1. Ridge GrenacheBlanc HalterRanch/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (80% GrenacheBlanc/20% Picpoul; 13.5%; 24 brls; bttld 8/20; Hrvstd: Oct 8; Brl frmtd/tank aged; Drk: 7/20-7/24-7/26: EB) 2019: Light gold color; fairly fragrant floral/GB/honeysuckle/honeycomb bit spicy/cardamon/nutmeg lovely perfumed nose; fairly tart bit quiet/subdued rather floral/GB/honeycomb/honeysuckle slight spicy/cardamon quite pretty flavor; very long subtle/GB/floral/honeysuckle/honeycomb light spicy/cardamon fairly rich quite pretty finish; a very pretty expression of GB far from DollyParton territory; resembles a lot the TablasCreek GB but not quite as intense nor rich; a lovely GB at a very fair price. $30.00
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2. Ridge PinotNoir Corralitos GaliVnyd/SantaClaraCnty (13.8%; bttld Dec 2019; Drk: 10/19-10/24: EB) 2018: Med.dark color; fairly strong PN/black cherry rather earthy/dusty/loamy modest toasty/Fr.oak rather old-World/almost Burgundian fairly fragrant nose; quite tart rather earthy/loamy/dusty modest toasty/Fr.oak some quiet/black cherry/PN bit rustic/Burgundian bit complex flavor w/ light bit rough tannins; very long fairly earthy/dusty/loamy some black cherry/PN bit tart some complex/old-World finish w/ light tannins; a very atypical Ridge red & much more old-World in character; oak is very low-key & not obviously Ridge oak; reminds some of a low-level village RedBurg, a bit of AltoAdige PN, a lot of NewYorkState or Michigan PN; quite an interesting/well-done PN but somewhat lacking in bright Calif PN fruit. $42.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. GrenacheBlanc: This is, I believe, the 3'rd GB from Ridge. The first two were from the AdelaidaVnyd w/ slightly different blends. This is from nearby HalterRanch. The first one I liked quite a bit. The 2'nd one seemed a bit beaten down. This one was not as intense as the first, but I liked it nearly as much.
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2. PinotNoir: Wow.... this is the most non-Ridge red wine I've ever had. Very much an old-world style of Pinot.
I, of course, had the only other Ridge Pinot, the '71 CoastRange. They made both a CoastRange Pinot and a CoastRange Zin '71. Both retailed about $3.99/btl back then. The Pinot was nothing to write home about. The Zin was a steal at that price & my group bought some 70 cs at LiquorMart in Boulder, which I hauled down in a rented U-Haul.
I had very low expectations for this Pinot. In fact, before it arrived, I wrote up a TN on what I expected the wine to be like:
Fake TN wrote: Med.color; light cherry/PN/earthy fairly strong vanilla/Ridge oak pleasant nose that speaks quietly of PN; lightly tart quiet/PN/bright cherry/black cherry slight earthy/dusty strong vanilla/Am.oak bit simple pleasant flavor w/ light smooth tannins; long light cherry/bright/blacxkcherry /PN slight earthy strong vanilla/Am.oak pleasant finish w/ light gentle tannins; an altogether pleasant light-weight bright cherry PN that speaks strongly of a Ridge red.
Back in college, this was called dry-labbing when we'd write up the result of a chem lab or physics lab experiment w/o doing the actual experiment because we already knew how the experiment would come out. This TN bears no resemblence to the actual TN above. Clearly I've lost my capability at dry-labbing.
It had a very strong bit rustic very earthy old-World character. Reminded me mostly of PN from NewMexico or NewYorkState or Michigan or Ohio. But definitely not of Calif PN nor of a SantaCruzMtns PN.
Did I like it?? Well..sorta. Mostly because it was rather unusual for a Ridge red wine. Nothing I'd buy again. But it clearly exceeded my lowly expectations.
Tom