Ridge finally announces expansion plans in association with the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District. 32 more acres of Monte Bello land to be planted over the next two decades. Details on 4488, the official Ridge blog.

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Web site The Daily Meal has come up with their list of the 101 best wineries in America, and not surprisingly several of them are from the Santa Cruz Mountains.

At #54 that have the legendary Mount Eden - should have been higher of course, but that's fine.
Just above at #52 is Woodside's Thomas Fogarty.
Inside the top 20 at #18 we find the idiosyncratic Randall Grahm and his Bonny Doon Winery.
And taking the #1 spot is Ridge. Congratulations!

For the full list see The Daily Meal.

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Ridge has been hosting quarterly tastings for wine bloggers for 3 years now. Tasting room manger Christopher Watkins always tries something new each time and for the most recent event he wanted to combine his love of music with his love of wine. So he came up with the novel idea of pairing wine with Jazz classics.

Now I'm no real Jazz aficionado; my dad was into big band stuff and he'd listen to the likes of Satchmo and Bird, but my tastes were more Santana and Budgie. Nevertheless I gave it a try while - more importantly - attempting to identify the four wines poured blind. If you're interested in the jazz aspect of the tasting then check out the Ridge wine blog.

Wine 1 showed lots of ripe red fruit; redcurrant, raspberry and liquorice. Incredibly rich and complex with herbal, minty notes and bags of smooth tannins. From the ripeness, complexity and the abundance of red fruits I assumed that it had to be a Zinfandel blend, but whatever it was I loved it. Eventually I guessed Geyserville; perhaps 2005.

Not even close; 2001 Monte Bello. Possibly the ripest vintage of Monte Bello ever made and recently upgraded to 99 points by Robert Parker. The clues were there in the herbal, minty and liquorice notes however I missed them because of the ripeness. Easily 96+ and insanely drinkable even at this early stage.

Wine 2 was smoky and earthy, with a hint of brett. Much lighter than the first (though not in colour), and dry with brambly black fruit and lots of tannin. Surely a Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet; doesn't seem rich enough to be Monte Bello, so probably the Estate.

Pretty near the mark; the 2000 Monte Bello. A particularly cool vintage, hence the leaner fruit. Overshadowed somewhat by the riper wines on this tasting, but still a 92 point wine that'll give many old-world wines a run for their Euro.

Wine 3 had lots of dark fruit and earth; redcurrant and wild strawberry. I thought possibly Zinfandel but for some reason I convinced myself that it was the Lytton West Syrah.

Right vineyard, wrong grape. 1999 Lytton Springs - 70% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Sirah, 10% Carignane, 3% Mataro and absolutely 0% Syrah. Very, very tasty; 95 points.

Wine 4 had a bright raspberry nose with a floral note; lots of sweet fruit and a distinctly port-like note to it. At first I was sure it was a Zinfandel, but the port note started to nag at me and I wondered if it was Grenache; it has a tendency to oxidise and is often used for port style wines such as Banyuls or Australian 'stickies'.

Should have gone with my first instinct - 1997 Geyserville, and again not a drop of Grenache. That port note is down to a particularly hot year. 74% Zinfandel, 15% Carignan, 10% Petite Sirah, 1% Mourvedre. My least favourite of the four because of that port note, but still a 92.

While Christopher digested our song pairings we moved on to three wines from Ridge's new "classic vineyards" series. These were previewed at the previous bloggers' tasting, which I missed due to being in Europe. However I tried the Cabernet at the Monte Bello components tasting (and purchased all three).

The wines fit into a pretty large market gap between Monte Bello and the rest of the Ridge range. They were created to tie in with Monte Bello's recognition by the Historic Vineyard Society, and are named after some of the early viticultural pioneers who settled the mountain prior to prohibition. They deserve a detailed article of their own, so for now here are some brief notes.

2009 Perrone Cabernet Franc
Herbal, floral nose. Young, sweet red fruit - redcurrant in particular. The most structured of the three; this needs plenty of time. Could be superb in 10+ years. 93+
2009 Klein Cabernet Sauvignon
Sweet bramble, straw nose. Beautiful rich layered black fruit Less tannic than the Perrone, and the most drinkable of the three at present. 94
2009 Torre Ranch Merlot Floral nose, with plum and bramble. Dry cocoa, black fruit, liquorice, anise. Needs time to come together. 92+

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The annual Monte Bello futures tastings are the first glimpse that many of us get at the quality of the most recent vintage. 2011 was a tough year in California; a late, wet spring delayed budbreak; rain during flowering impacted the fruit set resulting in low yields; a cool summer increased the pressure of mildew and botrytis, and also meant that many regions struggled to get fruit to ripen.

The more experienced producers are used to difficult years, and this year they needed to tap that experience. There are lots of techniques that can be used to help the vines such as green harvesting (dropping fruit to allow the rest to ripen) and leaf pulling (removing leaves that aren't wanted). Then there are high-tech solutions such as reflective sheeting to direct sunlight back up at the plants. But even if you do all the work you're still reliant on the weather to do its share, and in 2011 it wasn't exactly cooperating.

On a sunny weekend in March Ridge opened the doors to their Monte Bello Collectors and gave us a taste of 2011. Barrel samples of the four varieties that make up Monte Bello as well as a taste of the first assemblage.


2011 Petit Verdot, Olivos Block. 12.2% Alcohol
I love the nose on Petit Verdot, and I'm always disappointed when it doesn't make the final blend. It opens with bright violet and blueberry notes, but the palate is disappointingly simple; light tannic fruit. This won't be in the blend, but should add some nice aromas to the Estate blend.

2011 Cabernet Franc, North Gate Block. 12.0% Alcohol
The nose shows lots of espresso coffee beans; that comes through on the palate too. It's got a green, leafy note to it and some tart brambly fruit. These young vines won't make it into the final blend, but another parcel will.

2011 Merlot, La Vasseur Block. 12.5% Alcohol
Merlot was hit particularly hard by rain during flowering, and the yieldsa are much lower than usual. There's not much going on on the nose. In the mouth it's rustic and tannic; plenty of acidity but very little fruit. Yet another block that won't be in the Monte Bello.

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, La Vasseur Block. 12.8% Alcohol
Monte Bello has always been a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine, and this year looks like having the highest proportion of Cabernet in a good few years. But as with all the other varietal samples, this one hasn't made the cut, though is still under consideration. The nose is light, with wafer, berry and meat. On the palate it's lightweight, with flavours of blueberry, bramble, tobacco and smoke.


2011 Monte Bello, First Assemblage.
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc.
The nose is rather shy at this stage, with smoke, tobacco and berry emerging with some coaxing. There seems to be a lot less fruit than in a typical Monte Bello at this stage; instead there's lots of coffee, graphite, tannin and cocoa. It's probably going to be a long wait for this to reach its peak. 90-92

The winery was also pouring some new and current releases

2009 Monte Bello
New release. There's an odd, volatile note in the nose and it seems lighter than usual. There's plenty of red fruit and loads of tannin. Sometimes Monte Bello can be approachable on release with some air, but this one seems to need a good rest. 92+

2009 Klein Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
One of three "Classic Vineyard" wines released earlier this year - they were presented at the December bloggers' tasting, which I missed. The other two are a Perrone Vineyard Cabernet Franc and a Torre Ranch Merlot.
Nose is smoky, with plenty of berry fruit. On the palate it explodes with cassis, bramble and blueberry, with a long finish. 93+

2006 Monte Bello
I've had this a few times and it continues to delight. Stuck between two vintages that generally have been more highly regarded, the 2006 stands well. Lots of graphite, smoke and rich, smooth blackberry and blackcurrant fruit it tastes great now and will only get better. 94

2009 Estate Merlot
Ridge don't usually bottle a Merlot on its own; any that doesn't make the Monte Bello tends to end up as a significant proportion of what used to be called the Santa Cruz Mountains blend. In 2009 they had enough fruit to make two Estate wines. The Merlot has a soft, floral nose and soft yet rich fruits - black plum and blueberry. Something to drink now while you're waiting for the others to mature. 91

2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Smoky, berry nose; lovely rustic blackcurrant and bramble fruit. 92


So in conclusion, the 2011 Monte Bello will probably turn out to be a very nice wine in time. However Ridge is such a reliable producer that you can say that about almost everything they make. I may be proven wrong, but I don't see this being one of the greatest vintages; at the moment it's my least favourite since 2004 and possibly since 2000. Right now they have some excellent wines from the 2009 vintage; in addition to the ones above there are also the superb 2009 Geyserville and Lytton Springs to consider. Because of this I passed on the 2011 Monte Bello and instead bought a mixed case of 2009s.

2011 was a tough vintage for growers. It will be an even tougher vintage for sellers. I certainly don't plan on buying anything without tasting it first.

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Last weekend a few of us got together to taste through as many of the local 2007 Cabernets as we could lay our hands on. The event was organised by Paul and Stef Romero of Stefania Wine, who were curious how their wines would stand up against similar wines from the region. The answer? Very well.

The wines were served in groups of three. Most of the people were not trying to take notes, so Wes Barton and myself soon found ourselves behind the rest of the group. As such the notes are somewhat brief, and are in the order the wines were poured. As far as I'm aware none of the wines were decanted or aired prior to pouring.

Our overall impression was that 2007 resulted in some very nice wines indeed. The group favourite was the
the Martin Ranch Dos Rios Vineyard, which was showing particularly well right now. Ridge Monte Bello and Mount Eden Estate did well as you might expect, despite being very young, and the Stefania Santa Cruz Mountains was just outside the top three.

2007 Mount Eden Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nice complex nose - initially cassis, mint and smoke with some mushroom emerging. That mushroom and cassis showed up again on the palate, with drying tannins on the finish. Good depth, and lots of structure.

2007 Cooper Garrod George's Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose was sweeter than #1, with sherbert and bramble.Fruity with bramble and boysenberry, plenty of tannin
eucalyptus coming out time.

2007 Chaine d'Or, Santa Cruz Mountains
Aromas of raw meat and dust.Tight, dry. grippy tannins - clearly needed air. Noticeable green pepper note, with some nice brambly fruit.

2007 Kathryn Kennedy 'Small Lot', Santa Cruz Mountains
Soft nose with nice black and red fruits. Smooth fruit - redcurrant and blackcurrant. I was thinking Saratoga or Santa Clara Valley.

2007 Ridge Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Bright berry nose - blackberry and blackcurrant. Lots of blackcurrant cordial, tannin and - particularly - oak. Way too young.

2007 Martin Ranch Thérèse Vineyards Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Very perfumed nose, sweet smooth fruit, drying tannins. (By this point I was way behind, so my notes started getting terser.)

2007 P•M Staiger, Santa Cruz Mountains
Smoky, brambly nose. Smooth, sweet fruit. While enjoyable, this seemed the least complex of all the wines poured.

2007 La Honda Lonehawk Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Hint of volatile actidity on the nose? Lots of bramble and blackcurrant fruit, and lots of chewy tannin. I was guessing the Kennedy Small Lot.

2007 Stefania, Santa Cruz Mountains
Interesting nose; for some reason it made me think of a toilet puck. Structured berry fruit and lots of mouth-coating tannin. Needs time, but should be great.

2007 Ahlgren Bates Ranch, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose of barnyard and herbs, with the alcohol showing, but on the palate there was sweet redcurrant, turning oaky on the finish.

2007 Stefania Uvas Creek Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Earthy and ripe plum. Lots of sweet peppery blackcurrant fruit, tannin and earth.

2007 Woodside Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose dominated by smoky oak. Rather intense with hints of graphite and spice backed by smooth tannins.

2007 Thomas Fogarty, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose showed smoked sausage. Smooth, sweet cassis; I wouldn't age this, it's good now. I think this was the least expensive wine in the lineup, having been found at Sunnyvale Costco for under $20.

2007 Domaine Eden, Santa Cruz Mountains
Elegant, feminine, light. There's smooth red fruit and bright acidity. I guessed Cooper Garrod, so was only a couple of miles out.

2007 House Family Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose is earthy and smoky. Seemed very tannic; there's some good black fruit there but it needs time.

2007 Ridge Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Rich nose showing caramel and eucalyptus. Light with some bright black fruits but decent structure.

2007 Martin Ranch Thérèse Vineyards Dos Rios Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Nose made me think of breakfast cereal. Lots of sweet caramel and black fruit, with nice chewy tannins. Quite the crowd pleaser.

2007 Creekview Vineyards, Santa Clara Valley
Nose of black fruit and eucalyptus; good intensity but very tannic at the moment.

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The third part of the Geyserville retrospective featured the vintages from 1988 through 1995. The group was joined by a special guest - Eric Baugher, assistant winemaker at Monte Bello. He joined Ridge in 1994 and so had worked on three of the vintages that we tasted.

It quickly became evident that the eight wines poured were all remarkably consistent. There were no Late Harvest outliers, no tired vintages, no flawed wines. What we got were eight superb examples of rich, well crafted wines which evolved and blossomed in the glass. Trying to choose between them was futile; each had its charm and every one was a delight. In the end the tasters submitted their rankings, but the final results were so close that the differences were statistically insignificant.

1988 Ridge Geyserville (82% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah, 13% Carignan) 

The nose was dusty and oaky; at first I thought I got a whiff of cork taint, but it didn't persist. The palate showed tart raspberry and ham; I ranked it towards the end but it finished 2nd overall.

1989 Ridge Geyserville (75% Zinfandel, 22% Petite Sirah, 3% Carignan)

Complex nose showing soy sauce, meat, smoke and dried herbs. Nice raspberry flavours, with smoky oak and a rich, long finish, becoming more earthy with time. I really liked it; it finished 3rd overall. 

1990 Ridge Geyserville (64% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 18% Carignan)
Compared to some of the others the nose on this was faint; notes of bramble and camp fire. Flavours of waffles, liquorice and bramble, with tannins that had softened with time but were still very evident. A youthful wine perhaps not yet at its peak. Finished 4th.

1991 Ridge Geyserville (50% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah, 30% Carignan)
Initially the nose seemed musty, with ripe fruit and wood emerging with time. Plenty of sweet loganberry, perhaps a touch more residual sugar than the rest. It finished 8th, despite being Eric's first choice.

1992 Ridge Geyserville (65% Zinfandel, 15% Petite Sirah, 20% Carignan)
Opening with fresh earth and dark raspberry, an unusual camphor note developed with air. On the palate it showed opulent raspberry fruit; the Petite Sirah seemed particularly evident in the blend. Nicely balanced with light tannins it was the overall first choice.

1993 Ridge Geyserville (60% Zinfandel, 12% Petite Sirah, 22% Carignan, 2% Mataro, 4% Alicante Bouschet)
Deep nose of berry, cigar and orange peel; lots of black fruit - boysenberry, bramble and currant. Some tannin evident on the finish. 5th place.

1994 Ridge Geyserville (68% Zinfandel, 8% Petite Sirah, 20% Carignan, 4% Mataro)
Nose showed tart cranberry; flavours of raspberry and oak. Seemed a lighter, simpler example of the style. Overall 6th.

1995 Ridge Geyserville (62% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 15% Carignan, 5% Mataro) 

At first the nose showed berry and smoke, but a savoury shiitake mushroom note soon developed. In the mouth there was lots of black fruit, particularly black cherry, and more of that savoury mushroom. One of my top three, it finished 7th.



As I said at the outset, there wasn't much to separate these wines. The results reflected that; for every person that had a wine as their first choice another had put it as their last. This is testament to the overall quality; averaging 20 years old not one was fading or flawed. from the previous tastings only the 1980 and 1987 could have held their own; the 1968, 1977 and 1978 from the first tasting would clearly have been outliers.

At some stage there will be two further flights, covering the vintages from 1996 to the present; I hope to attend those too and will report back.

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Ross Bott's epic 5 part Geyserville retrospective continued on Monday evening with a look at the vintages 1980 to 1987. Starting in 1978 Ridge had begun blending a small amount of Petite Sirah. This trend continues in most years, with 1985 seeing the first addition of Carignan.

I found this round much easier to rank than the first. There were two clearly outstanding examples, two that were either dead or flawed, or possibly both, and the rest fitted reasonably well between them, with no outliers like the 'late picked' wines from the 1970s. The wines all stated their acohol content within a 2% range. The overall results were far more consistent, with most of the group in rough agreement on the preferred order.

1980 Ridge Geyserville (100% Zinfandel, 14.6%)
The nose at first seemed woody and simple, but gradually developed to reveal some nice dried fruit. On the palate there was a mass of mature, dark raspberry fruit and a long finish. This was my favourite and was the evening's clear winner, with almost everyone ranking it in their top three.

1981 Ridge Geyserville (85% Geyserville, 15% Angeli, 100% Zinfandel, 14.4%)
The nose showed notes of brett and leather; brett showed on the palate too; perhaps a little too much but not overpowering. There was enough dried fruit to back it up. 5th overall.
 
1982 Ridge Geyserville (95% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah, 12.6%)

There was an odd note to the nose reminiscent of a Gueuze, the Belgian lambic beer; almost medicinal. Some tart cranberry fruit, quick finish. I was surprised that it finished 4th overall. 

1983 Ridge Geyserville (95% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah, 13.4%)

It was clear from the start that this one was dead. There was some discussion as to whether it was corked or oxidised or both. Beyond the obvious flaws there was some menthol on the nose and a hint of fruit still discernable, but it was no big surprise to learn that this was the 1983 and it finished last.

1984 Ridge Geyserville (90% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 13.4%)

Nose of black raspberry; tart red fruit flavours and a brine note to the finish. I liked it rather more than the group did; it finished 6th overall.

1985 Ridge Geyserville (85% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignan, 13.3%)

The nose had candy notes, with 'red vines' and caramel and some dried herbs. Nice flavours of tart raspberry but a quick, drying finish and it seemed to be fading. Overall 3rd.

1986 Ridge Geyserville (84% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignan, 13.2%)

There was a very odd note to the nose that reminded me of some kind of air freshener or lavatory puck. It was dry, leafy and tart, improving slightly with time. There was some discussion as to whether the bottle was corked but I didn't think so. A disappointing showing from what should have been a good vintage. 7th

1987 Ridge Geyserville (88% Zinfandel, 4% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignan, 13.7%)

Like the 1980, the nose was at first not very expressive; faint notes of leather and fruit. But then mature blackberry fruit exploded on the palate followed by a nice herbal finish. A wine that seemed way younger than its 25 years. Both mine and the group's 2nd.

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Leo and Evelyn Trentadue owned a fruit orchard in Sunnyvale, producing apples and cherries. In 1952 they purchased the abandoned Perrone winery and vineyards on Monte Bello Road as a peaceful retreat.
In 1959 the Trentadues sold their orchards and bought a 208 acre property in Alexander Valley with 68 acres of old vines, some dating back to about 1880. That same year the neighbouring Torre Ranch was purchased by a group of friends who established Ridge Winery.

As Ridge became well established they looked to expand, and saw the neighbouring Trentadue property, together with its old Perrone winery buildings as the obvious next step. Negotiation culminated in an agreement to purchase not just the Monte Bello property but also fruit from the Trentadue Ranch vineyard in Geyserville, and in 1966 the first Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel was produced. This wine soon established a solid track record for quality and ageability.

As was typical for vineyards of that era the vines are a "field blend", including Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane (Ridge's preferred spelling) and Mourvèdre, which Ridge call Mataro.

Note the red foil on the 1968.

I recently joined Ross Bott's bi-weekly tasting group for the first in a series of tastings covering an almost complete vertical of Ridge Geyserville bottlings. As is usual in these tastings the wines are served single-blind. Participants rank the wines in order, and Ross computes the overall ranking, whereupon the actual wines are revealed.

Note the design of the 1970 cork

The wines were not decanted; they are left to stand for a few days and then opened and "Bott poured" into a small beaker with the minimum of agitation; the measure is then poured into each taster's labelled glasses. In this way the sediment gets disturbed as little as possible, and everyone gets an equal taste. All the wines are on the table at once, so it's up to each taster to decide what order to taste them. The tasting usually goes on for around an hour before the scores are tallied.

Despite the significant age of the wines and the fairly shocking state that most of the corks were in, it's impressive that not one of the wines poured appeared corked, oxidised or flawed in any way. Several tasters, myself included, commented on how difficult it was to rank the wines.


1968 Ridge California Zinfandel

Poured first; this wine had the lightest colour of the wines poured. That plus a lovely terracotta hue was the clue that it was the oldest; this was the only one in the line-up made by Dave Bennion prior to Paul Draper's arrival at Ridge the following year.
The nose was amazing; at first showing smoke and perfume before developing an Indian spice note (asafoetida?). On the palate there was initially sweet raspberry fruit backed by an earthiness. As time went on the fruit faded and became more herbal, with the earth and acidity showing more. By the end it began to tire, but at its peak it was stunning; truly sublime. Because of that peak I rated it my #1, but overall it ranked 4th.

1970 Ridge Geyserville
Nose showed prune and dried berry. Poured last, this seemed simpler than the rest with some nice raspberry fruit and some residual sweetness; I had it pegged as one of the 'Late' wines - presumably if Ridge had used that designation back then it would have applied. Seemed higher in alcohol; this turned out to be the case, coming in at 15.6%. Overall ranked 7th

1972 Ridge Geyserville At first this appeared darker than the rest, but that turned out to be mostly due to sediment. The nose was dusty, like cardboard or old books. On the palate there were tart cranberry flavours and it seemed somewhat acidic and unbalanced whan judged against the rest of the flight. My least favourite; it was placed 9th overall, despite receiving one 1st place and two 2nd place votes.

1974 Ridge Geyserville
The nose on this also had a musty cardboard note which initially made me suspicious that it was corked, but in the mouth there was plenty of fruit - bramble jelly with earthy notes and a long finish. Overall 3rd

1975 Ridge Geyserville Late Picked
The nose on this showed some funk; smoky and earthy. Perhaps a hint of brett; not enough to be unpleasant, just enough to spice it up. Initially I got lots of rich leather; as time went on the black fruit came out. I really liked it and rated it in my top 3, but some of the other tasters didn't and ultimately it came in 8th.

1976 Ridge Geyservill, Old Hillside Vineyards
The nose was light, showing some dried fruit. Nice fruity flavours of black raspberry and boysenberry, though it began to fade fairly soon. Very much in the middle of the pack - it was the only wine to receive no first place votes and one of three to receive no last place votes - overall it was ranked 6th.

1968 is on the left. The darkest G is mostly due to sediment

1977 Ridge Geyserville Late Harvest
We knew that one of the wines carried the designation 'Late Harvest' and this was the prime suspect. The nose was sweet and portlike; this followed through in the mouth with nice flavours of dried cherry and wild strawberry. Just a hint of residual sugar; certainly no more than some others, and it didn't show the heat as you might have expected. Clearly an outlier in this group, but very popular; it finished 2nd.
This was the first of the wines to indicate varietal composition - 100% Zinfandel.

1978 Ridge Geyserville Late Picked
The 1978 and 1979 labels both indicate that the blend included 5% Petite Sirah. Nose showed lots of toasted bread and earth, in the mouth there was lots of rich brambly fruit and leather notes. Surprisingly youthful, it continued to evolve with time and it wasn't much of a surprise to discover that this was from the excellent 1978 vintage. Finished 1st

1979 Ridge Geyserville
The nose was toasty and meaty, with gamey notes. The palate showed nice blackcurrant fruit and a longish rich, savoury finish. Overall it finished 5th.

I want to thank Ross for organising the tasting and sourcing the wines, Tom for hosting and Michael for generously providing the 1968. I'm very much looking forward to the next event covering the 1980s.

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Ross Bott runs a tasting group that meets twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. The theme for this tasting was Ridge Zinfandels. There were two different wines from four vintages; 1978, 1983, 1985 and 1990. As usual the wines were poured blind, though we had a list of the wines beforehand. The wines were not decanted prior to serving.
The colours of the wines were all remarkably consistent; despite each one being at least 20-30 years old they still tended more towards garnet than brick.

A (1985 Geyserville) - Ranked 3rd overall, no first place votes
The nose was initially musty, though this faded with time. Notes of leather, with raspberry becoming increasingly evident as the mustiness faded. Nice raspberry fruit, with the tannin and acidity well balanced, and a dry finish. Was fading a little by the end.

B (1985 Howell Mountain) - Ranked 4th overall, though it did receive 2 first place votes.
Rich, brambly nose with a herbal note Bright red fruit - raspberry and cranberry, with an earthy 'old world' finish. Held up well

C (1978 York Creek)- Ranked 2nd overall, with 1 first place vote.
Nose showed matchsticks, mushrooms and leather. Mature with flavours of black fruit, coffee, cola and strawberry. Some leather, and a long finish.

D (1990 Geyserville) - Ranked 7th overall.
The nose wasn't great (I wrote 'stinky') - earthy and leathery. There was some debate as to whether it was corked, but it was certainly flawed in some way. Some sweet, ripe, pruney fruit and what I took for brett on the finish

E (1990 Lytton Springs) - Wine of the night; only 4 tasters did not rate it #1 which is almost unheard of at an event like this.
Ripe fruit on the nose, with floral notes. Palate shows loads of rich, sweet fruit - blackcurrant and raspberry - and a long finish. An awesome wine; easily 95+ points.

The last three wines were all a bit disappointing. Unsurprisingly 2 of the 3 were from the weakest vintage: 1983.

F (1978 Langtry Road) Rated 6th overall, despite getting one first place vote.
If I hadn't known that all these wines were Zinfandels I'd have called this as a Petite Sirah. It does in fact contain 30% Petite Sirah as well as 10% Carignane; I think labelling rules were more flexible back then. 
It had the darkest colour of all the wines; nose showed some barnyard and earth. There was some black fruit but this was dominated by some monster tannins. Somewhat unyielding initially, though it did soften a little as time went on.

G (1983 Park-Muscatine, Howell Mountain) - Rated 8th 
The nose was light, with floral, berry and smoky notes. On the palate there was some raspberry and bramble, but it was light, tart and tannic.

H (1983 Geyserville)
The earthy nose showed a 'porty' note. As with the previous wine (from the same vintage) it was light with some brambly fruit. Seemed a bit oxidized, though it still had some tannins left.

Afterwards we were treated to a delicious 1978 Dusi Late Harvest, with 10% residual sugar and 14.2% alcohol.
Colour of amber/tea. Great mature nose with raspberry and port notes. Great flavours of raspberry, coffee, cocoa, fig and dark chocolate backed by nice acidity. 94 points

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Recently I was invited up to Ridge's Lytton Springs facility for their quarterly bloggers' tasting. Although the post count may have slowed to the point where I barely qualify as a blogger any more I wasn't going to let that stop me from going - neither was the weather, which was starting to suggest that summer was almost over and done with.

Lytton Springs is just off the 101 in Dry Creek Valley - my favourite Zinfandel region overall. The site was originally a Victorian spa and hotel, with the first vineyards being planted from 1901 to 1910. Around 15 additional acres were planted in the 1950s. Ridge has made wine from the vineyard for 40 years and has owned it since 1991. The old vines are head pruned and are a field blend of mostly Zinfandel with small quantities of Petite Sirah, Grenache, Carignane, Alicante Boushet, Mataro (Mourvedre) and others. We tasted through a vertical of the Lytton Springs Zinfandel blend on our visit last year; this tasting would focus on the Rhone varieties. In recent years several blocks of Syrah have been planted to the West, together with some Viognier and Grenache. The latter are typically blended or cofermented with the Syrah, though occasionally they are bottled on their own. The wines are typically only available to members of the ATP list or at the tasting rooms.

Before the tasting Chris took us on a tour of the facility. The recently constructed winery and tasting room is very impressive and eco-friendly; the wooden frame is insulated with blocks made from local straw and clay; and the facility is almost entirely solar powered. The last time we visited the tasting was held on the crush pad, but with harvest in full swing we we assembled in the barrel room. We began the tasting with two Grenache blends.

2002 Grenache
78% Grenache, 13% Petite Sirah, 9% Zinfandel
This wine is a field blend, sourced from some century-old blocks that contain a high proportion of Grenache, plus some younger vines planted in 1991
The nose shows musty caramel and blueberry. There's nice black fruit up front; good rich concentration and plenty of structure. Grenache is typically drunk young since they have a tendency to age fairly rapidly, but this still seems very youthful; perhaps due to the age of the vines and the blended components, I'd say it still needs another 3 - 5 years. 92+

2003 Grenache/Syrah
50% Grenache, 50% Syrah
A softer, fruity nose than the Grenache with more floral character. Unfortunately it shows rather a lot of oak. There's nice black fruit but it's somewhat overshadowed, particularly on the finish. 89

Richard Jennings had brought a mystery wine, and Chris presented it now, blind. He asked us to guess the grape and the vintage. Light in colour, with a meaty, gamey nose suggesting bacon or sausage. On the palate there was tart cranberry, with light tannins and a medium finish. I accidentally caught a glimpse of what looked like a zero on the cork, so guessed 1990. For variety I thought it seemed like an Italian; I don't know what Italian varietals Ridge has made, but we've tasted Sangiovese in the past from that era, so that as my guess. Close, but not good enough; it was in fact a 1990 Rancho Pequeño Barbera.

We then tried several vintages of Syrah in pairs. The newer wines are designated Lytton West, the older ones Lytton Estate; the vines are the same, it's purely a branding thing.

2003 Lytton West Syrah
91% Syrah, 9% Viognier
The nose shows ripe black fruit and some white flowers from the viognier. On the palate there's good rich fruit balanced by some nice tannins. A lot of oak shows on the finish. 90+

2005 Lytton West Syrah
91% Syrah, 6% Viognier
Bright floral nose with notes of pepper. Again there's ripe fruit - lots of blueberry and bramble with some liquorice and a floral note, leading to a long finish. 93+

2002 Lytton Estate Syrah II
76% Syrah 22% Grenache 2% Viognier
In 2002 there were two lots of Syrah; both were blended with Grenache but neither lot really worked. As an experiment one lot got a small amount of  Carignane added,the other got a similar amount of Viognier. Those small additions made all the difference, and both wines were released.
Nose is smoky and meaty, with floral notes. There's plenty of black fruit backed by fine tannins and soft acidity. A medium length finish with a note of white flowers. Very tasty. 92


2001 Lytton Estate Syrah
99% Syrah cofermented with 1% Viognier.
A really gamey, salami, smoky note. The black fruit really pops; plum, currant and berry notes, some liquorice and black pepper. There's a good smooth finish; the tannins are mostly resolved. It's drinking great right now. 93


2000 Lytton Estate Syrah
99% Syrah cofermented with 1% Viognier.
Nose is very faint in comparison with the 2001. This was the first wine that is starting to show some nice secondary characteristics; black fruits with leather and a touch of old-world rusticity. Good finish. 94
 
1999 Lytton Estate Syrah
Smoky, musty nose Assertive fruit and bright acid; seems to have more acidity than previous vintages. Good fine grained tannins. A hint of leather, not as much as in the 2000. 94

1997 Lytton Estate Syrah
Talk about saving the best until last. The nose was smoky, with some chinese 5 spice, The nose is constantly evolving; come back 5 minutes later and notice something new. Rich, unctuous fruit, endlessly layered. Soft and velvety; a delight. 95
A second bottle showed slight variation; a slightly rustic, barnyard note. 94


A great tasting; as you can see, the wines just seemed to get better and better. Huge thanks to Chris and everyone at Ridge for thsi opportunity, and to Richard for the Barbera. Everyone knows that Ridge make great Zinfandels, but the Syrahs and other wines from the ATP series can be just as good, if not better. As I noted at the start these wines are usually only available at the tasting rooms, but are well worth seeking out.

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Summer has finally arrived and last Friday was a gorgeous day for a drive up Black Mountain for another of Ridge's regular wine bloggers' tasting. This event was held in the newly opened Black Mountain Suite - a brand new conference area located above the existing tasting room. The room is accessible via the old winery building, which now boasts fine new reproductions of some old photographs featuring the Ridge founders, a youthful Paul Draper and even Oseo Perrone, who first planted grapes on the mountain top over 100 years ago.

To celebrate the opening of the new suite we were being given the opportunity to taste through the latest library releases of Monte Bello. Ridge maintains a significant stock of older vintages and regularly tastes them to follow their progress. The wines were to be poured blind; our task was simply to put them in chronological order. Sounds easy enough, right?

As we settled down and prepared ourselves we were offered a sample of the as-yet-unreleased 2008 Monte Bello Chardonnay. Nose of green apple, lemon and wet stone; flavours of tart apricot and lemon with fresh grassy notes and some vanilla; the oak was not obtrusive despite it's youth. 92

We then began to taste through 11 vintages of Monte Bello. The wines were labelled A through K and were poured in pairs, which meant that you couldn't go back and compare against a wine from a previous pairing. This made the task harder still. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

A My first impression of this was that the colour suggested a young wine. Unfortunately that can be deceptive with Monte Bello. It seemed lighter than the accompanying wine B. The nose seemed ripe and fruity nose, with lots of black fruit, some mint and eucalyptus; the palate had plenty of tannin and blackcurrant, but overall it seemed a little lean and tart; a bit closed. Overall I think it was my least favourite and I guessed that it was from a 'lesser' vintage, such as 2004, 2000 or even 1998. 91

The colour of B was noticeably darker than A; a deep garnet. The nose was very rich and rustic; a much thicker mouthfeel, with stacks of tannins, less evident fruit and lots of earth, though less acidity. A big and meaty wine. I guessed it to be significantly older than A; probably mid 1990s. 92+

C seemed darker still than B. Plenty of that eucalyptus and mint; rich and balanced. Lots of bramble, blackcurrant and black cherry flavours. The tannins are much smoother. I could drink this all day. It still had plenty of life, but I doubted I'd want to keep it much longer. Mid 1980s? 95

D was the first wine that really showed significant age. The colour was a deep brownish red, and despite having been double-decanted there was still some sediment. It smelled old - lots of leather and cigar box notes. In the mouth there was still some fruit but loads of secondary characteristics. The tannin was mostly gone. It was certainly the oldest so far; I guessed it would probably be the oldest overall. It didn't improve in the glass beyond the first delicious taste; this was a fine example of a mature Monte Bello. Certainly 1970s, maybe even older. 96



E was the first controversial wine. The color was a dark red, with some bricking around the rim. However the nose was odd; almost cheesy - Fred to my right called it soy. Certainly it had some savoury notes; it tasted fine and the odd note blew off somewhat with time. 92

Chris took note of the various comments on the nose and reappeared with a second example of the same vintage. The colour of this bottle seemed slightly redder; the odd note wasn't present and overall it showed significantly more fruit. It was alittle cold to start with and improved as it went on. I began to wonder if this was the much-maligned 1986, though it didn't seem quite that old. Early 90s? 94+

F was another great mature example though it didn't seem as old as D. There was a nice red-brown colour and a fascinating nose of rich leather and dried fruit.
I guessed it was younger than D but not by much. Probably mid 1970s. 96

G was another dark one, again showing plenty of sediment despite the decanting. The nose didn't seem to be giving that much away; some smoke and earth. On the palate there was huge fruit; lots of bramble and blackcurrant. The tannins are chewy, so it's clearly a younger wine that will improve with age. Mid to late 1990s? 95+

H Looked older than G. It was very earthy, both on the nose and the palate. I took a wild stab and guessed early 1990s. 94

I think of all the wines I surprised me the most. There seemed to be some browning on the meniscus; Lots of coffee and chocolate and stacks of delicious fruit. I jokingly suggested the 2005; it seemed a big wine from a ripe year so I guessed 1990. Wes thought it seemed older. 95+

I think everyone instantly recognised J as a barrel sample of the 2010, if only by the bright purple colour. This has got better each time I've tried it; there's huge primary fruit and immense structure - it's likely to be a particularly long lived vintage. Some of the tasters went so far as to declare it their favourite. 95+

Finally K was clearly a very recent release; I couldn't be certain which but the youngest wine poured (after the barrel sample). At this point we were wrapping up and I failed to take detailed notes. 93+

So after much umming and ahhing I finally decided on the ordering J K A G I B H C E F D. Boy was I wrong; the only ones I correctly spotted were the oldest and the newest. The actual ordering was J K B C A E G H I F D. I only managed to put 4 out of 11 in their correct positions. I was only slightly encouraged by the fact that the best score anyone managed was 7 out of 11!


D 1977 ($400) - Perhaps it should have been easier to spot, given that I only tasted it a month ago. In comparison to the rest it seemed even older, though still holding its own.
F 1978 ($475) - I got this too. 1978 was a very good year, so it's unsurprising that it seemed noticeably younger than D
I 1981 ($185) - I was astonished by this. I'd have said it was a decade younger. I don't recall having tasted anything from 1981; the advice I've been given in the past was that 81-83 was a run of three weaker vintages. Excellent value.
H 1985 ($300) - This one fooled me by a decade as well. I had it as early 1990s.
G 1990 ($250) - Getting a bit closer; I had it as late 1990s
E 1994 ($250) - I went for early 1990s. I think that qualifies.
A 1995 ($300) - I was wrong about the lesser vintage, but I'll stand by the 'closed' comment. I think this needs more time.
C 1999 ($225) - Chris was amused by my comment that I could drink this all day, since the genesis of these tastings can perhaps be traced to comments that Wes and I made on the same wine a couple of years ago - see my original post and the notes from the follow up tasting. I think the 1999 is showing rather well right now and would again question whether it's one to hang on to in the long term.
B 2000 ($225) - Slightly younger than I thought. Surprisingly big for what's generally considered a weak vintage.
K 2006 ($150)
J 2010 ($NR)

Huge thanks to Chris and the staff at Ridge for a hugely enjoyable - and somewhat humbling - event.

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Has it really been 3 months since the last Bloggers' event? Once again, Chris Watkins invited a group of wine bloggers to a tasting of current, unreleased and library wines at the Monte Bello tasting rooms. A dozen of us braved torrential rains and hailstones; some of the regulars were joined by Chiara Shannon of K&L Wines, Melanie Friedman and Erin Grant.

Chris likes to have a different theme for each event, and this turned out to be a demonstration of how Ridge wines age over decades.

We began with a couple of the newly releases. Ridge has dropped the "Santa Cruz Mountains" designation in favour of "Estate" for both the Chardonnay and the red blend, which is now a fully fledged Cabernet.

2009 Estate Chardonnay
Nose shows peach, apricot, a touch of of almond and creamy vanilla. On the palate there's sweet white fruit up front, and a salty note. There's some bitterness from the oak and tannin on the finish; it needs a little cellar time. 90+

2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Earthy nose with blackcurrant, mint and herb. Tart fruit flavours of bramble and blackcurrant backed with earth and smoke. Good structure; firm tannins on the finish. Nice now, but will repay cellaring. 92

We moved on to a 10 year comparison of Geyserville - the newly released 2009 vintage and the 1999 from the library.

2009 Geyserville
The 44th vintage is a blend of 74% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane, 6% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet and 1% Mataro.
The colour is a bright red-purple. The nose is tart, with a medicinal note. Flavours of cherry and redcurrant, with bright acidity. 91 It's a nice wine, but it was completely overshadowed by

1999 Geyserville
Blend of 68% Zinfandel, 16% Carignane and 16% Petite Sirah.
A deep brick red colour. Lovely mature nose and great flavours of dark fruit, dried cranberry, leather. There's amazing depth and a long finish. 94

This was followed by three impressive vintages of Monte Bello spanning two decades.

1985 Monte Bello
93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot
Similar deep brick red colour to the Geyserville.
Aromas of leather, dried fruit and hayloft; palate showed earth with some blackcurrant (but not a lot), and savoury, meaty notes. Still a surprising amount of tannin on the finish.
The fruit showed more clearly when tasted alongside food. After the tasting was over I went back and retasted all the Monte Bellos and was surprised by how the fruit showed - here's a 25 year wine that needs air to show its best. 95

1995 Monte Bello
The nose was musty and earthy, with notes of menthol. The palate showed lots of bright acidity and earth, hiding the fruit, and lots of tannin. It seemed shut down tight and I wasn't going to assign a rating, but revisiting after a couple of hours the fruit came out - great, rustic brambly and herbal notes. Clearly many years from its peak. 94+

2005 Monte Bello
This wine has always been a delight; the nose is big and fruity, with mint and earth notes. On the palate there's lots of intense black fruit - blackberry, blueberry and blackcurrant, with graphite, smoke and pepper - the finish just goes on and on. With air it got even better and showed a liquorice note. The best young Monte Bello I've tasted. 97

We then moved to two examples from the ATP programme, which focuses mainly on Rhone varieties.

2004 Lytton Estate Syrah
Cofermented with 10% Viognier, and blended with an additional 8% Grenache.
The nose shows spicy, peppery red fruit which follows through onto the palate. Notes of redcurrant, tobacco and allspice. 91

2006 Lytton Estate Syrah
The 2006 is not yet released. The nose is altogether more assertive than the 2004 and overall there's significantly more going on; lots of red fruit and spice with a long finish. Definitely one to watch out for. 94

Alan Bree then teased us with two blind wines from his extensive personal Ridge cellar. He firmly believes that all of Ridge's wines deserve cellaring and are typically consumed too young. We had no other clues as to what was being offered.

Both wines had a similar brick red colour to the 1999 Geyserville and 1985 Monte Bello, so my guess was that the wines were 10-15 years old.

The first had a light nose that suggested cigarette smoke. Nicely mature, with notes of sweet raspberry fruit and some good tannins. The raspberry and tannin made me guess a Zinfandel blended with Petite Sirah. (Dead wrong)

The second showed a slightly redder colour, suggesting that it was the younger of the two. There was a sour note on the nose that I didn't care for, but the flavour was surprisingly sweet. Again a raspberry note made me think it was a Zinfandel, but the tannins were much softer.

The wines turned out to be 1997 and 1998 Sangiovese, from Dry Creek Valley. The 1997 was blended with 17% Merlot, while the 1998 was 100% Sangiovese. I would never have guessed this as I was unaware that Ridge had ever made a Sangiovese. (Apparently they took over the vineyard in 1997 and replanted it in 1999.) Two fascinating wines, probably slightly past their peak despite the tannins on the 1997, but still interesting and tasty. I didn't score them at the time, but in retrospect I'd probably say 89 each.

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Here are some tasting notes from the SCMWA trade tasting last month. This is an annual event open to retailers, restaurateurs and media, which was held at Farallon restaurant in San Francisco.

Unfortunately my punishment for somehow angering the tech gods continues and I've been unable to find the iPod that I had used to record most of my comments. Thankfully I had sync'd it with my PC before it evolved legs, so the notes were safe, but somewhat inaccessible; Apple certainly doesn't believe in letting you have easy access to your own data and I was damned if I'd pay the necessary $25 for what seems to be the only available third party recovery application.

I finally got around to doing the necessary hackery myself to extract the data from its binary prison; it turned out to be a bit easier than I expected. And so, with apologies for the delay, here are my notes.

All wines carry the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation unless otherwise noted.

Beauregard

2007 Estate Chardonnay
This had a really smoky, oaky nose. Big, creamy and smoky with baked apple flavours. Good acidity. Long oaky finish, but despite all the wood I enjoyed it. 90
2007 Bald Mountain Chardonnay
This wasn't showing the oak anything like as much as the Estate Chardonnay, which is surprising given that it sees 100% new French oak and the Estate sees less. Nose shows creamy apples; notes of lime, salt and honeysuckle with a medium to long finish. Reminds me of Varner. 92
2007 Estate Pinot Noir
Light smoky, earthy nose. Earthy and austere with redcurrant and herbal notes. lightly tannic finish. 88
2008 Bald Mountain Pinot Noir
Smoke and maraschino aromas. Earthy but less austere than the estate with black cherry flavours and a medium finish. 90

Big Basin

2008 Homestead Syrah
Blend of 73% Monterey and 27% Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose has roast meat and blueberry. Rich and fruity with smoky berry flavours and a medium finish. 90
2007 Fairview Ranch Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands
Floral, berry nose. Fairly gentle tannins, smooth red berry flavors showing white pepper on the long finish. 91
2006 Rattlesnake Rock
The nose is very complex, showing smoke, meat, fruit and spice. Rich, smooth flavours of smoked meat, redcurrant and pomegranate, with a longish finish. 93
2007 Mandala
The nose suggests dusty old books, but on the palate it's sweet and spicy, with blueberry and blackberry notes and nice firm tannins on the finish. 92

Cinnabar

2007 Chardonnay
Lemon and lime on the nose; flavours of citrus, oak and mineral notes. Oak seemed harsh on the finish; give it time. 87+
2007 Pinot Noir
Funky, earthy nose; spicy flavours of sweet cherry, cinnamon and cedar. Very good. 92
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Dusty blackcurrant nose. A rather concentrated combination of rich fruit, smoky oak and chewy tannins. 89+

Clos LaChance

2007 Chardonnay
Vanilla and apple on the nose; sweet baked apple and vanilla cream on the palate. Seems low in acidity, with notes of sweet caramel on the finish. 88
2007 Pinot Noir
Inviting nose of cherry pie; sweet cherry and allspice flavours. Oak came across as a little harsh - needs time. 88
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Dusty bramble nose; flavours of blackcurrant, oak and underbrush. Promising. 89

Kathryn Kennedy

2000 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Leather and black fruit on the nose. Complex flavours of cassis, earth, leather and cedar; a big wine with a long finish. 94
2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Softer nose than the 2000. Showing lots of primary blackcurrant fruit; good structure, just needs time. 93
2007 Small Lot Cabernet sauvignon
Rustic black fruit, balanced oak, plenty of tannin, good finish. Cellar this. 93

La Honda Winery

2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma
Smooth gooseberry and grapefruit flavours; creamy, clean finish. 87
2008 "Sequence" Pinot Noir
Interesting nose - sandalwood? On the palate it's got lovely spicy redcurrant notes with silky tannins and a longish finish. 91+
2009 Exponent
Blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 18% Grenache and 14% Sangiovese
As the blend suggests it's an easy drinking red table wine; light fruity nose and soft brambly fruit. Only $15 at Beltramos; a good value midweek red. 88
2008 Salinian Block Cabernet Sauvignon
5 vineyard blend from small vineyards around the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Nose shows smoke, cassis and brambles. Bold black fruit, lot of tannin, dusty oak on the finish. 90+
2007 Naylor's Dry Hole Vineyard, Chalone AVA
Lots of cassis on the nose. Spicy blackberry, blackcurrant fruit, lovely smooth tannins, a rather elegant wine. 92

Martin Ranch

JD Hurley 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Rustic, with notes of blackcurrant and allspice. Tannins are silky and the oak is nicely balanced. 89
JD Hurley 2008 Zinfandel, Santa Clara Valley
Some nice tart raspberry flavours, but perhaps a little oxidized? 86

MJA Vineyards

Marin Artukovich recently relocated his winery from St Helena to Los Gatos. The winery has a tasting room on Ingalls St. in Santa Cruz and a Pinot Noir vineyard on Highland Way (the continuation of Summit Road) in Los Gatos. A second tasting room at the vineyard is scheduled to open next month. The winery has two labels; Serene Cellars and Davine Cellars (not to be confused with nearby DeVine Consultants). The winery produces Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc from Napa and a Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir.
2007 Serene Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
An oaked Sauvignon Blanc. Creamy and low in acidity, with some gooseberry notes. 85

Naumann

2008 Chardonnay
Lots of butterscotch on the nose. Flavours of creamy apple, with mineral and brine; clean finish. 88
2006 Merlot
Bright plum aromas, some smoke. Berry and plum fruit, oak seems nicely integrated. 88
2007 Merlot
Earthy nose, which comes across on the palate too. Sweet fruit, some spice and smoke. Tannic finish. 89

Ridge

2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
The new name for the Santa Cruz Mountains blend; with more of the younger Cabernet vines now producing the balance of the blend has shifted and it can be called a Cab. The blend is 75% cabernet and 20% Merlot, with 3% Petite Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.
Nose is brambly with a little smoke; rich flavours of cassis and spice. Terrific value. 93
2007 Monte Bello
Did not disappoint. I'm a big fan of this vintage, as you probably know. 95

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard

2009 Verdelho, Silvaspoons Vineyard Alta Mesa AVA
Impressive floral nose, kind of a cross between Sauvignon Blan and Viognier. Light bodied; floral and crisp gooseberry notes with caramel on the finish. 89

Savannah-Chanelle

(Edited. Zinfandel vines aren't the oldest of their kind in the state but Cabernet Franc vines probably are. Thanks to Tony Craig for the correction.)
2007 Cabernet Franc
From vines planted in the 1920s; believed to be the oldest Cabernet Franc vines in the new world. Smoky blueberry nose. Concentrated fruit - blueberry, redcurrant and cranberry. Chewy, tart finish. Hint of cigar. 91
2007 Zinfandel
Sourced from hundred year old vines. Dark blackberry/raspberry nose. Good concentration. Lots of tart raspberry syrup, backed by great acidity. Rich intense flavour and a long finish. I really liked this. 93
2007 Montmartre
Blend of roughly equal parts Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel and Carignane, with a little Syrah. Light meaty, smoky nose. Most tannic of the three wines. A chewy, spicy fruit medley that will need time to show well. 90

Storrs

2008 Chardonnay
Big, ripe nose with lots of vanilla. Rich and creamy with good acidity and flavours of red apple, lemon and lime. 88
2008 Chardonnay, Christie Vineyard
Rather shy nose, showing a little apple. Crisp apple and pear flavours, with the oak far less evident. 88

Thomas Fogarty

2007 Chardonnay
Nose of caramel and apple. Crisp apple, lime and brine. Mineral on the medium finish. 87
2008 Gewurztraminer, Scheid Vineyard, Monterey County
Consistently a great value wine and my favourite domestic Gewurztraminer.
Lovely spicy, floral nose. There's a hint of sweetness, nice citrus flavours, low acidity with a long, floral finish. 90

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The annual barrel tasting at Monte Bello is an opportunity to get an early glimpse at the most recent vintage. 2010 was a particularly cool year punctuated by occasional heat spike; from what I've heard it was not an easy year for the local growers. The Monte Bello tasting showcases four distinct varieties, as well as the first assemblage of the Monte Bello blend.

We began with the 2007 Monte Bello Chardonnay, with its enticing nose of lemon, lime and honeysuckle. The oak is prominent, as is typical on the new releases; there's creamy lime and mineral flavours, but the oak takes over on the long finish. 93

The barrel sample of Merlot was somewhat unyielding. There was a nice nose of red fruits and floral notes, but on the palate it was structured and herbal, with taut acidity.

The sample of Cabernet Franc was the first harvest from recently planted vines, and will not be a part of the Monte Bello assemblage. The nose showed ash or fireplace, with notes of brambles and coffee beans. On the palate there was lots of tannin and some earth, but very little fruit.

Cabernet Sauvignon makes up the bulk of Monte Bello. This sample showed smoke, brambles and blackcurrant. On the palate there was smooth black fruit backed by earth, light tannins and a touch of dried herbs.

The final component of Monte Bello is Petite Verdot. It's a late ripening grape and thus does not always get ripe enough to be included in the blend, but when it does it adds spice and a violet note. Since 2010 was a cool year it was doubtful whether the fruit would ripen fully; the winery went to the trouble of laying reflective film between the rows to help the process; it worked. The sample had a great nose, with floral violet notes. On the palate there was rich, black fruit and good acidity with a smoky finish and good tannins that were not too pronounced.

So on to the first assemblage of 2010 Monte Bello. The initial breakdown is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merot, 5% Petite Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The volet notes of the Petite Verdot were evident on nose; there were notes of fireplace and black fruit. At first tasting it seemed taut and tannic; there was some black fruit, meaty and mineral notes. It seemed particularly difficult to judge at this early stage; I got the impression that it's going to take longer than average to show itself fully. On second tasting, which saw much more air, the fruit became more evident. It does give the impression of being a long-lived vintage.

For comparison we then tasted a 1992 Monte Bello poured from 375ml bottles. This turned out to be an interesting example of how bottle variation is amplified with age; one sample showed cedar, leather, black fruit and herbal notes, with a rich, layered, earthy finish. In contrast a second sample from a different bottle was somewhat earthy; the nose showed barnyard and herbs, with black fruit, earth and leather flavours. Both were of excellent quality. 94

Down in the main tasting room they were pouring the newly released 2008 Monte Bello. It's come together nicely since the barrel tasting two years ago; the nose has violet, mint, meat and brambles. It's young and structured, with rich fruit and mint but overall seems slightly thinner than recent vintages. It will be interesting to retaste in a year or two. 92

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It can't have escaped the attention of any regular readers that updates have been few and far between recently, for which I can only apologise and blame various factors including the day job, not one but two catastrophic computer failures and my own laziness. However with Christmas and the New Year over it's time I got back to updating the blog, and where better to start than with a report from the final Bloggers' tasting at Ridge.

Since Chris Watkins, the Monte Bello tasting room manager began these quarterly events we've had the opportunity to review an impressive vertical of Lytton Springs Zinfandels, compare our views on recent Monte Bello vintages with those of Robert Parker (he was completely wrong about the 2007) and compare vintages of Rhone varietals released to ATP members.

For this tasting Chris promised us a different theme, which turned out to be an anagram; certain letters from the wines spelling out the words WINE BLOGGER. This explained the rather eclectic list of wines that we were offered.

The usual core of Wes, Richard, Amy and myself were joined by Fred Swan of NorCalWine and Allan Bree of Gang Of Pour, who came bearing gifts; more of which later.

So onto the wines:

2007 Monte Bello Chardonnay
Huge nose; lots of lemon, white flowers, with nice oak and vanilla
Lots of wood on the palate, nice white peach, ice cream. Long finish.
Needs cellar time, obviously. Really good. 94+

2008 Buchignani Ranch Carignan
Light nose - dried berries - raspberry, cranberry and smoke.
Light, tart and tannic, with some redcurrant fruit. Lighter finish. 87

2008 East Bench Zinfandel
From the Dry Creek Valley; one of my favourite Zinfandel appellations. Produced from younger vines.
Nose of spicy berry, pepper and coriander.
black raspberry flavours, with dark chocolate notes. Drinking well now. 90

2007 Lytton Estate Zinfandel
Sourced from a block planted with young Primitivo clones, blended with 4% Carignane and 3% Petite Sirah.
Nose doesn't immediately suggest Zinfandel - Earthy and woody with caramel notes.
Rustic and herbal with notes of maraschino cherry and thyme. Needs time. 91+

2003 Geyserville
A blend of 76% Zinfandel, 18% Carignan and 6% Petite Sirah.
Nice amethyst colour. Slightly musty nose suggesting old books, and tart raspberry
The oak is still quite evident; floral raspberry and espresso flavours. Still young. 92

2002 Nervo Zinfandel
Source from a head trained, dry farmed vineyard in Alexander Valley and blended with 8% Petite Sirah.
Deep red colour with some bricking. Interesting feminine nose, dried herbs (lavender)?, showing some heat.
Nice mature fruit; probably at its peak. Nice notes of Raspberry coulis and leather 91

2002 Lytton Estate Grenache
Deep red, no sign of browning. Nose shows earth and wood, slightly musty. A lot in common with the Zinfandel from earlier. In the mouth there's plenty of sweet fruit; golden raisins and wild strawberry.

2003 Syrah, Lytton West
Co-fermented (rather than blended) with 9% Viognier
Nose shows black fruit, plum and pepper, with some floral notes from the Viognier.
Some residual sweetness, with gamey notes. The tannins are still prominent. 90

2007 Old School Zinfandel
100% Zinfandel. Formerly known as Independence School (Can you believe they changed the name just for the sake of an anagram?)
Nose of tart raspberry, and a hint of something odd - at first I thought aldehyde. Palate was jammy and sweet, with notes of raspberry syrup. I found that the residual sugar made it seem one-dimensional. 87

2003 Independence School Zinfandel
Blended with 9% Carignan and 3% Petite Sirah. It had the same odd aldehyde note, which suggests it's a vineyard characteristic rather than a flaw. Not as sweet as the 2007 bottling. Good tannin, with flavours of raspberry and brambles. A little rustic. I felt the blend provided more structure and complexity than the 2007,
but still not my favourite. 89

The flight finished with a 2000 Monte Bello
Great complex nose with notes of herb, mint and meat. Lithe black currant and brambly fruit. Meaty, musty tannins, medium to long finish. 93

We were then offered a flight of three wines that Alan had brought. Served blind, we were told that it was a vertical from the 1990s. They turned out to be three Pagani Ranch Alicante Bouschets, though I utterly failed to recognise the similarities between the three wines. In each case they are blended with around 25% Zinfandel.

1993 Alicante Bouschet Pagani Ranch
This reminded me of a Lytton Springs Zinfandel. Earthy, with cherry and redcurrant flavours. Nicely integrated tannins. Very smooth. 92

1994 Alicante Bouschet Pagani Ranch
This made me think of Petite Sirah. Somewhat reductive, stinky nose. Earthy, with lots of tannin and flavours of redcurrant and herb. Would appear that it still needs time to sort itself out. 88++

1997 Alicante Bouschet Pagani Ranch
This was my favourite wine of the whole tasting. It had a lovely feminine nose, with floral notes. Everything came together, the fruit was delicious 95

The last wine was a 2007 Zinfandel Geyserville Essence
Blended with 23% Petite Sirah 16.9% residual sugar and 13.5%ABV
Powerful, concentrated nose of raspberry syrup. Obviously very sweet, with lots of raspberry fruit. An interesting, complex wine. 92++

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At the recent Ridge bloggers' tasting there was a fairly interesting discussion about the relative merits of cultured and 'wild' yeasts. Ridge is one of those wineries that never adds yeast, relying on the fruit to ferment on its own, with yeasts from the environment. The debate mainly centered around whether those yeasts were endemic to the vineyard or the facility.

My personal view on this is that there's a strong correlation between the use of 'wild' (or 'natural') yeasts and quality wine, but that (as 99.7% of statisticians will tell you) correlation doesn't imply causality. Or, in other words, just because vintners who use wild yeasts typically make great wines doesn't mean that using wild yeasts will automatically result in a better product.

I was planning a blog post on the subject, only to come across an interview with the man himself - Paul Draper on Alice Feiring's blog. Clearly he can explain these things way better than I can. It's a good read; I especially like the sign-off quote:
In California for at least the last ten or fifteen years we have heard that the wines are now made in the vineyard. What is not mentioned is that in most cases they are then re-made in the winery.

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For the third edition of Ridge's quarterly bloggers' tasting we were invited up to the Lytton Springs facility in Healdsburg. This was a first time for me; though I've visited the Dry Creek area several times and think it's arguably the best AVA overall for Zinfandel, I've never been to Ridge's other tasting room.

The ultra-modern facility was built around 10 years ago and combines numerous environmentally friendly features. (You can read about it here.) It's constructed from recycled lumber and bales of rice straw, covered with adobe made from the local clay. The shining roof is covered with solar cells which produce up to 65kW. The crushpad is shaded from the sun by a large overhang - this last feature was of particular importance, since it was an unusually hot weekend for September and that was where we would be tasting.

The focus of the event was on Ridge's Lytton Springs bottling. This is a field blend of mainly Zinfandel, with some Petite Sirah and Carignane. Though the blend typically contains more than 75% Zinfandel the varietal designation was dropped after 1992.

We were to taste 10 vintages spanning 20 years. Now as a general rule I don't age Zinfandels beyond around 5-8 years, usually much less. I find that when bottled as a pure varietal the fresh raspberry notes are so pleasant in the early years that it's hard to justify keeping them. In addition the current trend - particularly in hotter regions such as Amador, Lodi or Paso Robles - seems to be for wines that are high in alcohol and low in tannin and acidity, wines that aren't intended to be kept around. But as always Ridge is an exception; many of their Zinfandels will age gracefully for a decade or more.

All the wines were opened around 2-4 hours earlier and double decanted.

First flight

We began with the older vintages, starting with the oldest first.

1987 Lytton Springs Zinfandel
Red/brown brick in colour. An interesting meaty, musty nose, with hints of mint or wintergreen.
Plenty of dark fruit and nice weight, though there's not much tannin left. I wouldn't have guessed that it was 20+ years old. Drink now. 93

1992 Lytton Springs Zinfandel
Very similar in colour to the 1987, though slightly darker. More herbal than the 1987, less musty but possessing similar fruit and mint notes. On the palate it's really intense; strong flavours of black cherry and raspberry which go on and on. One of the best old Zinfandels I've tasted. Drink now. 94.

1993 Lytton Springs
A lighter brick red than the previous two. Nose shows smoky, gamey meat, hawthorn, and that minty note again that seems to be a signature of Lytton Springs. Lighter bodied, but nicely balanced. Flavours of raspberry and pomegranate, light tannins and a nice finish. Drink now. 93

1996 Lytton Springs
A darker, deeper, more opaque reddish colour.
There's a definite consistency of those herbal, meaty flavours between vintages. The minty note is less pronounced, but still detectable. On the palate there's plenty of rich dark berry fruit and for the first time the tannins are pronounced. This one still has plenty of potential, so hold on to it. 92+

1999 Lytton Springs
Deep red in colour, very little fading in the meniscus. Got some initial heat on the nose; aromas of white pepper, black plum and raspberry. In the mouth it's very spicy/peppery. There's lots of primary raspberry fruit, and it's definitely the sweetest so far. Seems to possess less structure than the 1996, so I'd drink it sooner rather than later. 92

Second Flight

After a short break we resumed with the newer vintages. This time we tasted the younger wines first.

2007 Lytton Springs
A deep, inky purple colour. The nose shows liquorice and berry. There is some of that herbal and mint character but it's very much in the background at this stage. In the mouth the intense fruit hits you. There's loads of raspberry, with a touch of cocoa. Some ripe sweetness again, as with the 1999. Obviously it's very young. 92+

2005 Lytton Springs
The most floral nose of all the wines tasted, and possibly the highest acidity (though that's one of the few details Ridge omit from their notes.) Tart golden raspberries, with citrus and herbal notes. The dark fruit and tannin from the Petite Sirah shows well. This should be a very long lived wine; apparently it's one of Paul Draper's favourites too. 94

2003 Lytton Springs
While similar to the other young vintages the nose was noticeably lighter. Overall it seemed tighter than others; the fruit more restrained. There was an interesting brine and baking soda note particularly on the finish. 91+

2002 Lytton Springs
This had a particularly ripe fruity nose, with blackcurrant and eucalyptus. Immensely rich, layered currant fruit, with some bitter chocolate and a great finish. Reminiscent of a cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon. Just lovely. 95

2001 Lytton Springs
The nose on this was very different to many of the others; notes of autumn leaves and dried fruit. Flavours of dried berry, with savoury notes but there was a rather harsh note; perhaps because it seemed to be a little warmer than the rest. The tannins also appeared more harsh. Showed the least well of all the wines; probably needs more time. 90+

Third Flight

For a final flight Chris had brought three older vintages of Monte Bello in 375s. This is a flight that's going to be available in the Monte Bello tasting room in October. The wines were opened and tasted individually to check for variation, then two bottles combined in a decanter.

1991 Monte Bello
Really herbal nose. Light fruit. Some eucalyptus notes.
Lots of fruit on the palate; Blackcurrant, bramble jelly, some leather. There's a fresh earth note on the finish. Thoroughly delicious. 95

1992 Monte Bello
Amazingly rich red colour in comparison to the similarly aged Lyttons.
Similar herbal notes to the 1991;
If anything it seems more mature.
But on the palate it's another story - very fresh fruit, bright acidity. Tannins are soft but still present, less earthy. Hint of menthol on the finish. 94

1994 Monte Bello
Interesting smoky note on the nose, in addition to the herbal and cassis notes.
Lithe acidity, good fruit. Still plenty of acid and tannin; despite being from a 375 it will still stand cellaring for several more years. 93

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Ridge are best known for their Estate wines and Zinfandels. What's perhaps less well known is that they also produce a wide range of wines from other varieties. Paul Draper is a great believer in the expression of terroir through single vineyard designated wines, so on joining Ridge in 1968 he began to seek out quality vineyards around the state.

Production of these wines tends to be around 1000 cases and while that's more than the total production of many local wineries, by Ridge's standards it's pretty limited. Consequently these wines are only available at the winery or via the ATP wine club.

For the second Ridge bloggers' tasting event, tasting room manager Chris Watkins decided to focus on this range. We compared current and older vintages of four different ATP releases. But as is customary we began with some estate Chardonnay:

2008 Jimsomare Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Opens with vanilla oak and lemon curd. There's creamy lemon and a mineral finish. Right now the oak is a little harsh, so short-term cellaring might be in order. 91

2008 Mikulaco Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
A more lemony, floral nose than the Jimsomare, with less oak evident.
Lighter weight, with creamy green apple and a hint of ginger, and a chalky finish. Drink now. Good value at $25. 90

Buchignani Ranch Carignane

Carignane is believed to have originated in north eastern Spain, but nowadays it's mostly grown in the Languedoc region. In the 1980s it was France's most widely planted grape, producing huge amounts of low quality vin ordinaire, though government sponsored vine pull schemes have reduced the acreage significantly. In California it's also in decline; the number of acres planted has decreased by over 50% in the past 10 years, but that seems to have stabilised. Currently there are around 3500 acres planted, mostly in Madera and San Joaquin counties, where it's used as a blending grape providing tannin, colour and acidity to jug wines. Ridge is one of a handful of wineries making varietal wines.

Buchignani Ranch is close to Dry Creek Valley, in Sonoma. The head-pruned vineyard was first planted in 1927; today the vines are between 50 and 80 years old.

2002 Buchignani Ranch Carignane, Sonoma County
The earthy, smoky nose initially masks the fruit. It's light in weight, with bright acidity and flavours of cranberry, tart strawberry and some dried herbs. 88

2005 Buchignani Ranch Carignane, Sonoma County
Bright nose of black cherry and raspberry. Again it shows some bright acidity and light fruit with an earthy finish. The tannins are rather soft. 89

2008 Buchignani Ranch Carignane, Sonoma County
The colour is rather purple in the rim, suggesting limited barrel ageing. On the nose there's cola and raspberry. Fresh bright 'fruit punch' flavours, with tannins showing a little on the finish. Judging by this vertical I'd say that short-term cellaring would be beneficial; drink over the next 3-5 years. 88 $26

Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache

The Lytton Springs vineyard was first planted at the end of the 19th century. Ridge began sourcing fruit from there in 1972; 20 years later they purchased the property outright. One of the original blocks, which was planted in 1902, is a field blend that is predominantly Grenache interspersed with Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. The Lytton Springs' western vineyards were purchased in 1995 and include Grenache blocks planted in 1963 and 1991. Recent plantings include 10 acres of Syrah and an acre of Viognier.

Ridge has produced a Grenache since 1995 and a 50% Syrah, 50% Grenache blend since 2001.

2006 Syrah/Grenache, Lytton Estate, Dry Creek Valley
Bold fruity nose showing blackberry, cherry, perhaps a hint of VA?
More full bodied than the Carignane, with fairly intense fruit - blackberry and 'red vines' - finishing with nice smooth tannins. The Syrah seems dominant in the blend. 91
Not yet released, expected to be $35

2005 Syrah/Grenache, Lytton Estate, Dry Creek Valley
Strange note of blue cheese on the nose at first; this blew off revealing cranberry and raspberry aromas.
In contrast to the 2006 the Grenache appears dominant, with earthy raspberry flavours. Nicely balanced and a bit less tannic. 92

Lytton West Syrah

The Lytton West Syrah is cofermented with a small amount of Viognier. This is a practice common in Rhone, particularly the Côte-Rôtie appellation; the viognier not only adds some aromatic notes, it also assists in the extraction and stability of the colour from the Syrah.

2005 Syrah Lytton West, Dry Creek Valley
Cofermented with 6% Viognier.
Very dark colour. The nose is heavy with herbal notes and brambly fruit.
Lovely blackberry and red currant fruit, with black pepper and floral notes, and dusty tannins. 93+

2003 Syrah Lytton West, Dry Creek Valley
Cofermented with 9% Viognier.
Deep red colour. Nose is strange with notes of liqueur (tequila?), a little aldehyde and black pepper. Flavours of sweet dried cherry and orange peel, with light acidity and soft tannins. 90

Dynamite Hill Petite Sirah

When searching for new vineyards, one of Draper's first discoveries was some old-vine Petite Sirah at the York Creek vineyard on Spring Mountain. The vineyard has remained a source of fruit for 40 years. Petite Sirah is notorious for producing monolithic, tannic wines lacking in fruit, but if the tannins are properly controlled the results can be very good.

2006 Petite Sirah, Dynamite Hill, York Creek Vineyard, Spring Mountain
Smoky nose with bright acidity and blueberry notes.
Good balance, with the tannins not overpowering; nice flavours of blueberry and white pepper. Surprisingly good now. 91

2003 Petite Sirah, Dynamite Hill, York Creek Vineyard, Spring Mountain
Nose shows notes of fireplace and roast meat.
Smooth blueberry fruit, with flavours of Italian sausage and pepper. A great barbecue wine. 92

Thanks to Chris Watkins for arranging this event, and greetings to my fellow bloggers: Wes Barton , Richard Jennings, Gary Chevsky, Liren Baker, Thea Dwelle, Jason Mancebo, Jason of Jason's Wine Blog and
Fely Krewell

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