TN: Ridge Zin PaganiRanch '14...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

Tried this Ridge last night:

  1. Ridge Zin PaganiRanch/SonomaVlly (80% Zin/17% AlicanteBouschet/3% PS; 14.8%; bttld April 2016; Drk: 3/16-
    3/24-3/26: EB; Calcium Carbonate added; 1% water addition) 2014    : Very dark color; some overripe/milk of magnesia/intense grapey quite dusty/OV very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/very ripe classic Pagani/earthy/loamy/sauvage/rustic licorice bit complex nose; soft slight tangy/metallic very strong boysenberry/blackberry/Alicante/very ripe/licorice soft/soupy/overripe earthy/loamy quite dusty/OV very rich/lusg/off-dry(?) flavor w/ some soft/very ripe tannins; very long licorice/pungent/boysenberry/blackberry/AB/coarse dusty/loamy/sauvage rather dusty/OV finish w/ some soft very ripe tannins; a very ripe soft/soupy/coarse Zin that speaks more of Alicante than Zin; very lacking in structure; lack of structure & acidity does not bode well for this ugly duckling going out 10 yrs and becoming a beautiful swan; it has the mouthfeel of a high pH wine but the acidity seems OK; a Quasimodo wine that galumps across the palate humming dum/dum de dum/dum of Dragnet fame (that’s going back awhile); will try again in 3-4 yrs w/ low expectations. $40.00

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. This was from the Ridge Fall release & I’d not yet got around to trying it. No rush, they’re always very good and one of my favorite Ridges every year. Then I saw this comment:

Of course, I knew Brian was dead wrong…it’s Pagani…fer gawd’s sake. The nose certainly spoke of Pagani. But on the palate…it was just hard to bring myself to love this wine. Disappointing.
Jeez…sometimes bikers actually know what they’re talking about!!
Tom

2

Ouch.

3

Wow, that’s a bummer. Haven’t tried the Pagani yet but all the other Ridge 14’s I’ve had have been awesome, almost to the point where they are some of the best young Ridge wines that I’ve tasted.

Oh well. Nobody wins em all I guess.

4

Yeah, Rich…I’ve been pretty impressed w/ the Ridge '14’s as well. This Pagani may just be an abberation.
Tom

5

We recently tasted the 2014 Ridge Pagani with similar notes. Despite being a stalwart defender of Ridge (even the late-picked wines,) the Pagani was so unbalanced, I couldn’t finish my glass.

6

Thanks for the note, Tom!

Geez, first hating on Carignan, now Alicante Bouschet. Is Mourvedre next? :stuck_out_tongue:

7

Well…actually, Drew…I kinda like AlicanteBouschet. Ridge has made a few AB’s from Pagani that I liked
quite a lot for their blackness. But they didn’t age very well. Typical of tenturiers. AB has a rather coarse rustic character that has its place.
Tom

8

Wow. At 17% I’d expect the Alicante to have a big impact. Wonder what the rationale was. Look forward to trying this myself.