We tried these three at Pig+Fig last night:
1. Ridge Mazzoni HomeRanch/AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (14.2%; 72% Zin/26% Carignane/2% PS; 67 brls; bttld 4/22; Drk: 2/22-2/29-2/30: JO) 2020: Very dark color; fairly strong blackberry/raspberry/Zin/quite spicy rather fragrant/perfumed some vanilla/Ridge oak fairly dusty/OV lovely nose; fairly tart/tangy very perfumed/spicy bright/blackberry/raspberry/Zin some dusty/OV light vanilla/Ridge oak bit complex lovely flavor w/ modest smooth tannins; very long/lingering very spicy/perfumed strong blackberry/Zin/raspberry some dusty/OV bit complex finish w/ light smooth tannins; quite a lovely very spicy OV Zin well above the EastBench and almost to the LyttonSprings level. $40.00/$36.00 (ATP)
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2. Ridge Mazzoni HomeRanch/AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (13.9%; 53% Zin/45% Carignane/2% PS; 49 brls; bttld 4/21; Drk: 1/21-1/31: EB) 2019: Dark color; more blackberry/Zin/lightly spicy more dusty/OV lighter vanilla/oak less spicy/perfumed rather attractive nose; bit softer more dusty/OV bit more earthy lightly spicy/perfumed strong blackberry/Zin less high-toned slightly clunky some intense blackberry fairly attractive flavor w/ modest soft tannins; very long finish mimics the flavor; not as strongly spicy as the '20 but still quite good; reminds more of a RRV Zin than AlexVlly; shows a slight amount of the soupy/AlexVlly Zin character; well above the EastBench in quality. $40.00/$36.00 (ATP)
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3. Ridge Mazzoni HomeRanch/AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (14.6%; 62% Zin/36% Carignane/2% PS; 53 brls; bttld Feb 2016; Drk: 11/15-11/20-11/22: EB) 2014: Med.dark color; fairly strong vanilla/Am.oak some blackberry/Zin/ripe less aromatic/spicy more complex some mature Zin slight cedary/pencilly fairly attractive mature Zin nose; fairly soft slight alcoholic some blackberry/Zin bit cedary/pencilly complex flavor w/ light drying tannins; very long finish mimics flavor; probably as good as it will ever be & starting its decline; lost a lot of that spicy Mazzoni fruit; quite a pleasant mature Zin. $36.00
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More esklnip from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Several weeks ago, I posted a TN on the new Ridge ATP releases. Including this 2020 Mazzoni. It was pretty dull & uninspiring & lacking in structure & intensity. I labeled it as such and declared the Mazzoni an underperforming vnyd because of this wine. In the WB responses, I was thoroughly savaged for "hating" on the Mazzoni & declared to be "wrong" and my manhood was called into question. I tried to post pics proving otherwise, but was blocked from doing so.
When I posted my original TN several weeks ago, I was tasting the wine just 2 days off the boat. Maybe it was suffering from travel shock (I'm not a big believer in travel shock & have, in a Vintage Magazine article, showed it does not exist). But the Mazzoni '20 I tasted last night was nowhere near as dull/insipid as that previous one. In fact, I liked it last night quite a lot & thought it near the LS level in quality. So go figure!!
That said, I still feel Mazzoni & Ponzo are underperforming Ridge Zin vnyds. These are great OV vnyds (I've walked both of them w/ DaveGates) but I don't feel they perform at the level of Lytton/Pagani/Geyserville. They should. That's my story & I'm stickin' to it.
Tom