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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 85.5 pts. and median of 88 pts. in 21 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by IlonaN on 11/10/2018 & rated 90 points: Black raspberries on the nose and palate--a touch sweet of course but very good with a braised black bean chinese ribs dish.
Great showing for 18 year old wine! (1029 views) | | | Tasted by Shawn72 on 7/17/2017 & rated 88 points: Held up pretty well for 17 yrs. Nice tannins and blackberry flavors. (1460 views) | | | Tasted by wythes on 4/17/2017 & rated 88 points: Wow. It's been six years since the last CT review for this wine.
So.... I've been holding on to this bottle for some reason and decided to finally open it up. Amazed to see the cork had absolutely no seepage at all. It has a good nose that's fruity and showing some age. Straight out of the glass this wine has a very oily/inky mouthfeel and a typical zin flavor. The 16% alcohol level rears it's head quickly on the first sip - hot and heavy.
This wine is a reminder of why I stopped drinking zinfandel a long time ago. Not that zins are bad - it's just that they're a little too hot & heavy for my tastes.
Date 2: Wine has mellowed a bit but still holding together well considering it's age. Gosh, this wine is sweet! I guess that goes without saying, it being late picked and all... (1549 views) | | | Tasted by timewithwine on 1/4/2014: The maroon rim quickly fades to a blood red core. The nose smells sweet - and that is not a compliment. The nose suggests something port-like. That sweetness masts the heavy laden Zin funk, rhubarb and plum notes of the bouquet. The whole wine smells “thick.” Tasting the wine by itself, it is unpleasantly sweet and thick with flavors of raisins, cherry and Dr. Pepper, perhaps even cherry-Dr. Pepper. Elements of the bouquet appear and round out the profile. By itself, the wine is actually nasty. It lacks the acidity to carry off the 0.7% RS. But fortunately, with the wings - which do not present spicy heat - the wine is lifted into something more than itself. Some large grains of sediment. 15.8% alc. With chicken wings (two preparations: mango-pistachio on the one hand and old bay on the other); excellent with the old bay flavoring especially when dipped in homemade ranch flavored dip. Recommended only because it works with the pairing, but if left to stand alone the wine would be Not Recommended (simply not enough acidity to carry the RS). (431 views) | | | Tasted by JBVino on 5/20/2011: nothing but a bit of fruit and alchohol...had enough fruit for my to enjoy night 1 (she likes heavily fruit forward extracted wines); but night 2 not even heavily extracted fans could get by the alcohol (3422 views) | | | Tasted by Dan M on 1/8/2011: Slight bricking on the edges. The nose and palate initially were raisins. It did open up a bit over an hour with the raisin flavor diminishing and a mix of dark fruits coming forward. A little drying tannins at the finish. Probably past prime drinking but gracefully so. Drink up if you have any. (3290 views) | | | Tasted by SteveG on 11/22/2009: Unexpectedly this was neither particularly sweet nor volatile. Despite 15+ abv and the label description, it was just a bit more than off-dry, almost suitable for dinner. We enjoyed this with an intense chocolate cake, compared with the wine seemed rather light. While these grapes may have been harvested late, there was no sense of overripeness, rather surprising restraint, acid and light wood. Overall more enjoyable than expected. (3178 views) | | | Tasted by BigTarheel on 4/5/2009 & rated 88 points: Good but not exceptional ... inky with a very chunky texture. There were aromas of ripe berries, expresso an spice. Drinking well right now but should hold. (2857 views) | | | Tasted by dk on 1/29/2009: mark, andrew spinelli's (2943 views) | | | Tasted by bnbmike on 5/22/2008 & rated 89 points: This was a very smooth, mellow Zin. Glad we waited to drink. (1736 views) | | | Tasted by mebydef on 5/20/2008 & rated 75 points: Still has fruit, but it’s candied, cooked. Confit of fruit. Heavy and sweet. VA? (1778 views) | | | Tasted by mebydef on 3/26/2008 & rated 90 points: Thought this was corked at first, but now I think it may have been an artifact of the oak. The fruit is still present, if a bit aged i.e. dried fruits. There were wood notes along with tobacco and minerals. It turned into a more interesting wine by the second day. It was more complete with the tannins buffering the structure. The acid also keeps things in line. The label claims the wine to be 15.8%, but it’s not so noticeable. Very nice job without the expected porty qualities a late picked wine can have. (1675 views) | | | Tasted by jeffreym123 on 11/7/2007 & rated 87 points: not a port, not a typical zin. fruit bomb? yes. not sure i get this wine at all. (2101 views) | | | Tasted by twoamps on 1/21/2006 & rated 88 points: mostly jammy. Reminds me of a Renwood. Nice big wine for 2000. Liked it better than before. RS isn’t obvious but makes for a smooth finish. (557 views) | | | Tasted by PaulH on 12/8/2005 & rated 90 points: Good clean nose of berries and underbrush. Excellent, smooth integrated palate with good structure and bright notes of red berries over a background of dark chocolate. Medium full body and a smooth sweet tannic finish. This is an excellent Zin and while it is certainly great now, will last at least a few more years. (2816 views) | | | Tasted by timewithwine on 6/25/2005: Saturday, June 25, 2005 Zinging Evening of Zin and Sin All wines but for the Ridge Ponzo were consumed single blind at dinner. Hendry Zinfandel Napa 2001 14 Months in French oak (only 35% is new). Definitely young and needing time. More rustic than the others and somewhat bigger. Comments by others: young and good; best/winner; okay; acidic and charcoal (interesting how some liked it and some didn’t!) 15.4% alc. Ridge York Creek Zinfandel ‘98 88% Zin, 12% Petite Sirah. 12 month in new, 1yr, and 4yr old American oak. Comments by others: fruity, not hot; good; rosemary and cherry; cherry and leather. 14.9% alc. Ridge York Creek Zinfandel Late Picked 2000 75% Zin, 25% Petite Sirah. American oak, but don’t know the breakdown. Rich and sweet, yet a tad green something hanging in there. Comments by others: hotter than (Villa App.), pepper; strong; meaty; banana. (Despite some sentiment against this wine, it was one of the first bottles emptied.) 15.8% alc. Ridge Ponzo Zinfandel Russian River Valley 2003 Opened after dinner; not one of the five with dinner. 85% Zin, 14% Petite Sirah, 1% Carignane. 12 months in New American oak. Big juicy and chewy. Loads of bramble berry, vanilla, toast, leather. This will go the distance. Do not touch until ‘08 or ‘09. 13.5% alc. St. Francis Old Vines Zinfandel Sonoma 1999 15 months in new American oak. Comments by others: mellows with air time; ’no go’; poison ivy and tart. This is the wine least liked by the crowd. Half of the bottle remained at the end of the evening .... or whenever it was uncovered. 15.1% alc. Villa Appalaccia Primitivo (Va.)2001 My notes from prior data points instructed that this be held until at least June of this year. My thinking was that this would plump up and be hitting its stride about now. Suspicions confirmed. Spice, pepper and cedar. But a tad bit thinner bodied than the other wines. A hint of pine resin. More old world than the other wines. Maybe a hint of RS, but if so, only a touch. Comments by others: wax, great zin (Stephanie’s fav); bitter; mint, rosemary; walnut, very good, 13% alc. Smoked pulled pork with tangy molasses BBQ sauce. Sides of Emeril’s horseradish coleslaw, chili-cheese corn, roasted potatoes, sugar snap peas. 6.25.05. (88 views) | | | Tasted by Luca B on 11/25/2004 & rated 80 points: I had this wine with Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. My mom loved this wine, but I thought it could have sat a little longer. As it was though it went perfectly with Thanksgiving dinner. It had intense berry on the front of the pallete and was slightly spicy on the finish. I think had I let it age for a year or two more the berry would have mellowed and the spice on the finish would have been more pronounced. All and all though this wine was an enjoyable drink perfect for the holiday season and can be enjoyed by professionals and amatures alike. (2608 views) | | | Tasted by twoamps on 6/1/2003 & rated 87 points: muddy, chewy middle. RS isn’t obvious but could be whats making it chewy without noticibly tannic. (547 views) | | | Tasted by peternelson on 11/8/2002 & rated 89 points: Red Carpet: Brownish ruby; jam w/licorice, minty undertones; nice bal., big t’s, nice hot fin. (681 views) |
| Ridge Producer website | Wikipedia
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 m) on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA near Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County.Zinfandel ZAP: Zinfandel Advocates & Producers | Varietal character (Appellation America) | Wikipedia-ZinfandelYork CreekRidge Vineyards has a nice graphic showing the location of their Napa vineyards: York Creek and Dynamite Hill.
York Creek Vineyard, high atop Spring Mountain overlooking the Napa Valley. Zinfandel and petite sirah vines, planted 1970-1990.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Spring Mountain DistrictWikipedia article on the Spring Mountain Distric AVA. |
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