Tasting recent Ridge releases this morning at Estate Wine with a replay of yesterday's Zoom commentary by the folks from Ridge. Tasted bottles opened an hour before today's tasting and pours from bottles opened yesterday morning for the live Zoom event.
Ridge Estate Chardonnay 2020 - Nice nose - melon, butterscotch, gentle smoke. Bright acid. Quite lifted, mineral, stone. Very dry. Steely finish. Yesterday's wine - More rounded, open, complex, sweeter.
Ridge Geyserville 2020 - Menthol and touch of dry herb on the nose. Lovely sweet fruit. Black olive. Full, meaty, powerful tannins. Very slightly jammy. Yesterday's wine - Pretty much the same, but sweeter fruit, meaty.
Ridge Lytton Springs 2020 - All ripe fruit on the nose. Not much else going on. Weighty, meaty, licorice gum drops. Closed. Yesterday's wine - A little more open, sweet fruit on the palate, but not a lot of difference.
Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 - Nothing happening here. Closed despite an hour in the glass. All tannins. Yesterday's wine - A little fruit but still tough tannins. Decant for 3 days if you need to drink this now.
Ridge Monte Bello 2019 - Worcestershire sauce and sweet spices on the nose. Tannins seem a little softer than the Estate. A bit of acidity gives it freshness. But still, tough to dissect. Yesterday's wine - Same, but with some mint thrown in.