Tom Hill will be happy to hear that he can now order this on line.
Highly Anticipated Release - Adelaida White Rhône.
50% Grenache Blanc, 25% Picpoul, 25% Roussanne
First Vintage, Only 20 Barrels Produced
Looking forward to trying this.
yes!
Was happy to see this too. Will definitely add to my next order.
This seems like a good place to announce that in the last year I’ve fallen in love with Picpoul. Had a bunch - so nice and pleasing and crazy cheap. Oh, and this wine sounds fantastic.
Love to see Ridge expanding upon their rhone program. Dave Gates has been on the board with me at the Rhone Rangers for a number of years and is certainly committed to these fantastic varieties. It will be interesting to see if this is a ‘one off’ or if they continue to expand upon this - I’ll see Dave next month at our next board meeting and will certainly ask away 
And not a ‘small’ bottling - ‘only’ 20 barrels = approx. 500 cases.
Cheers.
Price?
$30
Yup, Jason…the Picpoul contributes mostly to the structure and mouthfeel, but the aromatics speak mostly of GB/Rouss.
I assume you also like The TablasCreek Picpoul??
Tom
Tom, honestly haven’t had it. All I’ve tried so far have been French. Will seek the Tablas Creek one out next time I’m back in the States (though some Tablas Creek does make it over here, so maybe one will sneak in).
I was curious to see what type, if any, oak they used, and the treatment:
Fermentation: 100% direct-to-press whole cluster fermentation. Natural primary finished in January 2019, secondary finished by end of March 2019. 90% barrel-fermented and aged; 10% concrete fermented and aged.
Barrels: 22% air-dried french oak barrels, 78% air-dried american oak barrels, 10% concrete (barrel age: 21% new, 11% one year-old, 30% two years-old, 10% four years-old, and 28% five years-old).
Aging: Eight months in barrel
Any other Rhone Rangers using American oak?
I dunno.
I fell for a case of the ‘15 Lytton Estate House TOM Hill bottling because they claimed it was a one-off deal and the price with my club discount was an imminently reasonable (given the track record of the winery) $29.75/bottle.
What I dunno about is the sudden deluge of surprising new bottlings. Are the Japanese equity holders looking for some higher profits with increased product and production or is this purely the result of non-nefarious creative exploration on the part of the winemakers and management?
Don’t get me wrong; I voted with my wallet. The track record of the winery and the reasonable pricing leads me in that direction. But I’ve been wrong before.
Years ago Adam Tolmach offered a mouvedre rose’ at a very reasonable price. I bought a case thinking it had to be good. To the very last bottle, they were boring and brought no joy regardless of gorgeous days out on the patio meant for rose’ enjoyment. These things happen.
Robert,
Not that I’m aware of here in the US - at least not to this extent. Some will use American Oak on Petite Sirah, and a few with use others on Grenache from time to time, but these are exceptions, not the rule.
Cheers.
Mitch,
The new rhone bottlings, which I’m not sure are ‘one offs’ or permanent adds to the line, seem to be aimed at the retail market, not direct to consumer. Perhaps they are trying to leverage their name in the marketplace to gain more shelf space, and compete with the likes of Tablas Creek and Qupe? Just a thought . . .
But you are right - the wines need to be good and distinctive or why put them out there? My guess is that they feel that they are well worth the $$$ so have no problem putting them out there for distribution - now the market will determine if they are successful or not.
Cheers.
Have you tried the Highlawn and Cellars 33 Picpouls? Two very different takes from the same vineyard, same pick day, made in the same facility. The Highlawn is lean and flinty, while the Cellars 33 is round and purdy.
Agreed, and I voted with my wallet and bought both. I prefer the lightness of the Highlawn but they are both yummy wines.
Serious question: If almost 80% of the barrels they’re using are two years old or older or concrete (per Ridge), does American or French really matter, flavor-wise? At what age do barrels become “neutral” aging vessels and cease imparting any flavor characteristics?
For instance, Lagier Meredith buys barrels that are three years old and describes them as “neutral.” In the case of this wine, 48% of the aging vessels are either concrete or older than the one’s LM buys.
-af
I have no clue where along a spectrum - or if - any barrel becomes neutral, but I’m not sure if I have had a Ridge that did not show its American oak. There are gradations, some attributable to maturation, some perhaps attributable to less of the oak cut being new, but it’s always there, at least to me. It’s part of the Ridge/Draper signature.
The ‘challenge’ with American Oak is that, in general, even older barrels tend to produce that tell tale vanilla/coconut/dill quality that the type of oak is known for due to the very tight grains American oak contains. This tends not to be the case with French oak, though - ‘older’ barrels tend not to impart ‘oaky’ qualities into the wine.
One also has to look at the term ‘neutral’ though - a two year old heavy toasted French oak barrel can still have an ‘oaky’ impact on a wine, whereas a 5 or 6 year old one will not. The term is very loosely used.
Hope that helps . . .
Cheers.
Just by way of example, the LRA 904 that most everyone can agree shows that American oak profile utilizes 4-year old barrels, but the wine stays there for 4 years. By 4-year old, I think they are implying it was used 4 times before, but cannot be sure.
What is LRA 904 stand for? And 4 year old barrels can be used anywhere from 1-4 times depending upon their standard practices.
Cheers