TN: Two New Ridge Zins...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

My Ridge ATP/Z-List arrived Fri, so decided to Pobega:

  1. Ridge DemosteneRanch AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (50% Zin/Carignane; 13.0%; 29 brls; bttld Nov 2017; 95 yr old
    vnyd; Drk: 8/17-8/23-8/24: JO) 2016    : Very dark color; very strong/intense blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/quite spicy/bit black cherry cola/bit licorice some dusty/OV modest Am.oak/vanilla/Ridge oak fairly complex quite lovely nose; lightly tart/tangy very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/ripe/bit licorice/quite spicy strong vanilla/Ridge oak/toasty some earthy/dusty/OV fairly structured flavor w/ some rugged/chewey tannins; very long/lingering very strong blackberry/Zin/boysenberry/ripe/quite spicy fairly dusty/OV strong vanilla/Ridge oak bit earthy good depth rather structured fairly rich/lush finish w/ some ripe/chewey tannins; needs another 4-6 yrs; some like the LS Zin but not as bright/zippy; a terrific addition to the Ridge portfolio. $35.00/ $31.50 (ATP)
  1. Ridge Geyserville AlexVlly/SonomaCnty (68% Zin/18% Carignane/12% PS/2% AlicanteBouschet; 14.5%;
    bttld Jan 2019; Drk: 8/18-8/33: EB) 2017    : Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Zin/very spicy/bit black cherry cola light vanilla/Ridge oak/bit smokey some earthy/dusty/OV slight sauvage/rustic fairly complex nose; lightly tart very strong blackberry/Zin/ripe/very spicy some vanilla/Ridge oak quite structured great depth bit complex flavor w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; very long/lingering very strong blackberry/Zin/very spicy/bit licorice/black cherry cola fairly dusty/OV modest smokey/Ridge oak/vanilla quite structured some complex finish w/ some ripe tannins; a terrific new Geezer that should go out many yrs. $45.00/ $40.50 (Z-List)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. Demostene: This is one David Demostene, who operated SausalVnyd wnry from 1956 on. This was purchased from the family in 2012 by SilverOak, who has a vnyd nearby. Most people thought the Zin was doomed. But they only planted to younger vines to Cabernet, but retained the old block of Zin/Carignane…to their credit. Since SilverOak doesn’t plan to do a Zin, Ridge was able to get the grapes from this ancient block.
    This is a new vnyd for the Ridge portfolio. When they bring out a new vnyd, my reaction is often…meh…just another pretty face of a Ridge Zin that under-delivers. This one was not the case. I was mightly impressed by this Zin…at the level of the LS/Geyserville/Pagani/Jimsomare. I’m going ack for more.
  1. Geezerville: Another of this new release that mightly impressed me. Seems to show more pure Zin/blackberry fruit and not as mussed up by the Carignane that often gives it a bit of a rustic character. This is a pure focused expression of OV Zin.
    Both of these wines impressed me. They both showed a more intense expression of Zin fruit and less of the usually dominant Ridge winemaking & Am.oak. If you will, less Ridge and more towards Carlisle/Bedrock/O&F part of the Zin spectrum.
    But…then…what would I know? Only been tasting Ridge Zins for 50 yrs!!
    Tom
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That’s still a good bit of Carignane, and the fair dollop of Petite Sirah in the Geezer.

Having dinner with Eric Baugher this coming Friday. Probably going to ask him about their overall direction with oak.

3

Very curious what he’ll say. It seems from the last two vintages they’re backing off their amounts of new oak.

4

Thanks for the tasting notes!

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Just an FYI Tom, after the 2016 harvest, Silver Oak ripped out all the remaining old vines on the Sausal property.

6

Mike is so correct here.

Additionally, Sausal was founded in the early 1970’s after Dave’s dad, Leo passed. They had operated Soda Rock Winery to whom we sold grapes for many, many years. Dave’s mom, Rose, founded Sausal following family differences on the Ferrari side after Leo’s death. We sold them grapes until they scaled back to estate only in the early 1980’s.

I think Dave’s niece has been selling fruit to Ridge from older vines she inherited from her dad, Ed. Dave has his own vineyard and may possibly be in the mix. I’m not sure. So the Demostene vineyard bottling may still be made, yet from different vines from before, for what that is worth. This vineyard is adjacent to ours and on the downhill slope from the bench we are situated on, going all the way to highway 128. The really good soil extends through their property as well as into Silver Oak’s property to the south near Soda Rock Winery.

F

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Thanks, Mike. You must have shed a few tears?
Tom

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Thanks, Fred, for the inside details. Leo was the Demostene I recalled and once visited.
Tom

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I also thought the Demostene is quite good. I wouldn’t call it a ‘Zin’ though being that it’s 50/50 with Carignan. I don’t always go in for the extra wines from the ATP offerings but I couldn’t resist something with that much Carignan.

That’s a real heartbreak if this is a one off due to the vines being ripped out. Some damn good fruit went into that. But I wouldn’t agree with it approaching monster Bedrock territory. This was allowed to express without a ton of extraction. That’s one of the biggest reasons I stay on the ATP list. They still let the vintages go as they may for the most part. I can’t blame them for using some new oak here and there. Those barrels are not going to ‘un-new’ themselves and I also think there has been a huge overreaction to new oak that we should all let go now that RMP is fading out.

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Cris, you seem to be implying that Bedrock wines are “monsters” by way of being overly extracted to the point that they lose their expressive quality. I’d respectfully disagree. For my taste, the Bedrock wines I’ve had haven’t been shy about expressing Cali fruit, but they’ve actually been more structured than anything else to my taste, with more acidity and tannins (presumably from the non-Zin grapes in the field blends?) than I expected and requiring more age to fully bloom, and MTP seems quite conscious of his terroir and how his wines should be expressive of it. I’ve never had one that seemed a monster or overly extracted, but YMMV.