THE JIMSOMARE CABERNETS 

1984 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon CP; 12.6 % alc.: Faint nose, maybe slight hints of leather, but that’s all; very nice red currant/cassis flavors with no cedar or secondary notes. Very nice claret.

1986 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon CP; 12.4 % alc.: A slight dill pickle over red currant nose and soft smooth cassis/red currant flavors. This picks up some olive/cedar/cigar box notes with a little air. Another very nice claret, just a step behind the '84.

Larry Stein

1988 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon CP; missed the alc. %, DOH!: Some cedar over subdued cassis and a touch vegetal on the nose. Good rich flavors expand and improve; very soft and nice with food. Not quite up to the last two, but still a good effort for a poor vintage.

1989 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon CP; 13.3 % alc.: Slightly weedy hint o’ chocolate nose; red currant flavors with good acidity and tannins. Decent for the vintage.

1990 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon CP; 13.6 % alc.: Draper perfume; chocolate/cassis flavors and aromas and good tannins and acidity. Very promising but needs time.

1991 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon CP; 13.3 % alc.: Bellpepper over cassis nose; rich cassis/plum flavors with tannins and acidity to burn. Give this some years yet.

From Left: Russell Briggs and Jon Cook (aka: Bigdog)

1992 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon CP; 13.1 % alc.: Chocolate/red currant/plum flavors and aromas that aren’t as substantial as I expected. Good tannins and acidity; a good but not great wine.

1993 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon ATP; 13.4 % alc.: Pretty red currant/chocolate/coffee nose; flavors echo with an added note of raspberry. Tannins need some time, but this is very pretty.

1994 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon ATP; 12.4 % alc.: Subdued nose, but pretty fruit on the palate with cassis/red currant. Tannins clamp down, but this has a bright future.

1995 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon ATP; 12.9 % alc.: A hint of bellpepper over chocolate/cassis/plum flavors and aromas, with tons o’ tannins. Excellent potential here. Dave Janelle called these last two "tannic pigs!"

From Left: Frank Joyce, Barrie Pietranico and Davie

Interestingly, 9-ball observed that the ’93 and ’94 Cabs had a toasty oak quality that the others didn’t, but when she questioned Paul Draper in that regard, he replied that these were made from different lots than the rest. He was also candid with Kim and me when we told him that the Cabs showed better than the Zins, saying, "It’s too cold to grow Zinfandel up here."

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