WTN: Ridge Carignane BuchignaniRanch '16...(short/boring)

Tried this last night:
1. Ridge Carignane BuchignaniRanch/AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (100% Hillside Grown; OldVine Carignane; 13.7%; 59 brls;
bttld 08/17; Front/Top/House blocks; Drk: 6/17-6/22: JO) 2016: Med.dark color; quite fragrant/perfumed very strong cherry/Carignane/very spicy some blackberry/Zin-like slight rustic/earthy rather dusty/OV some vanilla/signature Ridge Am.oak quite attractive nose; some tart/tangy strong bright/cherry/Carignane strong dusty/OV some vanilla/Am.oak bit rough/rustic some complex flavor w/ light bit bitey tannins; very long bright/cherry/Carignane/spicy bit earthy/rustic rather dusty/OV some vanilla/Am.oak finish w/ light rough/coarse tannins; one of the best Ridge Carignanes of late. $31.00 (ATP)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Ridge Carignane: I've long given Eric & Paul a hard time about the Ridge Carignanes. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Carignane has a rough/coarse character that I just don't care for. However, over the last few vintages, John has managed to fashion quite a nice canvas purse out of a sows's ear. He seems to be doing a better job at the tannin management of the wine. The wine, though not having the high-toned character of their Zins, they don't seem to have the aggressive/coarse/rough tannins they used to have. Not yet at the level of their signature Zins, but moving in the right direction, anyway.
Tom

Interesting, Tom. I've had a different take on the Ridge Carignane: early on in my ATP membership, which was also early on in their production of that wine -- hey, I've followed it from the very start! -- I really enjoyed it, partly because it was one of the only Ridge wines, maybe the only one, to see no new wood at all, which I thought made the wine really stand out in the ATP lineup, and let the underlying flavor of the grape shine through. That changed after about 2006-2007, as the wine started to see between 10-20% new oak, and the average age of the older barrels they were using came down. I never found those older wines harshly tannic -- quite to the contrary! But maybe the difference between us is just that I kinda like Carignane....

(I haven't tried it since about 2013,I should say....)