Zinchester

Wonderful evening with dear friends, lovely food and excellent wine.

• NV Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Platine

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Received as a gift and opened with good friends. I’d planned to bring something else but luser error led to it not being ordered so we had to go for the backup option. Was pleasantly surprised.
  
  Deep yellow colour and an expressive nose - the general consensus at the table was some oak going on and this was confirmed on the palate. Some ripe apple, a sense of sweetness that I think comes more from the richness of the oak - low dosage at 3.5g/l.
  
  Evidently this doesn’t undergo malo, some discussion about how the extra acidity can make wines less digestible. Certainly something to bear in mind next time I drink heroic quantities of champagne.
  
  This is a lovely drop, will definitely seek out again.

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• 2020 Domaine des Forges Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon

  Served with croquetas. Elevated, fresh, good acidity to balance the sweetness - enjoyable but not a great deal of interest. Suffered by being bracketed by more serious wines.

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• 2008 Sadie Family Columella

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  Had no idea of what to expect from this. On the nose, earthy, with a hint of electricity - damp ground before a thunderstorm . On the palate - a punch in the mouth - there’s a depth and complexity there. My handwritten note says “a portal” - a portal to what I don’t know but it seems right. Violets in an iron glove. This was a serious wine, the kind you’d not want to drink too much of - not because it’s too boozy, or tannic, but just because there’s so much much to it. A real treat.

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• 2015 Ridge Zinfandel Buchignani Ranch

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  I keep on flip flopping between loving Ridge Zins when they are fully mature, and when they offer this vibrancy and life and edge. My fellow diners seemed to believe the 2011 Lytton was the better wine - I agree that it was, but I preferred this - the energy and zip were just joyous.

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• 2011 Ridge Lytton Springs

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley

  Clearly a very good wine and in a comfortable middle age. I wrote “salty mineral violets” and while that is clearly nonsense, it also instantly sparks the memory of how this tasted. Objectively better than the 15 Buchignani that preceded it but somehow less engaging, less exciting on the night.

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• 2010 Ridge Geyserville

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  Well - here we go. What a wine. A Hegelian trio of Zins - the thesis of the 15 Buchignani, its antithesis the 11 Lytton, and now the synthesis. There was some question as to whether we’d open this and I’m very glad we did. So much going on - seeming more mature than the only-slightly-younger wine that preceded with, yet with nearly as much energy and zip as the 15. This was in a really good place. No rush to drink up but equally - not sure it can ever offer much more pleasure than this bottle did.

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