My wife made beef kabobs last night while I was out on my bike so when it came time to eat I looked for a bottle of Bordeaux and found a bottle of Ridge SCM cab and figured it would do. As an aside, am I the only one who gets really worried I might be opening a MB unintentionally and triple-checks? Anyway, it poured as youthfully purple as a 2015. I am not going to lay claim that it was a “Zowie” or a “Wowsers” or a “Jeepers” but it was surprisingly good nonetheless. When I open a Calif Cab in my cellar-I don’t buy trophies-I worry about the black olive tapenade and astringent streak coming to the fore. Same with my Bordeaux. That element was in perfect check, not at the forefront but playing nicely in the background. The mouthfeel was soft but there was plenty of subtle, fine grip. Grip is so important. Tension too. Did I taste sense of place? No. But the balance was impeccable. It’s not a thought provoking wine but it’s hardy simple. I don’t score but Dan Kravitz would have perhaps given it a 90.03. I do assign grades and for longevity, value, and satisfaction of ownership/patience paid, it gets a solid A. I had it open for five hours and noticed little change over that time. Plenty of tartrate crystals though.
WOWZA! That sounds deliciously AMAZEballs.
Thanks for the note!
Ridge anything seems to age very very well. Given that it was SCM Cab and only a teenager its not surprising.
Wish I had some of that left.
i’m loving these wines - found some random 2002 home ranch and 2004 scm in a wine store this week and both were excellent.
1992 Ridge, Santa Cruz, Cab picked-up at auction in a mixed case was excellent last year.
Agree with comment that Ridge does just about everything well.
I did not pay attention to the bottle and so I am truly going off memory, but I seem to recall that petit verdot was heavy in the mix in '99. I think of petit verdot as somehow resembling that weird brown fur on moose antlers (no, I did not smoke a lot of dope in college). It is soft, velvety, and just ever so slightly funky. Whether my memory is right or wrong, the '99 had that quality. Again, the amazing thing was how youthful it was.