Tried these last night:
1. Ridge LyttonSprings DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (69% Zin/18% PetiteSirah/11% Carignan/2% Mataro; 14.4%; bttld: Jan 2016; 13 mo. in barrel; Drk: 9/15-9/25: JO) Healdsburg 2014: Very dark color; quite intense blackberry/raspberry/Zinberry/very spicy rather dusty/OV/peppery light vanilla/smokey/oak some complex nose; rather tart/tangy intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zinberry/very spicy/peppery quite dusty/OV/slight earthy very light vanilla/Am.oak/smokey quite structured/bit hard flavor w/ modest hard/tangy tannins; very long/lingering very spicy/peppery intense blackberry/Zinberry/raspberry/boysenberry quite dusty/OV light vanilla/smokey/Am.oak finish w/ ample hard/structured/tangy tannins; don't crack this wine again for several yrs; another truly super LyttonSprings.
$nc (MR)/$40.00
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2. Ridge Zin EastBench/DryCreekVnyd/SonomaCnty (100% Zin; 14.9%; bttld 12/2015; Drk: 10/15-10/21-10/22: JO; 0.27 water addition; Plntd: 1999) 2014: Med.dark color; strong vanilla/Am.oak/Ridge oak attractive raspberry/Zinberry/Zin fairly spicy slight earthy nose; lightly tart bright/Zinberry/raspberry/classic DCV Zin rather vanilla/Ridge oak/smokey balanced/pleasant flavor w/ light grippy tannins; med.long bright/zippy Zinberry/raspberry/DCV Zin slight spicy some vanilla/Am.oak/smokey finish w/ light tannins; an altogether tasty/balanced/pleasant/drinkable Ridge Zin at a good price.
$nc (MR)/$28.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Susan & I just returned from over a month in Europe (Austria/Slovenia/Friuli/Croatia). Whilst we were gone, Marilyn Reisen and Rob stayed in Susan's house whilst they were representing Ridge at the SantaFe Wine&Chile Fiesta. When we entered the kitchen, here was this stash of Ridges that Marilyn had left us as a gift. These two were from that stash. The LS '14 is on my Z-List shipment arriving today, so got a jump on it.
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2. LyttonSprings: Another particularly great rendition of a LS Zin. This wine has a bright/tangy acidity to it that is not often found in Zins and is a good harbinger that this will age particularly well. Over the last few yrs, the LS Zin has been showing more of an expression of DryCreekVlly and less of a Ridge Zin. As they've changed their oak regime at Ridge, they have managed to sublimate the old DraperPerfume (credit GeoH for that expression). Not to mention reign in a bit the oakiness those Zins used to show. This is a wine to buy and lay down. It reminds me a bit of some of the old Swan Zins and a bit of Eric's R-C vonWeidlich. A world class Zin this is.
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3. EastBench: This wine comes from the 1999 planting Ridge did on LyttonWest atop the WestBench of the DryCreekVlly, just above DougNalle's. This wine was a Spring release and I didn't think a whole lot of it when I tried it back then, thought that it was only a (small) step above the 3Vllys Zin. But the wine has put on some weight in the last 6 months and is really quite a nice Zin now. Not a profound Zin, but just absolutely delicious drinking and should develop a bit.
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4. 2014: I've been particularly impressed by the Ridge 2014's. Across the board, a great vintage for Ridge. They're making probably the best wine they ever have. But...then...what would I know. Only followed them from the very start.
Tom