We tasted last weekens (1/21/09) some Ottimino and Ridge ATP Zins:
1. Ridge Calif BuchignaniRanch Zin (5% PS; 14.4%; 39 brls;
Drk: 12/03-12/08-12/10: PD) 2002: Med.color; very attractive raspberry/Zin light
pungent/oak light dusty/old vines some complex nose; tart slight metallic/lean
some tobaccoy/pungent pleasant spicy/Zinberry flavor; med.long slight metallic/lean
some tannic/astringent/dried out light raspberry/Zinberry finish; pleasant mature
Zin but starting to dry out a bit; drink up. $24.00
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2. Ridge Calif Zin PonzoVnyds/RRV (2% Carignane, 2% PS; 14.4%;
Drk: 6/03-6/08-6/10; PD) 2002: Med.color; very attractive bright/spicy/raspberry/
Zinberry slight milky/Am.oak/pencilly some pungent/DraperPerfume complex nose; smooth/
elegant very spicy/raspberry/Zinberry slight malted milk/Am.oak/pungent/DP flavor;
long very spicy/Zinberry some pungent/Am.oak finish w/ light tannins; a lovely/smooth/
mature Zin w/ lots of Zinberry spice. $24.00
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3. Ridge Calif Zin Alegria LatePicked (77% Zin, 12% PS, 11% Alicante; 15.7%;
35 brls; SaH: 27.2%; RS: 0.16%; Drk: Early yrs: PD) 1995: Med.color w/ slight bricking;
some pungent/burnt bit earthy/dusty/dried rose petal slight jammy/blackberry some
complex nose; soft bit thin/lean slight alcoholic some raisened/jammy/ripe/blackberry
flavor; med. overripe/raspberry/jammy bit dried out/tired bit alcoholic finish; a bit
too far gone to enjoy. $20.00
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4. Ridge Calif Zin Alegria LatePicked (75% Zin, 22% PS, 3% AlicanteBouschet;
15.6%; 42 brls; SaH: 27.1%; RS: 0.1%; Drk: 12/97-12/01-12/02: PD) 1996: Med.color w/
some bricking; unusual herbal rather dusty/earthy/old vine slight overripe/boysenberry/
jammy bit alcoholic nose; rather herbal/dusty/old vine somewhat hoy/alcoholic/fumey
slight jammy/raspberry/overripe flavor; med.long herbal/dusty rather hot/alcoholic
finish w/ little tannins; not dried out/tired but has developed very strangely.
$20.00
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5. DryCreekVnyd OldVine Zin SonomaCnty (80+ yr old vines; 14.5%; 4729 cs;
16% PS; 18 mo. in Fr & Am oak; 46% new oak; TA: 0.56, pH: 3.82) 2006: Dark color; very
strong blackberry/Zin/spicy rather dusty/old vines some pencilly/toasty/oak fairly complex
lovely nose; tart bit lean/tannic spicy/raspberry/Zin/blackberry balanced some pencilly/
pungent/oak flavor; long bit hard/lean/tannic somewhat tight/wirey strong raspberry/spicy/
Zin finish; needs 2-5 yrs; not as plush/polished/smooth as previous DCV OV Zins but structured
and needing age. $28.00
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6 Radio-Coteau VonWeidlich/RRV Zin (295 cs; U/U; 15.2%; http://www.RadioCoteau.com) 2006: Very dark
color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/peppery/Zin some dusty/old spicy/black cherry
complex nose; soft/smooth raspberry/blackberry/black cherry/spicy/Zin light pencilly/oak
bit tannic flavor; very long intense blackberry/spicy/Zin rather pencilly/oak some dusty/
old vine some tannic finish; big/structured balanced intense Zin that needs 3-6 yrs;
seems big for R-C Zin; lovely Zin but not over the top. $42.00
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7. Ottimino Zin VonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (14.8%; 8,004 btls) 2001: Very dark/black color; beautiful
spicy/peppery/blackberry/Zin light toasty/oak rather dusty/old vine bit pungent/ozone slight
menthol/licorice/chocolaty rather complex nose; tart rather tannic/hard spicy/blackberry/Zin/
licorice light toasty/oak/pungent flavor; very long light/toasty/oak very strong blackberry/
boysenberry/Zin/spicy light pencilly/cedary complex finish; still a bit rustic/hard Zin that
needs another 2-6 yrs $285.00/6 pack
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8. Ottimino Zin VonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (14.8%; 6,098 btls) 2002: Very dark color; more intense
blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy huge fruit some dusty/old vine rather complex nose; softer/
rounder intense blackberry/boysenberry/spicy/Zin rather tannic/hard very/very spicy slight
toasty/oak complex flavor; very long rather smooth/lush huge fruit/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin
some peppery/RRV light toasty/oak finish w/ plenty of tannins; more drinkable than the '01
but probably more tannin just covered up by all the Zin fruit; needs 2-8 yrs.
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9. Ottimino Zin VonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (14.7%; 5,998 btls) 2003: Very dark/black color; beautiful
complex cracked black pepper/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy very dusty/old vine complex
nose; tart/acid intense blackberry/Zin/boysenberry very dusty/old vines cracked black pepper
complex flavor; very long/lingering intense/blackberry/Zin/spicy/cracked black pepper light
toasty/oak/pungent flavor; big/huge fruit in the Carlisle style; my favorite because of
the cracked black pepper character; stunning Zin.
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10. Ottimino Zin VonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (14.3%; 98 cs) 2004: Very dark/black color; huge intense
boysenberry/blackberry/licorice/Zin slight overripe/BarBQue sauce strong/toasty/oak/smokey
nose; soft/lush intense boysenberry/blackberry/Zin/chocolaty/licorice slight ground pepper
some toasty/oak flavor; very long ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy/licorice some
toasty/smokey/oak some tannic flavor; seems quite a bit riper than the other ones.
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11. Ottimino Zin VonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (14.4%; 570 cs) 2005: Very dark color; intense blackberry/
spicy/peppery/Zin some toasty/pungent/oak fairly complex/roasted/peppery nose; tart intense
blackberry/boysenberry/peppery/spicy/Zin some toasty/oak rather tannic very structured
flavor; very long light toasty/oak strong peppery/blackberry/Zin/spicy some tannic finish;
a bit more elegant/balanced than the previous ones; needs 3-8 yrs; stunning Zin.
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12. Ottimino Zin VonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (13.9%; 675 cs) 2006: Very dark color; strong blackberry/
spicy/licorice/Zin slight menthol/herbal light toasty/oak fairly dusty/old vine nose; tart
bit tight/hard strong blackberry/spicy/Zin dusty/old vines light toasty/oak flavor; long
strong blackberry/Zin/spicy/licorice light toasty/smokey/oak bit hard/tannic finish; needs
more age; seems less extracted than the others and a bit on the tight/closed side.
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And the old BloodyPulpit once again:
1. Ridge ATPs: These wines are often rather disappointing and simple upon release, but have
this way of really developing into very lovely wines w/ age. The Ponzo has, but the
Buchignani has not. The two Alegrias were a bit long of tooth.
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2. vonWeidlich: This is a very old vnyd up on MorelliLane owned by Robert vonWeidlich. It's
an interesting property. Looks like a hill-billy homestead up in the Ozarks. Beautiful
old vines. This is where the old EricRoss used to make their wines. Ridge made some stunning
Zins from these grapes back in the early '70's...Ridge Occidental. Legendary wines. This
was also where SeaRidge was once located. Dutton-Goldfield makes their MorelliLane Zin
from a newer vnyd just down the block on the old MorelliRanch.
It's just to the NE of the town of Occidental. Very cold area and not an obvious place
to be growing Zin. But MorelliLane is located up on a ridgetop and just a bit warmer. Still
I gather it's a struggle to ripen Zin up there.
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3. Ottimino: Grown by BradAlper and winemaking by BillKnuttle. This was one of the finest sets
of Zins I've had since...my last Carlisle tasting I guess. They're rather in MikeOfficer's
style, but w/ a slight bit more restraint and less extraction. They are big/intense wines,
yet I got no sense that they were over the top. Big Zins, but balanced and the structure
to carry them out in time.
Clearly, the vonWeidlich is the flagship of the Ottimino Zins (http://www.Ottimino.com), but the
OttiminoVnyd and (newer) RanchoBelloVnyd Zins are no slouches in their own right. Some of the
best Zins being made in Calif these days.
Tom