These wines are all from their Advanced Tasting Program (ATP).
2018 Ridge Zinfandel Rancho Lambert Vineyard – Dark crimson in color. 15% ABV. 95% Zinfandel and 5% Petite Sirah. Gorgeous nose of black fruits, earth and pepper. Medium body with great acidity. Dark fruited, Claret style Zinfandel. Black cherry, black raspberry, plums and pepper on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish. Super Zinfandel from young vines in the heart of Dry Creek Valley. Best over the next 3-5 years. My rating: 92 points.
2017 Ridge Zinfandel Hooker Creek Vineyard – Purple in color. 14.9% ABV. 94% Zinfandel, 4% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet. From 127 year old vines planted near Hooker Creek north of Glen Ellen. Savory nose of black fruits, plums, earth and pepper. Medium body with ample acidity. Rustic, Claret style Zinfandel. Blackberry, black cherry, bittersweet chocolate and pepper on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish with gritty tannins. Unique Zinfandel that will age well. Best over the next 4-7 years. My rating: 91 points.
2018 Ridge Zinfandel Guadagni Vineyard – Dark purple in color. 14.9% ABV. 80% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Sirah. From century old vines in Dry Creek Valley. Glorious nose of red and black fruits, citrus and earth. Medium to full bodied with perfect acidity. Lush and bursting with fruits. Blackberry liqueur, raspberry and blood orange on the palate. The finish is long and supple. Delicious Zinfandel. Best over the next 2-4 years. My rating: 93 points.
Question for you, Tom…I don’t notice any mention of oak in your notes. Is it something you aren’t sensitive to, or are these less American oak/dill-laden than most of the recent Ridge Zins?
Not answering for Tom but I am in the ATP program. I’ve found the oak levels to be quite variable across the lineup. Some bottles it’s quite overt. And others I cannot detect anything that seems like new oak. I wish for instance they would cut way back on new oak on the Mazzoni. That’s some great fruit that doesn’t carry a ton of new oak really well.
I would also point out that some fruit soaks up new oak much better than others.
I suspect sometimes they are using some of these wines to make new oak into used oak. Of course that is complete speculation.
Thanks for posting this link. Hooker Creek and Bedrock are indeed one in the same. I assume there is some buy in from Morgan on this but don’t know the back story.
I certainly pick up on oak in Zinfandel or any wine for that matter. With that in mind I disagree that most of the recent Ridge Zins are dill-laden like you suggest. Do you have specific wines in mind? Lytton Springs, Pagani, Geyerserville?
Dill is more something you find in kiln dried oak - whiskey barrels. Before Paul Draper that was all American oak. He worked with several coopers getting them to air dry, which resolves it. Some old school Rioja producers use kiln dried oak as part of their signature, notably Muga. But, yeah, some Ridge wines approach a millionth the level of dill as Muga.
I just generally have found the Ridge Zins, at least after 1995 or so, to be too oaky, and with a lot of American oak/dill/whiskey notes, which I don’t want in my wine. I got out of ATP around 2000 or so, so it’s just been normal retail releases that I’ve tried since then, so a combo of Geyser, Lytton, Paso, etc. I just wondered if maybe they have backed off recently since I probably haven’t tried anything more recent than a '16.
I got to say, I get 36 month aged American from Nadalie and their Symphony series and they’re very subtle. Aging really mellows the wood. None of that dill or coconut stuff going on. I really don’t think American oak deserves the stigma that’s attached - you can do such nice and subtle additions to your wine without going over the top. I honestly think, and agree with Ridge, that American oak is fantastic if you just age it and treat it right.