Last month, I joined 4 friends for dinner at a local watering hole that we have come to think of as a monthly meeting site. We had settled on drinking a range of wines from Ridge. People raided their cellars and we had a fine group of wines to consider and enjoy.
1998 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame. Here is a nervy, rapier-like sparkler, with a nose exhibiting matchstick, citrus, ginger, lime peel and crushed rocks. It is sharp, vibrant and intense like a scalpel across the palate, occasionally giving glimpses of a creamier sub-text, but mostly on the crisp, edgy side. At times, it almost feels tannic, as it coats the teeth and gums. It is definitely more for waking up the palate than for accompanying quiet introspection. I’m curious to see where this one goes with bottle age.
1999 Ridge Chardonnay Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains. The nose sports toasty vanilla, spun sugar, caramel apple and citrus peel. In the mouth, it is fairly viscous in texture, with flavors of toasty vanilla char, star fruit, and kiwi--all in a big mouthful of wine. There is a hint of copper kettle metal on the finish. Overall, it is ok, but it comes across a bit disjointed at times. Others seemed much more positive, though.
1984 Ridge Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley. 85% Zinfandel, 10% Carignane, 5% Grenache. This and the next two wines all open up with whiffs of volatile acidity. Here, it recedes with air and time to reveal aromatics of blackberry, boysenberry and blueberry compote to go along with earthy bark and dirt notes. In the mouth, it is quite nice, with solid concentration, no hard edges and still showing some tingly acidity. There are plenty of broodingly dark cherry and other fruit flavors in a medium-bodied package that is taut in the middle but pleasingly open-knit around the edges. It is holding up well and tasting nice.
1990 Ridge Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley. 80% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane, 4% Grenache. This wine has a complex, ever-shifting nose of rich prunes, clementines, tomato paste, saffron, soft peppermint and balsamic notes, with an ever-growing reservoir of sweeter fruit underneath. In the mouth, it is quite interesting, as well, with minty, spicy oak on the entry leading to wild briery berries and sweet exotic notes through the middle of the palate. It is a unique profile that I have trouble describing but enjoyed very much. This was my WOTN.
1995 Ridge Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley. 84% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, 2% Carignane. The ’95 LS opens with a bouquet of foresty greens, dark cherries, cocoa powder, persimmon and new leather. It is juicy and sweet-fruited in the mouth with no hard edges and a fine mouth-filling quality. Warm, briery berry fruits are both delicate and intense. This is pure and red, with cherry liqueur and soft cassis currents running through it. The finish is clean, pure and quite long. Opened the next night, there were no signs at all of VA and it was a delight right out of the gate. On this night, it was my #4 wine of the night.
2001 Ridge Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley. 76% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Sirah, 7% Carignane. This wine is quite fruity on the nose, with mixed wild berries, dark caramel, cool eucalyptus and faint soft incense. In the mouth, there is a lot of fruit and chocolate with some soft yet grainy tannins and good, tingly acidity. It is ripe and luscious, yet fresh, clean and lithe. It has a good amount of body without seeming heavy and ends with a tight, spicy impact.
2004 Ridge Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley. 79% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 3% Carignane. This has a pretty nose of sweet plums, blue and black berry fruits, fresh-cut flowers and a sort of smoky camphor note. It is intense, taut and tightly-wound on the palate, with some rich red currants and cherry flavors and plenty of soft tannins and some gently spices. Try again in 3-5 years.
2002 Ridge Syrah Lytton Estate Dry Creek Valley. 76% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 3% Carignane. Bottled in August 2004. Here we have a nose showing creosote, dark leather, dark cherry syrup and sharp wintergreen accents. It is big and rich and luxuriant in the mouth with lots of fudgy, teeth-coating tannins. The fruit profile is one of cherries, fudge and all kinds of woodsy flavors. It shows good length but it feels like it is bludgeoning my palate a bit with the tannin level. Give this time.
2002 Ridge Syrah Lytton Estate II Dry Creek Valley. 76% Syrah, 22% Grenache, 2% Viognier. Bottled in March 2005. It was very interesting to taste these two wines side by side in the same flight. Dark chocolate, patent leather, black currants, fresh greens and clean oak are discernable on the nose of this version of Ridge’s 2002 Syrah Lytton Estate. It is a bit darker, a bit denser and a bit richer than the 2002 original release. There is excellent depth of powerful black fruit here to go with some chewy tannins and a very long finish. I think it was a consensus that the II surpassed the I.
2001 Ridge Geyserville Sonoma County. 74% Zinfandel, 18% Carignane, 8% Petite Sirah. The nose offers up aromas of sweet fruitcake and all kinds of mixed briery berries. It is a very pure expression of blue fruits and chocolate on the palate. There is an elevated alcohol note that detracts a bit, but it finishes fairly long with a good tangy acidity. Not one of my favorites this night.
2005 Ridge Geyserville Sonoma County. 77% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane, 6% Petite Sirah. The label says this is the 40th vintage of this bottling—a pretty impressive streak. Spices, soft rubber, gentle incense and all manner of tomato garden (fruit, leaves, dirt) make up the aromatic profile. In the mouth, it shows excellent richness and solid concentration of fruit. It is fresh and spicy, with chocolate and blueberry flavors. There are plenty of puffy tannins hanging around, but this can be drunk now or preferably several years from now.
1997 Ridge Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley. 88% Zinfandel, 7% Mataro, 3% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante. There is unanimous agreement that this opens with aromas like an old chest of drawers on a great aunt’s upper floor of an old house (well, that is where we collectively ended up in our group discussion). Beyond that, I discern notes of animal fur, soft manure, old leather, and a sort of in-your-face dried orange note. All in all, I really like it (though I sensed I was mostly alone). It is extremely engaging in the mouth, with outstanding concentration and a sense of effortless power. There is bright acidity to lend excellent balance to the sweet, intense blackberry fruit. For my palate, it is delicious. Moreover, this held up in the refrigerator for days, tasting very good each time it was popped. My #2 WOTN (but again, I was definitely alone here).
2001 Ridge Zinfandel Late Picked York Creek Spring Mountain District. 78% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah, 2% Carignane. 15.9% abv. The nose on this wine is pretty tight, showing some aromas of dense purple fruit and crushed blackberry to go with some woodsy elements. In the mouth, I don’t really care for it, with the alcohol (15.9%) not well concealed at all to my taste. I did not linger.
1991 Ridge Zinfandel Essence Stone Ranch Paso Robles. 375 ml bottle. The nose offers up all kinds of sweet cherry liqueur, sweet campfire smoke, dried dates, chocolate-covered cherry candy and something like slightly burnt blueberry pie. It features unbelievably pure, bright, sweet, warm red fruit in the mouth. It is both rich and brightly tangy at the same time. Also, it feels unctuous in the mouth without seeming overly weighty. It is not especially deep, but instead is rather smooth, easy, warm and enjoyable. It is a lot of fun to drink! My #3 of the night.
1999 d’Arenberg Vintage Declared Shiraz Port. 375 ml bottle. The nose here shows a hint of spirits accompanying lots of red fruit. It is extremely dense, extracted and solid on the palate. Yet, it has a piercingly bright acidity running through it, along with a big whack of spiciness. It literally feels like it is burning my tongue with its intensity. I would hold a good long while before putting my tongue at risk again.
Group voting at the end of the night declared the following favorites:
1990 Lytton Springs (9 points)
2001 Lytton Springs (5 points)
1991 Essence (5 points)
1995 Lytton Springs (3 points)
2002 Syrah II (3 points)
1997 Pagani Ranch (2 points)
2005 Geyserville (2 points)
-Michael
.