We tasted last night (3/21/18) Some New Ridges:
1. Ridge Zin Ponzo/RRV/SonomaCnty (96% Zin/4% PS; 14.6%; bttld 12/15; Drk: 8/15-8/20-8/21: JO; Calcium
Carbonate added) 2014: Med.dark color; attractive raspberry/blackberry/Zin light vanilla/oak bit earthy/
dusty/OV bit simple nose; lightly tart bright/raspberry/blackberry/Zon bit dusty/OV some vanilla/oak flavor
w/ light tangy tannins; med.long raspberry/blackberry/Zin/spicy some dusty/OV finish w/ light tannins;
shows more dusty/OV character & a (tiny) bit more complexity but pretty much yet another ho-hum Ponzo.
$32.00
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2. Ridge Zin Ponzo RRV/SonomaCnty (3% PS; 14.9%; bttld 11/16; 1.5% water addition; Drk: 8/16-8/22: JO) 2015:
Med.dark color; stronger raspberry/blackberry/Zin some vanilla/Ridge oak more bright/fresh fuit nose;
bit softer stronger/bright/raspberry/Zin/spicy light vanilla/Ridge oak bit simple flavor w/ light brisk
tannins; long bright/raspberry/Zin finish w/ light tannins; more bright/fresh Zin fruit and less dusty/OV
character; bit on the simple side and one step above the 3Vllys Zin; another unthrilling Ponzo.
$31.50 (Z-List)
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3. Ridge Zin Jimsomare MonteBelloRidge/SantaCruzMtns (15.2%; 100% Zin; 15 brls; bttld April 2016; 16 mo. in
Am.oak; Drk: 2/16-2/23-2/24: EB) 2014: Very dark color; beautiful briary/blackberry/Zin/quie spicy some
dusty/OV very light vanilla/Am.oak quite high-toned complex nose; fairly tart bright/very spicy/briary/
blackberry/raspberry/Zin/briary very light Am.oak quite dusty/OV beautiful flavor w/ modest tangy tannins;
very long/lingering bright/briary/very spicy/blackberry/Zin/raspberry finish w/ modest tannins; needs a
few more yrs yet; lots of high-toned/briary Zin fruit w/ lots of dusty/OV character; a beautiful classic
Jimsomare Zin. $30.00
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4. Ridge Zin LyttonEstate/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (76% Zin/24% PS; 14.7%; 49 brls; bttld 2/15; Drk: 11/14-11/24:
JO; 3% water addition, tartaric acid addition) Healdsburg 2013: Dark color; fairly strong quite spicy blackberry/
Zin/raspberry some vanilla/Ridge oak bit milky/earthy attractive nose; bit soft light earthy/dusty fairly strong
blackberry/raspberry/Zin/lightly spicy flavor w/ light slightly drying tannins; long fairly strong blackberry/
raspberry/bit spicy light vanilla/oak finish w/ light bit astringent tannins; a rather pleasant Ridge LS Jr.
but not the strong spiciness of the actual LS Zin; a step up above the 3Vllys. $30.60 (ATP)
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5. Ridge LyttonSprings DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (69% Zin/18% PS/11% Carignane; 14.4%; bttld Jan 2016; Drk:
9/15-9/25: JO) 2014: Med.dark color; very strong very spicy/classic LS/blackberry/raspberry/Zin light
smokey/toasty/oak some dusty/OV bit complex nose; fairly tart very spicy/LS Zin/blackberry/raspberry light
smokey/oak bit dusty/OV bit complex flavor w/ some tangy tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/
raspberry/very spicy light smokey/oak finish w/ some brisk tannins; still needs more age; a pretty classic LS
Zin w/ more smokey/oak and some complexity. $40.00
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6. Ridge LyttonSprings DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (74% Zin/16% PS/8% Carignane/2% Mataro; 14.5%;
bttld January 2017; Drk: 11/16-11/26: JO; 0.6% water addition) 2015: Med.dark color; strong very spicy/raspberry/
blackberry/classic LS Zin some dusty/OV rather bright/vibrant very light vanilla/oak lovely nose; very tart very
spicy/bright/raspberry/blackberry/Zin light vanilla light dusty/OV flavor w/ modest brisk tannins; very long/
lingering bright/raspberry/blackberry/very spicy/high-toned bit dusty/OV light vanilla/oak finish w/ modest brisk
tannins; another classic LS Zin w/ more bright/spicy fruit and just a tad lighter. $36.00 (Z-List)
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7. Ridge Zin EastBench DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (100% Zin; 14.9%; bttld 08/2017; Drk: 6/17-6/25: JO; tartaric acid,
0.8% water addt) 2016: Med.dark color; very strong vanilla/Am.oak light spicy/raspberry/Zin bit simple nose;
pleasant raspberry/blackberry/Zin quite vanilla/Am.oak somewhat simple/pleasant flavor w/ light smooth tannins;
med.long pleasant raspberry/blackberry/Zin slight spicy/earthy finish w/ light tannins; a pleasant enough
light-weight Zin but on the simple side and only a small step above the 3Vllys. $32.00 (Z-List)
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8. Ridge Zin PasoRobles BenitoDusiRanch (100% Zin; 14.6%; bttld: 11/17; Drk: 8/17-8/25: EB) 2016: Dark color; rather
dusty/OV rather plummy/slight jammy/blackberry/Zin/quite spicy/ripe lovely nose; lightly tart strong plummy/Paso
Zin/bit jammy/ripe strong blackberry/boysenberry/spicy rather dusty/OV flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long
strong blackberry/PasoZin/spicy/plummy rather dusty/OV very light Am.oak finish w/ modest ripe/soft tannins;
a bit lighter weight & more balanced and not as jammy/overripe as previous Dusi Zins; one of the better young
Dusis of recent yrs; quite a tasty classic Paso Zin. $35.00 (Z-List)
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9. Ridge Zin HookerCreek SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (BedrockVnyd; 96% Zin+ 2% AlicanteBouschet/2% PS; 14.5%;
42 brls; bttld 08/2017; Drk: 6/17-6/24: JO; 0.75% watter addtn, 0.025 gm/100 ml tartaric addtn) Healdsburg
2016: Med.dark color; quite classic SV/blackberry/Zin/rather spicy some earthy/dusty/OV very light vanilla/Am.oak
slight plummy fairly lush nose; fairly tart structured some earthy/dusty/OV classic SonomaVlly Zin/blackberry/
very spicy light Am.oak balanced/rich/lush some complex flavor w/ modest smooth/ripe tannins; very long/lingering
classic SV Zin/blackberry/spicy some dusty/OV modest vanilla/Am.oak finish w/ some smooth/ripe tannins; a very
classic SV Zin balanced & structured; seems better & more distinctive SV Zin than the '15, but not up to the
level of the Bedrock/Carlisle ones; a very good Ridge Zin at the level of the LS or Geyserville. $35.00 (Z-List)
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10. Ridge Geyserville (73% Zin/17% Carignane/7% PS/3% AlicanteBouschet; 14.5%; bttld: Dec 2017; Drk: 8/17-8/32:
EB) Cupertino 2016: Dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/black cherry bit sauvage some Am.oak/vanilla
very perfumey/aromatic almost exotic complex beautiful nose; slightly tart very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/
cherry fairly dusty/OV/slight earthy light vanilla/Ridge oak very perfumey/exotic structured very balanced flavor
w/ modest ripe/gentle tannins; very long/lingering very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy fairly dusty/OV
some vanilla/Ridge oak very aromatic finish w/ modest ripe tannins; almost not recognizable as Geyserville
because of the exotic aromatics; another beautiful Geyserville that's drinkable now but will only get better.
$44.00 (Z-List)
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11. Ridge Zin PaganiRanch/SonomaVlly (80% Zin/17% AlicanteBouschet/3% PS; 14.8%; bttld April 2016; Drk: 3/16-
3/24-3/26: EB; Calcium Carbonate added) 2014: Very dark color; very strong boysenberry/blackberry/Zin/very spicy
bit sauvage/arthy/licorice/AB some smokey/oak rather dusty/OV complex nose; slightly tart very strong boysenberry/
ripe/blackberry/Zin/very spicy some rustic/AB/licorice rather smokey/oak fairly dusty/earthy/OV complex bit
rustic flavor w/ ample ripe bit rough tannins; very long strong boysenberry/blackberry/Zin bit rustic/sauvage/
AB/licorice finish w/ ample bit rough/ripe tannins; not quite the intensity of te '15 but still an outstanding
Pagani. $40.00
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12. Ridge Zin PaganiRanch SonomaVlly (83% Zin/10% AlicanteBouschet/7% PS; 15.0%; bttld April 2017;
Drk: 2/17-2/27-2/29: EB) 2015: Very dark/near black color; very intense boysenberry/ripe/blackberry/Zin/licorice
bit jammy rather earthy/dusty/OV some smokey/Rige oak huge fruit complex nose; bit soft intense boysenberry/ripe/
blackberry/Zin bit pungent/licorice/AB fairly dusty/OV/earthy bit sauvage/rustic/earthy some vanilla/Ridge oak bit
ripe/jammy fairly complex flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long/lingering intense boysenberry/ripe/blackberry/
Zin/licorice rather dusty/OV/earthy/bit rustic some Ridge/oak finish w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; a real bruiser
of a Pagani that wows by its intensity of fruit. $36.00 (Z-List)
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More stuff from the alt-BloodyPulpit:
1. Jimsomare: This is the only Zin Ridge now makes from the SCMtns. It's from the old Zin vines on the lower/
Jimsomare Ranch. There's not a whole lot on the Ridge WebSite about Jimsomare, since it's now all lumped
into the MonteBello vnyd. Even more bizarre, the Vivino WebSite rates the 2017 Jimsomare Zin as the best
Jimsomare yet, 5*'s. It is still in barrel.
It is a Zin that's only offered to ATP club members because of its scarcity. This '14 is the most recent
release. My experience is that the Jimsomare Zins are consistently right up there with the best of the
flagship Ridge Zins. More of the old-timey Ridge Zin character.
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2. HookerCreek: Ridge likes to use historical names on their wines (hence Mataro rather than Mourvedre). So this
Zin from the BedrockVnyd, they choose the name HookerCreek because of the stream that runs thru the property
named after the original owner, CivilWar General Joe Hooker; not because they were worried about promoting
the BedrockVnyd. I thought this '16 version was a real step up over the '15.
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3. These are the first of the Ridge '16 releases. I was impressed. They're hitting on all cylinders these days.
Tom