1997: Med.color; beautiful
Grenache/strawberry perfumed/fragrant bit smokey very light oak rather complex nose; lightly tart
strong strawberry/Grenache/spicy/bright slight earthy very light smokey/oak perfumed/bright flavor
w/ light gentle tannins; long/lingering spicy/bright/strawberry complex finish w/ light smooth
tannins; amazing youthful for a 20 yr old Grenache; this is how they'd make Grenache at Rayas if
they could; expect it will go another 10 yrs.
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8. Ridge 50% Syrah/Grenache LyttonEstate 2002: Med.dark color; beautiful/complex some smokey/roasted/
Syrah/blackberry/strawberry bit toasty/smokey/oak quite fragrant complex nose; lightly tart rather
smokey/roasted/gamey/pungent strong blackberry/Syrah high-toned Grenache/strawberry light smokey/
toasty/oak flavor w/ light angular tannins; very long rich strong blackberry/Syrah/strawberry/
Grenache finish w/ light bitey tannins; still quite youthful and can use another 10 yrs or so;
a lovely/complex Rhone blend.
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9. Ridge Syrah LyttonEstate (14.5%; 12% Viognier) 2007: Rather dark color; quite pencilly/smokey/
oak strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah slight earthy bit Rhonish fairly complex nose; bit tart
strong ripe/blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some smokey/pungent/pencilly/oak light earthy flavor
w/ ample firm/structured tannins; very long/lingering very strong blueberry/Syrah some smokey/
vanilla/oak quite structured bit complex finish w/ ample firm/round tannins; still quite a
youthful Syrah and yrs ahead of it.
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10. Ridge Grenache/Mataro LyttonEast (40% Grenache/40% Mataro/15% Zin/5% Carignane; 14.4%) 2013: Med.
color; strong fragrant/strawberry/Grenache light plummy/Mourv some smokey/vanilla/oak light earthy
fairly complex nose; lightly tart strong Grenache/strawberry/spicy bit Mourv/plummy/earthy some
smokey/vanilla/pencilly/oak slight complex flavor w/ light bit angular tannins; speaks strongly of
Grenache but the plummy/Mourv component gives it a very interesting component; quite an interesting/
tasty blend.
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A wee Bloody Pulpit:
1. PetiteSirah: Ridge has pretty much been a master of PS from the very start. The YorkCreek '71
was a legend in its time. When I last tasted it in the mid-'90's at a BipinDesai Ridge Retrospective
in LA, I thought it was probably the greatest Calif red I'd ever tasted. Still do, for that matter.
Ridge has had a long run w/ FritzMaytag's YorkCreek vnyd. I understand Fritz sells them the grapes
at below what he could on the open market. I think he also sells to a few others, including Elyse.
They also make PS from LyttonWest. They have, to me, seemed a bit less refined & high-toned as those
from YC....a bit more clumsey. But, given Ridge's mastery w/ PS, I suspect they will probably age
as well as the YC's.
The two PS's from the '80's seem to be aging at a glacial pace. If they're still around at auctin,
they'd probably be a very good buy.
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2. Carignane: This event at MBRidge was declared (by me) as a "No Carignane Zone" for the day. Nonetheless,
Eric did slip in a mystery rose that was their saignee juice from a Buchignani Carignane. I suspected
he was violating my "no carignane" edict and actually found it to be a rather tasty rose....even for
Carignane.
I've long been less than enamored of the Ridge Carignanes. I've never felt they measured up to
all the other Ridges. And have made no bones about telling them that. The wines are pretty typical
Ridge reds in style, but never seem to mature into something as good as the other Ridge reds. They
often seem just one small step above the 3Vllys...if that. I've told them you can't make a silk
purse out of a sow's ear. Just because they're old-vines, it's no guarantee of greatness. I'm sure
that each Fall when that load of Buchignani Carignane rolls in, they lose a lot of sleep as to if
it will pass muster w/ TomHill.
Actually, maybe, after all these yrs, Ridge is finally figuring out that grape. The recent
Geyserville TriangleBlock Carignane was easily the best Ridge Carignane I've tried. The recent
Buchignani Carignane '14 was probably the best Buchignani that I've had. At the RhoneRangers tasting,
DaveGates was surprised when I asked to try the Carignane. It was easily the best of the (few)
Carignanes there. Maybe Ridge knows a little more about winemaking than I give them credit for?
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3. MaryDevine: Many of you who order Ridge on-line have had the good fortune to deal w/ MaryDevine, who
leads the team of DTC Ridge sales. She's been my go-to Ridge person for a number of yrs. She's always
able to dredge up some btls of Ridges that I want but have been sold-out. She's been a gem to work
with over the yrs.
Since our Thurs morning was open afore the 2:00pm RidgeRhones tasting, I thought it would be nice
to stop, on my way to MBRidge, into the Ridge Milpitas facility where they warehouse the Ridges and
do their shipping. Or, as I described it to Eric that afternoon...the "dark underbelly" of
Ridge MegaCorp. Just so I could meet Mary and know the face behind the screen.
The place is damnably tough to find. Located in a Sun MicroSystems fab facility, it has been
completely refurbished. And the place is huge. All of their case goods storage are located there. The
cases of Ridge stacked all over the floor boggle the mind. DonnReisen would have never let me have
set foot in that place. He would not permit me to visit the Ridge Hdqrts down in Cupertino. It was
only a few yrs ago that PaulDraper took me into their bottling line and case storage facility up
there on MBRidge...another facility Donn would not allow me to enter. He was very protective of the
image of Ridge being a tiny/funky/rustic winery up on MBRidge, run by a couple of crack-pot SRI
scientists. So when I would ask Donn how things were at Ridge MegaCorp..he would always scold me.
Anyway...it was a really great experience to stop in and meet Mary. She is a warm/genuine and
very competent lady. She spent nearly an hour walking us around the Milpitas facility.
Introduced us to a lot of co-workers there that recognized my name. The one down-side....I'd led
Mary to believe I was a TomCruise look-alike. She found out the truth, alas. Another TomHill myth
totally shattered. OTOH....I'd developed this image of Mary being a BrittanySpears/KimKardashian
look alike. Another fabricated myth down the tubes, alas.
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4. TheTakeAway: When I'd suggested this RidgeRhones tasting to Eric, I'd volunteered to help organize
a invitee-list. They included myself & Susan, KenZinns, PaulGordon/Halcon, DaveYates/Jaffurs,
CraigJaffurs, CharlieOlken & SteveEliott/CGCW, LukeSykora/W&S magazine, WesBarton, AlanRath. Also
in attendance was DaveGates. Alas, Paul was off to Idaho. Alas, BobLindquist had to cancel at the
last minute. Ridge did a wonderful job of hosting the tasting, including some light snacks. If I
ever decide what I want to be when I grow up...working at Ridge would be right up there at the
top of my list.
All ten of these wines showed extremely well. The library wines are aging extremely well. I think
the impeccable balance the Ridges show is what carries them out into the future. I'm hoping that
this tasting opened some eyes as to how good the RidgeRhones can be.
Tom