TN: 7 from Mr. Ridge

The Merry Meehan clan hosted their annual "Fall Fest" in "The Cleve" a few weekends ago, and there were more great wine bottles uncorked than I could even hope to try (remember, we never spit), so I made a point of being very particular as to what I tasted. To say that I've never met a Ridge wine that I didn't like would not be quite true; there has been the odd clunker here and there, but they've been pretty darned few and far between, and some of those have turned out to be better than I thought they'd be with a few years in the bottle. There were seven of Mr. Draper's gems opened on the first night of the festivities, and of course, I focused right in on those, and here're my snapshot impressions.

1992 Ridge Santa Cruz Mtns. Cabernet Sauvignon, 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 13.4% alc.: Deeply, darkly colored, and exuding “Draper perfume” with a note of cedar; rich fruit, with big cassis-black currant underscored with hints of earth, blueberry and of course, more of that signature character known as Draper perfume, although it’s more reserved on the palate. Still plenty of structure, depth, body and length here; really nice, and yet to peak.

1995 Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mtns., 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 10% Petite Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 12.5% alc.: My initial impression reads “big Cab character here, with a hint of Draper perfume,” but in fact, it’s one of only two Monte Bellos ever made that wasn’t a “legal” Cabernet Sauvignon. Though approachable, this needs time; it offers black currant, cassis and earth, with that distinctive “perfume” just peaking out here and there. Full bodied, with big structure and still some years from its peak. Mark Horvatich (who is always fun to taste Ridge with) says that Paul Draper calls this one of his favorite MBs, but it’s more about potential right now.

1987 Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mtns., 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 11.7% alc.: Cloudy dark garnet color, with cedar and Draper perfume on the nose; the pretty flavors echo, with a well-mannered core of black currant and cassis fruit and what Pam Gillikin describes as a note of iodine. Soft tannins, smooth texture, balanced acids and nice length all make for a lovely Mr. Ridge that’s in a really nice place right now.

1992 Ridge Napa Cabernet Franc York Creek, 77% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, 14.1% alc.: Good, rich color, with black currant on the nose shaded with subtle Draper perfume. Rich, ripe fruit with earthy undertones and some herbaceousness; just gorgeous, and it blossoms to exude a very pretty perfume with just a little air.

1997 Ridge Lytton Estate Syrah ATP, 88% Syrah, 12% Viognier, 14.6% alc.: This glass of ink exudes a pretty Draper perfume that resembles a mélange of black and blue berries, turning darker on the palate with some added black plum. Rich, ripe and dense, but balanced, this likes some air (Mark H. said it was tight a few hours earlier), and a few more years in the cellar won’t hurt it at all.

1997 Ridge Napa Petite Sirah York Creek Dynamite Hill Vines ATP, 13.5% alc.: Good dark color, with a big black fruit nose that shows some attractive aromatics, even in what I would have expected to be its relative youth. Not quite as generous on the palate, nor as deep and rich as I would have expected, and slightly green, though not in a bad way. Not bad with air now, but I’m not sure this will ever be a “great” Petite Sirah. Or, maybe it just needs more time, like the next wine had the advantage of receiving.

1986 Ridge Napa Petite Sirah York Creek Devil’s Hill ATP, 12.9% alc.: Slightly cloudy dark garnet color, and showing the dark side of all that Draper perfume, with smoky black plum and berry that follow through very nicely on the palate. Mark H. commented that there are “a lot of good things in this; back then, Ridge had a lot of funk in their wines.” He has a point, because it’s so good, it deserves a second pour, and best of all, it’s still not at its peak.

- from Fall Fest~The Cleve~2008

Reporting from Day-twah,

geo t.

Hi geo t.,

I'm curious. Why use this moniker, "Draper perfume" (DP) ? I do apologize in advance if my question seems uninformed, in a pop media sense. I am very familiar with most Ridge wines, even back into the 70's and up through current releases, but I am no longer on Ridge's ATP program or mailing. I also no longer read the wine rags (Parker, Tanzer, CG and similar journals).

So I guess my question really is, Is it a term you created yourself (or perhaps read somewhere) that conveys for you a wholly-separate, Ridge-unique characteristic, otherwise not described (or perhaps a set of them) ? I ask because you also offered some fairly nice and succinct detail for the aromatic characteristics as well (e.g., cassis, currant, blueberry, etc.).
I didn't want to assume that DP is just a customized handle for the concept "house style", but one somewhat more lovingly ascribed.

Hi geo t.,

I'm curious. Why use this moniker, "Draper perfume" (DP) ? I do apologize in advance if my question seems uninformed, in a pop media sense. I am very familiar with most Ridge wines, even back into the 70's and up through current releases, but I am no longer on Ridge's ATP program or mailing. I also no longer read the wine rags (Parker, Tanzer, CG and similar journals).

So I guess my question really is, Is it a term you created yourself (or perhaps read somewhere) that conveys for you a wholly-separate, Ridge-unique characteristic, otherwise not described (or perhaps a set of them) ? I ask because you also offered some fairly nice and succinct detail for the aromatic characteristics as well (e.g., cassis, currant, blueberry, etc.).
I didn't want to assume that DP is just a customized handle for the concept "house style", but one somewhat more lovingly ascribed.

Jeff, both "Draper perfume" and "Mr. Ridge" are terms that were coined in the pages of Gang of Pour. Alan Kerr aka Canadian Zinfan is responsible for Mr. Ridge, while I came up with Draper perfume, although a quick Google search just now shows that the latter phrase has entered the "vernacular," so to speak.

Since Paul Draper had been at the helm at Ridge for so long when I first used the term sometime in the mid-to-late '90s, and there is that very distinctive character in almost all Ridge wines, it just seemed obvious to me, and yes, it was and is most lovingly ascribed to the Ridge house style.

From The Tom Hill Archives:
http://sbwines.com/trh/November5_1999.html

"Paul has always espoused making the most complex wines that he can from the grapes he has to work with. When he started making the Ridge wines in '70, I sort of equated that statement to making lighter & more elegant wines and whined to him incessantly about that, feeling he was moving too far away from the huge blockbuster wines that David Bennion made and that I cut my teeth (literally) on. Now, after almost some 30 yrs of following Ridge wines, I think I'm beginning to see what he was/is aiming for (slow learner here; the TomHill elevator, though it DOES go all the way to the top, is not always the FASTEST elevator to the top!!). Has we were tasting the '90 LyttonSprings, I was struggling mightly to describe the wine. I'd find all sorts of distinctive things in it, and then one of my tasters would mention something and I'd find "oh yeah, that's in there, too". It's the same thing when I see people's posted note on a recent Ridge wine I've had and read their discriptions... "oh yeah, that's what that was in that wine". Oftentimes, all I can come up with is "the Draper perfume" that George T. likes to use and, I believe, invented. Anyway, almost never do I have a Ridge wine that I would ever label as simple. Perhaps Paul Draper knows a bit more about making wine than I orginally gave him credit for some 25 yrs ago."

Cheers,

geo

geo t,

So there is a history on this, and it is very interesting; I'd not heard of the Gang of Pour before. Clever name.

So I may be a bit palate-deaf to this perfume, an aromatic commonality across Ridge's wines. I can frequently recognize a Ridge wine from many in a group or even blind, but for me it's just the American oak, deftly-handled, with a subtle milky, lactose-like smell. Maybe that's it.

Thanks.

[David M. Bueker]

a subtle milky, lactose-like smell. Maybe that's it.

Which has also been referred to as buttered popcorn, and yes, that's it.