TN: Ridge Geyserville 1968-79

RB’s group is having a 5 part series of Geyserville from 1968 to the present. Unfortunately, there was no '73 in part 1 (greatest Geyserville ever). One attendee has some in his cellar and said if he had known there was that hole, he would’ve brought one. Another attendee brought the '68 which he purchased on release.

Overall, a very fine group of wines. Only one (1972) was pretty far over the hill. Even it had a bit of fruit sweetness left. 1977 Late Harvest (16.2% alc) , although quite sound, was not to my taste. Porty and alcoholic.

The three stars were '68 (13.8%), '75 Late Picked (14.7%) and '78 Late Picked (14.9%). '68 showed brambly and spice notes. Very long and balanced. '75 was fragrant, tasted of sweet cherries, and was very graceful. '78 was easily the WOTN. Blackberries and spice, still had good acidity, very complex. A beauty.

As far as the rest…

'79 (13.7%) was very sweet, almost too sweet (Jolly Ranchers sweet). Plump and a bit short. '76 (13.8%) had coconut elements and a touch of VA. Lighter-styled and nice blackberry note. '74 (13.9%) was very coconut-y. Some sweet fruit notes, but dropped off the cliff from mid-palate. '70 (15.6%) had too much VA and definitely showed the alcohol.

1980-7 tonight.

Thanks for the TN’s. Do you find the Geyserville’s have a longer life than the other Ridge Zins? My limited experience suggests the Geyerservilles need more time in the bottle before they’re ready to drink, so I was wondering if that translates on the back end of the wine’s life.

Five pretty good nights though I was hoping to read notes on a good 1973! A very good 1990 can get you close.

The older Lytton Springs Zins generally hold up pretty well, but it’s been a while since I’ve had any. Montebello Zins did, too. Hmm, I wonder if Ross has enough of those to do a vertical?

'90 and '91 should be in part 3.

Five plus years ago I attended a tasting where the 72 Geyserville was the unanimous wine of the night in a group of Geyservilles and Lytton Springs. TN: 17 Vintages of Ridge Zinfandels+more (eRP Archive) - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers. I guess we had it at the right time.

David

Note that preferences were all over with these wines, with all but one of the nine getting at least one first place vote. While Larry and some others may have shied away from the very ripe '77, it was our group’s (and my) #2 wine. There’s a chance a '67 and/or '73 will show up at some point in the series.

Here’s Dave Tong’s notes: Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley Wines: Almost complete Ridge Geyserville vertical - part 1

And mine:

Ridge '68 Geyserville (Sonoma County)
Nose - soft, fruitcake and tobacco.
Light tart tobacco-y red fruit, strawberry and cinnamon. 92 pts

Ridge '70 Geyserville (Sonoma County)
Nose - black cherry, dark chocolate, smooth, cinnamon.
Super-smooth, sweet black cherry, quite ripe, touch of raisin, hint of fudge. 89 pts

Ridge '72 Geyserville (Sonoma County)
Nose - cherry wood, toasty baguette, redwood, haw fruit.
Cherry, haw, toasty baguette, clean, hint of tobacco. 92 pts

Ridge '74 Geyserville (Sonoma County)
Nose - sweet red cherry, mint and dill, touch of fudge.
Sandalwood, red cherry, lemon zest and pith, fudge, tangello. 91 pts

Ridge '75 Geyserville Late Picked (Sonoma County)
Nose - tobacco ash, black olive, funky leather.
Suede with cherry, redwood, lime zest, hint of barnyard. 90 pts

Ridge '76 Geyserville (Sonoma County)
Nose - dusky cola, dark cocoa, dill, cherry.
Dark dusky mahogany, ripe black cherry, hints of cinnamon hard candy and lime zest. 91 pts

Ridge '77 Geyserville Late Harvest (Sonoma County)
Nose - sweet strawberry, cocoa, brandied cherry.
Sweet delicate strawberry and cherry syrup, allspice and redwood. 93 pts

Ridge '78 Geyserville Late Picked (Sonoma County)
Nose - toasted baguette, summer savory, cherry.
Full lovely savory spice mahogany, red cherry, redwood. Still young and continued to improve over time. 95 pts

Ridge '79 Geyserville (Sonoma County)
Nose - sweet pickle, cherry, silky.
Spicy cedary cherry, cinnamon, fresh/vibrant, hints of tangerine juice and zest. 92 pts

That’s a testament to consistency, given the scores (lower scores might suggest that we simply see homogeneity in antiquity - i.e. old wines all taste old). These sorts of things have me in no hurry to drink up my older Lytton Springs, Lytton Estate, Geyserville, Jimsomare, and Pagani Ranch. Many of them shine at a particular point in their youth, but I find that window sometimes hard to locate without a lot of sampling (a problem I also have with young pinots).

Appreciate the notes on all of these.


Cheers,
fred