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 We drank a few other notables besides the Rochiolis with Bree while he was in town, and of course, you just had to know that there'd be some Mr. Ridge in the mix. We had this first bottle on his first night in town to celebrate a certain birthday.  1991
Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Merlot, 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon,
12.9% alc.:Clean dark garnet color with no rust to speak of; slightly vegetal nose with a hint of dill and a bit of bell pepper. Flavors echo with a rich core of black currant fruit holding it all together. Still going strong after 18 years; soft, smooth and in no danger of fading any time soon; Bree says a bottle tasted less than a year ago was even silkier than this, with less bell pepper. I don't always like the bell pepper component, and this one falls just short of being objectionable for my tastes. Find this wine I opened the following wine to give Bree an idea of what Jim Lester is producing in southeastern Michigan, but we didn't tell him what it was right away.  2002
Wyncroft Lake Michigan Shore "Shou" Avonlea Vineyard: Almost
inky in color, with just a hint of bell pepper over deep, dark earthy
black currant fruit; Bree added impressions of “aquarium” and “the
aromatics of neutrality.” The rich fruit emerges with air, and a note of
fennel adds interest, but it remains slightly astringent on the finish.
This is a wine that will show best with a nice medium rare steak, which
is probably why Bree opines “I suspect it's probably a dog shit
French wine.” He also found it “a little muddled,” saying it “lacks
focus,” but I like this wine and respectfully disagree.
Find this wineOur dear friend Rebecca Poling brought the following selection over to share with us and see what it's all about. |
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 2007
En Route Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 14.4% alc.: Showing
clean, pretty color and flavors and aromas that one might expect from
Russian River Pinot; ripe, pretty sweet cherry fruit accented with spice
and mushroom. Good depth and structure here, with just a little heat
from the alcohol. Bree thought perhaps that “there's more there than
it's showing right now,” and is “in an awkward place.” Still, we all
agreed that it has the goods to provide pleasurable drinking 6 months to
a year down the road and beyond. From the folks who bring you Far Niente
and Nickel & Nickel.
Find this wineThe following two from Mr. Ridge were sourced from the south block of the Lytton Estate Vineyard, just west of Norton Ranch. They are the only two vintages of Maple Vineyard Zinfandel that Ridge has made to date. They are rather different in character from each other, but both are still relatively youthful in their own way.  1992
Ridge Dry Creek Zinfandel Maple Vineyard, 15.2% alc.: Showing
clean, dark color, with flavors and aromas of soft cedar, black
raspberry and even a little earthy beetroot, this is still well
structured for further development, but in a beautiful place right now.
Old school Zin the way we like it!
Find this wine1993 Ridge Dry Creek Zinfandel Maple Vineyard, 14.9% alc.: Clean dark color here, and still showing some Draper perfume, with sweet oak, raspberry and black raspberry shaded with some lavender, a little earth, some nice spicy overtones and a hint of dill. The oak isn't quite fully integrated yet, and the wine is well structured for some years of development, but it's very pretty and almost primary when compared to the '92. Find this wine Reporting from Day Twah, George Heritier HOME || HAIL, HAIL || MORE WINES WITH BREE || A FEVER DREAM: RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL DUDE || BREE'S TAKE |
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