We tasted last Fri some Ridges from our Archives:
1. Ridge Zin Shenandoah EsolaVnyd/Foothills/AmadorCnty (15.9%; 5% PetiteSirah; Late Harvest;
Bttld: March 1980; SaH: 25.4%; RS: 0.27%; Drk: 3/80-3/83-3/84: PD) 1978: Quite bricked some browning color; rather faded cedary/pencilly bit alcoholic very quiet ripe/blackberry/Zin/bit Amador briary bit musty somewhat tired nose; rather tired/dried out slight blackberry/spicy/Amador Zin bit alcoholic flavor w/ some drying tannins; still has some recognizable Amador Zin/briary fruit but rather dried out & tired character; recognizable Amador Zin but not offering much pleasure. $nc (SG)/$6.00 (TJ)
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2. Ridge Zin LateHrvst EsolaRanch/ShenandoahVlly/Calif (16%; bttld: July 1979; SaH: 29.5%;
RS: 0.80%; 7 ½ brls; Drk: 10/79-5/81: PD) 1976: Faded some browning color; fairly musty/tired little fruit some alcoholic/fumey nose; soft pretty tired/dried out no fruit some alcoholic bit oxidized flavor w/ little tannins; not entirely dead & no acetic or oxidative character but pretty tired/dried out & not offering much pleasure.
$nc (SG)
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3. Ridge Zin StoneRanch/AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (14.8%; 5% PetiteSirah; 40 brls; bttld: Feb 2004;
Drk: 12/03-12/05: PD) 2002: Very dark color w/ some bricking; strong vanilla/Am.oak strong spicy/raspberry/blackberry/Zin/spicy bit complex/aged Zin fairly lush nose; bit soft strong raspberry/blackberry/spicy Zin some vanilla/Am.oak bit simple flavor w/ light drying tannins; fairly long finish that tracks flavor; still in healthy condition & not at all tired nor dried out; a pleasant example of an aged Ridge Zin that is pleasant enough but has not developed into anything very dramatic. $nc (J&SF)
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4. Ridge Zin DelCarloRanch/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (14.3%; 51 brls; bttld: April 03;
Grower: Ray Teldeschi; Drk: 3/03-3/08-3/10: PD) 2001: Dark color; rather pencilly/aged Zin strong Am.oak some spicy/raspberry/DCV Zin strong vanilla/Am.oak classic old Ridge nose; lightly tart some vanilla/pencilly/oak light raspberry/spicy DCV Zin some complex flavor w/ light bit drying tannins; showing some age classic mature Ridge Zin character & drying out a bit on the palate but still a remarkable old Ridge Zin.
$nc (TH)
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5. Ridge Zin JimsomareRanch/SantaCruzMtns (15.7%; 12 brls; bttld 3/11; Drk: 12/10-12/20-12/25: E) 2009: Fairly dark color; very spicy strong Zin/spicy/some SCM/peppery rather blackberry/boysenberry bit pencilly/oak some dusty/OV Zin/SCM fairly complex nose; strong blackberry/boysenberry/SCM peppery/spicy Zin light pencilly/oak bit dusty/OV rather structured some complex flavor w/ some hard/chewey tannins; very long/lingering finish that follows flavor w/ slight drying tannins; still speaks strongly of Jimsomare and still in great shape; no signs of oxidation nor drying out; easily the best of these Zins. $nc (TH)
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6. Ridge Syrah LyttonWestVnyd/DryCreekVlly/Calif (14.5% bttld Aug 2007; 5 lots aged 21 mo. in Am. air-dried oak; Drk: 5/07-5/17: EB) 2005: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very intense Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry/peppery/earthy strong Am.oak/Ridge oak very spicy some complex nose; lightly tart rather rough/rustic/tannic ripe blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah strong Am.oak classic Ridge red flavor w/ some rough tannins; very long/lingering finish that follows flavor; speaks strongly of Ridge winemaking and only quietly of Syrah; a rather rugged expression of rugged Ridge red that needs age but may not outlast the tannins. $nc (TH)
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7. Ridge Zin Essence BuenaVistaVnyd/Lodi/Calif (13.7%; Vine shriveled grapes; Bttld Jan 1973;
RS: 13%; Drk: 1/73-1/76: PD) 1971: Loads of sediment and quite browning; rather oxidized/tired very raisened/pruney little fruit bit complex nose; strong very raisened/pruney quite sweet low fruit flavor w/ little tannins; very long quite raisened/pruney no fruit finish; shows no signs of oxidation due to ullage but dominated by the raisened/pruney character; not particularly good drinking. $nc (SG)/hlf (btl ullaged to near 50%)
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8. Ridge Zin Essence PasoRobles/Calif (15.9%; bttld Aug 1992; SaH: 39%; RS: 9.2%; Drk: 7/92-7/02: PD) 1991: Very dark quite brown color; intense boysenberry/blackberry/very ripe Paso Zin little complex nose; very sweet intense boysenberry/blackberry/jammy Paso Zin intense fruit/jammy flavor w/ little complexity or tannins; very long/lingering very ripe/jammy finish that follows flavor; no oxidized & tired character and little raisened/pruney character; still huge boysenberry/jammy fruit but little complexity of signs of evolution
$nc (SG)/hlf
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More bistlefrick from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Last Friday, Mark Vernon, COO of Ridge, & his wife Dianne did a Ridge Dinner at Pig+Fig. Many of my winos have deep cellars of Ridges, so we all dug down deep for these wines. Most of the old ones were from Stacey who inherited her Dad, Blair's, cellar. The TH ones were my contribution.
Of the Zins, my easy favorite was the Jimsomare. Still going strong & speaks strongly of SCM Zin. The Syrah was also in qood shape but, like most Ridge Syrahs, speaks more of Ridge winemaking & only quietly of Syrah.
Of the Essences, the '71 was just a lot of raisened/pruney character & not much else. But the '91 was in wonderful shape but not showing much evolution. Sort of in suspended animation.
Tom