|
WINES FROM
THE LOST VINEYARDS
Jon (bigdog) Cook & Kira Maximovich
Paula Galleron & Joanne Van Kampen
Stuart Yaniger (top) and Jeff Howell
|
TASTING NOTES 1982 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (82 % Zinfandel, 18 % Petite Sirah, 13.2 % alc.): Upon taking his first sip of this slightly cloudy, slightly rusty ruby garnet, Bree exclaimed, "It still has fruit!" The somewhat musty nose shows a lot of secondary spices that come with age, while the plum/cedar/spice flavors finish reasonably long. More than just an "intellectual" drinking experience, this 18-year-old Zinfandel provides real pleasure. 1983 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (78 % Zinfandel, 19 % Petite Sirah, 3 % Carignane, 12.6 % alc.): A slightly darker garnet than the '82, this also showed a bit of a musty nose featuring prune and secondary spices, and nice prune/ mahogany/spice flavors. It's very smooth and has essentially a little more of everything that the previous model. 1984 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (78 % Zinfandel, 17 % Petite Sirah, 5 % Carignane, 12.9 % alc.): Upon my first whiff of this dark garnet with barely a hint of brick, I exclaimed, "Draper perfume!" Yup, 16 years old, and there it was in all its glory, with notes of raspberry/black raspberry/ blackberry/coffee and hints of cinnamon. Flavors echo and expand right on through the long finish. As Duane Dappen put it, "Good structure, no tannins and good fruit." A classic Mr. Ridge, and the only Park Muscatine that was finished that evening. 1985 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (75 % Zinfandel, 25 % Petite Sirah, 13.4 % alc.): An ever so slightly cloudy dark garnet, this doesn't show much on the nose, but has nice plum and raspberry flavors. Fully mature, with no secondary nuances, this is pleasant, but not up to the beautiful '84. 1986 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (76 % Zinfandel, 14 % Petite Sirah, 10 % Carignane, 13.7 % alc.): This pretty ruby dark garnet "has wonderful concentration," according to our host. It has a dense, almost overripe raspberry/blackberry character that is lovely, but the '84 is still the winner so far. Drank very well the following night as well. 1987 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (80 % Zinfandel, 20 % Petite Sirah, 13.3 % alc.): Barnyard and cedar dominate the nose of this ruby dark garnet, but the flavors exhibit nice plum/black raspberry with hints of secondary cedar and spice. With tannins fully resolved, this is another solid Mr. Ridge. Also drank very well the following night. 1988 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (75 % Zinfandel, 25 % Petite Sirah, 13.1 % alc.): Another ruby dark garnet with Draper perfume over plum/black raspberry/cinnamon that follow through in the flavors, this still has some tannins to resolve and good acidity. Nice, but not as substantial as the '84 and '86. 1989 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (85 % Zinfandel, 15 % Petite Sirah, 13.7 % alc.): Dark garnet with a hint of barnyard over a sub-dude black raspberry nose, this picks up nicely on the palate with flavors consistent with the last three or four vintages. It's just a little less concentrated and intense, but still a nice Ridge Zin.
1990 Ridge Howell Mountain Zinfandel Park Muscatine ATP (75 % Zinfandel, 20 % Petite Sirah, 5 % Carignane, 13.9 % alc.): The slightly overripe raspberry/blackberry/plum Draper perfume of this ruby dark garnet isn't terribly exuberant, but it is pretty. Flavors echo, with some tannins and acidity left to resolve. This is a lovely '90 Mr. Ridge that should improve for at least a few more years. This was a remarkable lineup of wines that contradicted the old adage that Zinfandel doesn't age, but then of course, very few producers do the varietal better than Ridge. Looking them over, Bree had cause to comment, "This is why I joined the ATP, to do things like this." After I finished tasting through them, however, I kicked myself repeatedly for not first sampling the '84 Ridge Monte Bello that Stuart Yaniger brought along, because no one else had made that mistake, and it had completely evaporated. I consoled mice-elf by moving on to try some examples of a varietal that had once been my favorite back in the late '70s. Last of the tasting notes . . .
|
|
|
|
Storyline: 
