WTN: BD MB

Instead of going out for a birthday dinner, Andrea made brownies, I made a simple but delicious farro with corn picked this morning (half raw and half roasted), tomatoes, red onion, feta, and basil, and we opened a Ridge 2012 Monte Bello Chardonnay, which exceeded hopes and expectations. Bright and lively up front, luscious and velvety in the back, and a magically seamless transition between the two that makes each sip feel like a thrilling twist on a roller-coaster. We are lucky to be able to consume, for the most part, very good wine, but that doesn’t take away from the excitement of those occasional bottles that are just in a different level, and this was one of them. Let’s hope this bodes well for my 57th trip around the sun.

[David M. Bueker]

Happy birthday!

Thanks, David!

Had to look when I saw your title! Bon anniversaire, Patchen! And superb showing for that wine! I have several different Ridges (reds) from the 1990s - I am inspired to open one soon!

Thanks, Bill!

We had an excellent weekend, wine-wise: tonight we followed the Ridge with a 1999 Montelena Estate that was also really in the zone. Decanted gently off the sediment, took about 20 minutes to wake up, but then became a really classic red-fruited Cabernet with its cassis and cherry elements concentrated and transformed by age, in much the way an aged steak takes on both intensity and umami. Very slightly lifted, but doesn't seem at all tired.

Montelena has long been a favourite of mine. I have a vertical from 1991 to 1995 I've been meaning to do! Think they should still present fairly well.

Happy Birthday, Patchen!

[Jenise]

Happy birthday and congrats on the great MB. I am reminded that I don't age chardonnays as much as I should, even those with good track records. That part of my cellar just never gets deep enough that I can ignore them.

Thanks, Steve and Jenise!

We were talking about how surprised we were that we consumed so much more Chardonnay now than we did in our hipster “ABC” days (though we always liked and consumed Chablis). Not so much a function of changing tastes on our part, though we certainly care less about being fashionable than we ever did, which was never much, as changing styles in the marketplace, and our having found our way to producers we like. And now that we’re buying some Goodfellow and a couple of other Oregon producers, I think we will be (of necessity) aging more of it too. Still a bunch of Ridge in the cellar, both MB and Estate, but all single bottles at this point, accumulated from club shipments over the years.

And a bunch of Chablis and some other white Burgs too, some from the era of the pox, so we’ll see how that goes.

Happy Birthday belatedly. Santa Cruz is a great place for Chardonnay