“Balance is everything”
Paul Draper
I had the honor to meet Paul Draper at the end of 2015 for a private RIDGE workshop in Berlin. He is a very charismatic person and a great storyteller.
2004 RIDGE Monte Bello
Based on 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and decanted for 3h.
Here we have a beautifully balanced, polished, fresh and elegant Bordeaux blend from California. Spicebox, black currant, cedar and silky tannins. Thank god, no alcohol or oak monster. And it definitely paid-off that Paul Draper is a fan of early harvesting in order to preserve freshness.
After 3h in the decanter it was a great pleasure to drink it together with a good piece of meat, but I will wait 5 more years for my next bottle.
93/100
Cheers,
Martin
Thanks for the note.
Your cork picture reminds me that my '12 MB has the cork soaked about 1/4th the way up the cork. Does that indicate heat damage?
I don’t think so. But I would assume that there are some real cork experts on this board to answer your question.
I don’t know their protocol, but at bottling, most wineries palletize the wines with the bottle necks down. The corks were just compressed and inserted, and some can need more time to expand and adjust to make a complete seal. That means an occasional bottle may have that happen, which is wine seeping into a temporary seam between the cork and glass.
Cork manufacturers recommend leaving the bottles neck up for some number of hours, then flipping all the cases neck down. Imagine the logistics of that. Practically no one does that. Some just stack 'em neck up, believing they’ll be fine for years that way. No leakage risk and more stability.
“Balance is everything”
Paul Draper
I just looked at my old notes from end of 2015 when Paul Draper visited Berlin and found that we had a 1995 MONTE BELLO which was such young& fresh and elegant.
Cheers,
Martin
04 has been wonderful from 375s for awhile now.