We tasted ystrday w/ JoeCoulter some new Ridges:
1. Ridge Zin EastBench DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (100% Zin; 14.8%; bttld 12/2020; Drk: 11/20-11/27: JO) 2019: Med.dark color; very bright raspberry/Zin/spicy/bit blackberry some vanilla/Ridge oak quite attractive nose; lightly tart bright raspberry/Zin/blackberry/very spicy balanced some vanilla/Ridge oak quite lovely flavor w/ light gentle tannins; very long strong raspberry/DCVZin/blackberry/fairly spicy light Ridge oak balanced/drinkable finish w/ light gentle tannins; one of the best EastBench Zins I can recall w/ more intense spicy Zin fruit and much lighter on the Ridge oak; a very attractive Ridge Zin at a very good price. $28.00 (Z-List)
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2. Ridge Zin PasoRobles BenitoDusiRanch (100% Zin; 14.8%; bttld 12/20; Drk: 9/20-9/25-9/27: EB) 2019: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Zin/ripe/very spicy/plummy/bit boysenberry light vanilla/Ridge oak lovely perfumed nose; soft ripe/blackberry/very spicy Zin/plummy/boysenberry/slight jammy some vanilla/Am.oak bit structured flavor w/ modest ripe/soft tannins; very long/lingering very strong ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/big Zin fruit/rather spicy modest Am.oak finish w/ modest ripe tannins; loads of blackberry/boysenberry/spicy Zin fruit but avoids the overripe/PR jammy character; more structured than most of the Ridge PR Zins; an outstanding Ridge Paso Zin. $31.50 (ZS-List)
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3. Ridge Geyserville AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (71% Zin/19% Carignane/7% PetiteSirah/3% AlicanteBouschet; 14.5%; bttld Jan 2021; Drk: 10/20-10/35: EB) 2019: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Zin/boysenberry/very spicy/big fruit some cherry/Carignane strong dusty/OV light vanilla/Ridge oak some complex nose; lightly tart fairly intense blackberry/Zin/very spicy/boysenberry modest Ridge/oak fairly dusty/OV bit complex flavor w/ modest smooth/polished tannins; very long/lingering rather structured very strong blackberry/Zin/very spicy/boysenberry fairly dusty/OV modest Ridge/vanilla/oak bit complex finish w/ modest smooth/ripe tannins; a pretty classic/outstanding Geyserville. $40.50 (Z-List)
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4. Ridge Calif Geyserville SonomaCnty (58% Zin/22% Carignane/18% PetiteSirah/2% Mataro; 14.4%; bttld Jan 2009; Drk: 10/08-10/18-10/20: EB) 2007: Very dark color w/ little bricking; strong vanilla/Am.oaksome penciilly/cedary/oldRidge very complex/spicy/cinammon strong blackberry/spicy/cherry Carignane slightly sauvage/rustic fully mature complex nose; lightly tart slightly metallic/oldRidge/cedary/pencilly some spicy/blackberry/Zin/cherry some vanilla/Am.oak fairly complex flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long/lingering rather complex oldRidge/cedary/pencilly some blackberry/Zin/spicy rather smooth/gently finish w/ light smooth tannins; a lovely fully-mature Geyserville that's probably on the downside but still plenty of Zin fruit and not showing signs of drying out/metallic character; getting ready to slowly fade off into the sunset.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. EastBench: I've never been particularly impressed by the EastBench (Lytton West) Zin, regarding it as just a small step above the 3Vllys Zin. Of about the same (low) level as the Nervo or Ponzo. But I thought this new EastBench was a definite step up over previous versions.
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2. PasoRobles: I have, of course, followed the Ridge DusiRanch Paso Zins from the very start, back in the mid-'70's. Back then, Draper felt the Paso Zins were all on the overripe/alcoholic side and determined to harvest earlier to avoid that. Those first Paso Zins were some of my least favorite Ridge Zins. They had a somewhat eviscerated/chalky character. Paul then allowed the ripeness to creep up and I liked them a lot better, though sometimes they tended to be on the overripe/Paso jammy side.
I particularly liked this version of the Ridge Paso Zin. It had loads of blackberry Zin fruit but shied away from the overripe/Smucker's blackberry jam tendency for Paso Zin. And more structure than usual.
BeniDusi died several yrs ago & his nephew now farms the vnyd. This is different from the J.Dusi vnyd across Hwy101. I'm guessing it still receives the same meticulous care it did under under Beni. Beni was an absolutely gem of a guy, with a real twinkle of good humor in his eye. He was out on his tractor well into his 90's. Quite a guy he was.
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3. Geyserville: I particularly liked this yrs version of Geezer. It seemed to show more ripe Zin/spicy fruit and less of the bit rustic Carignan side of Geezer. More towards the LyttonSprings side of Zin. Speaks a lot more of RRV Zin than it does of AlexVlly Zin.
Tom