We tried last night w/ grilled chicken kabobs:
- Ridge Calif Zin HeartsDesireVnyd/TrentadueRanch LateHrvst (14.7%; 30 brls; Bttld: 5/97; SaH: 26.7%; RS: 1.5%; Drk: 3/97-3/02: PD) 1996: Med.dark color w/ some bricking; slight volatile/alcoholic strong very ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy slight late harvesty loads of frip/chocolaty light toasty/oak/DraperPerfume some complex nose; off-dry very ripe/overripe strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/licorice/DrPepper smooth/rich/lush slight alcoholic/overripe light vanilla/oak bit complex flavor w/ smooth/ripe tannins; rather long very ripe/overripe very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy/DrPepper bit late harvesty light vanilla/oak some complex finish w/ ripe/lush tannins;big rich/ripe/lush LateHrvst Zin that has loads of ripe/boysenberry/Zin fruit; still very much alive; much like the CarnerosCreek '76 Zins; definitely very ripe w/o straying over into the raisened/pruney side.
- Ridge Zin OldSchool SonomaCnty (78% Zin/14% Carignan/8% PS; 15.2%; 33 brls; Bttld: March 2011; Drk: 12/10-12/15-12/16-longer: EB) 2009: Dark color; strong blacvkberry/Zin/licorice/RCCola lush/spicy light vanilla/oak very attractive nose; slightly tart rich/lush blackberry/Zin/licorice/RCCola light vanilla/oak quite spicy balanced/rich/big fruit flavor w/ modest tannins; long rich/lush blackberry/Zin/boysenberry/RCCola/licorice light vanilla/oak slight tannic finish; one of the better recent ATP Zins, more than just a pretty face; no signs of 15%+ alcohol or heat or overripeness. $30.00 (ATP)
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- HeartsDesire: The original HeartsDesire vnyd was planted in the 1870’s by a friend of LutherBurbank. Ridge took cuttings from that vnyd and propagated a new block on Trentadue, from which this wine was sourced. This is, I believe, a one-of.
This btl, my last one, was my Valentine’s gift to Susan (along w/ some ChocolateSmith Chocolates). Thought it was an appropriate gift. She, in turned, gifted me w/ five pounds of beef cheeks, which we’ll have for dinner tonight. That Susan is such a romantic!!
I was expecting this last btl to be pretty shakey, if not dead and gone. It was not…it was still very much alive. It reminded me of some of the LatePicked Amador Zins that FrankMahoney/CarnerosCreek made in '76-'78.
- OldSchool: I find many/most of the Ridge ATP Zins are pretty underwhelming upon release. Pretty raspberry fruit, but just that. They sometimes/often have this strange knack of putting on weight in the btl and turning into pretty interesting Zins. And sometimes not…they just remain “pretty”. This OldSchool is one of the better Ridge ATP Zins I can recall; lots of big fruit, less of the DraperPerfume; but that classic Ridge balance & structure. Quite a nice ATP Zin from Ridge. Bravo for Eric.
Tom