Deep garnet with aromatic black and red fruit, mint, violet, pencil lead, and subtle cigar box aromas. On the palate it’s medium bodied, fresh and long with velvety round tannins and cassis, blackberry, black cherry flavors beautifully accented with savory menthol and subtle graphite notes. Long finish. Beautiful wine! Blend of 76% Cab/24% Merlot. 13.5% abv
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Somewhat spontaneous, and non-decanted, pull by my sis after the Haut Bailly at the end of our pizza-calzone evening. Light to medium notes of red currants, blackberries, red raspberries, and red and black cherries coming out more with air, oak and general woodiness, mixed ground spice, rocky minerality and a bit of pencil shavings. Medium ruby, light to medium bodied, light to medium legs. Powerful tannins and acidity, still pretty separate, no heat. Good complexity, VG intensity and persistence. I was a semi-regular drinker of this bottling in the past, but it’s been at least a decade since I’ve had more than a taste at one of Ridge’s tasting rooms, and was eager to try again. I was surprised at the austerity of this off the pour, not so much from this producer, which I like but is often on the spartan side of things, but because of this generally generous vintage and its age. Austere almost to the point of severe out of the bottle, this did open during the hour and a half of consumption, with more prominent red fruit notes and lots of earth and wood, much more of a companion to the prior HB, the earlier in the week Grattamacco and even last weekend’s RS than its closer geographic neighbor the Ovid. For my palate, this is much more of a food wine than a sipper, and alas, we’d basically finished dinner, and other TNs aside, I don’t think that this has hit its drinking window yet, is likely years away, and under any circumstances, needs prodigious air to be really enjoyable at this point. Just as drinking the CA cult producers from time to time helps me ground my palate as not quite in their bailiwick, some of my quaffs from the past 10 days tells me that there is very much another direction, and it can likewise go further than my preferences, and on this like so many other things, I’m somewhere in the mushy middle. Advise holding and hoping that this loosens its grip. 90-91+
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pop’n green aromas. Chewy texture. Outstanding at pnp! Black fruit palate. Medium tannin, medium acid. No more coconut notes. Drink to 2040. I’d give this a 95 if I had to. 76Cab, 24Merlot, 19m in barrel, 2.5% water addition, egg white fining.great to the last drop. Drank over 2 hours.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.
(Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Estate) Saturated very dark ruby color; appealing, cassis, cherry, raspberry puree nose; rich, creamy textured, cassis, cherry, raspberry puree, light cedar palate with sweet, fine tannins; good nose and should go 15 years; medium-plus finish (76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot) 92+ points
NOTE: Some content is property of WineAlign and Vinous and RJonWine.com.
2/25/2024 - MattB72 Likes this wine:
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/6/2024 - larrybbaldwin Likes this wine: 94 Points
Hitting all the right notes with gorgeous aromatics and softened edges, it is perfect now
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2023 - Martin Redmond wrote: 92 Points
Deep garnet with aromatic black and red fruit, mint, violet, pencil lead, and subtle cigar box aromas. On the palate it’s medium bodied, fresh and long with velvety round tannins and cassis, blackberry, black cherry flavors beautifully accented with savory menthol and subtle graphite notes. Long finish. Beautiful wine! Blend of 76% Cab/24% Merlot. 13.5% abv
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/18/2023 - sfwinelover1 wrote: 91 Points
Somewhat spontaneous, and non-decanted, pull by my sis after the Haut Bailly at the end of our pizza-calzone evening. Light to medium notes of red currants, blackberries, red raspberries, and red and black cherries coming out more with air, oak and general woodiness, mixed ground spice, rocky minerality and a bit of pencil shavings. Medium ruby, light to medium bodied, light to medium legs. Powerful tannins and acidity, still pretty separate, no heat. Good complexity, VG intensity and persistence. I was a semi-regular drinker of this bottling in the past, but it’s been at least a decade since I’ve had more than a taste at one of Ridge’s tasting rooms, and was eager to try again. I was surprised at the austerity of this off the pour, not so much from this producer, which I like but is often on the spartan side of things, but because of this generally generous vintage and its age. Austere almost to the point of severe out of the bottle, this did open during the hour and a half of consumption, with more prominent red fruit notes and lots of earth and wood, much more of a companion to the prior HB, the earlier in the week Grattamacco and even last weekend’s RS than its closer geographic neighbor the Ovid. For my palate, this is much more of a food wine than a sipper, and alas, we’d basically finished dinner, and other TNs aside, I don’t think that this has hit its drinking window yet, is likely years away, and under any circumstances, needs prodigious air to be really enjoyable at this point. Just as drinking the CA cult producers from time to time helps me ground my palate as not quite in their bailiwick, some of my quaffs from the past 10 days tells me that there is very much another direction, and it can likewise go further than my preferences, and on this like so many other things, I’m somewhere in the mushy middle. Advise holding and hoping that this loosens its grip. 90-91+
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/4/2023 - nzinkgraf wrote:
Pop’n green aromas. Chewy texture. Outstanding at pnp! Black fruit palate. Medium tannin, medium acid. No more coconut notes. Drink to 2040. I’d give this a 95 if I had to.
76Cab, 24Merlot, 19m in barrel, 2.5% water addition, egg white fining.great to the last drop. Drank over 2 hours.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment