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Glunz Wines Fall Portfolio tasting

The Westin, Chicago IL

Tasted September 14, 2009 by KeithAkers with 667 views

Introduction

I hopped over to this right after the washington tasting. I had to focus on a few things and whatever was left as this was right at the end of the tasting

Flight 1 - Ridge (8 notes)

White
2007 Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
91 points
Nose: full and rich nose with really good depth with tones of meyer lemons, tangerious, orchard fruits, and bits of meringue. A bit tight right now, but has some real good material right now

taste: smooth medium/full feel with rich and fat tones of tropical fruits, tangerines, meyer lemons, and green apples. Really good depth and class on the palate

overall: This will need a couple of years to really get going. The flavors aren't fully showing themselves yet, and there gets the feel that it isn't fully strutting its stuff just yet. What's there right now is extremely good and this could turn out to be a real beauty with another 2-4 years
Red
2007 Ridge Three Valleys USA, California, Sonoma County
85 points
nose: nice and easy nose of red fruits, spice tones and some good tones of red cherries. Not the deepest zin, but it works well

taste: good medium feel with well balanced tones of dark red fruits, red cherries, and some bits of raspberries

overall: a solid zinfandel. Doesn't really do anything special, but is well balanced and does what it aims for fairly well
Red
2007 Ridge Geyserville USA, California, Sonoma County
90 points
nose: well balanced and robust nose of black currants, black cherries, red cherries, and bits of spice tones underneath. Well defined on the nose, but nothing is really jumping out yet

taste: excellent medium/full body with good tannins and delicious tones of black currants, black and red cherries, and some asian spices with a touch of blackberries

overall: This is a quality Geyerville. It won't ever be a real blow away wine, but is a high quality geyserville that should be enjoyable for a good while
Red
2007 Ridge Lytton Springs USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
91 points
nose: great nose that has a excellent spicy base with rich tones of black fruits, black and red cherries, and lots of black currants

taste: full bodied and very bold with rich tones of dark spices, black fruits, black cherries, and black currants jam. Extremely dark on the palate and a bit overwhelming right now as there is a bit of heat too that kicks up on the back end

overall: this is extremely good right now if you want a more hedonistic zin. This does feel though like it needs some time to trim some baby fat
Red
2007 Ridge Zinfandel Pagani Ranch USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
90 points
nose: brooding and bold nose with rich tones of black cherries, spices, black fruits, and blackberries. While its a rich nose, it is balanced at the same time

taste: Full bodied and powerful with bold tones of blackberries, black cherries, and spice tones. It holds the fruit very well on the palate along with some good chewy tannins

overall: A real bruiser of a zin, but still holds a sense of balance as it doesn't go over the top at all
Red
2007 Ridge Zinfandel York Creek USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
91 points
nose: silky and rich tones of red and black licorice, anise, black cherries, and loads of asian spices

taste: well balanced and full bodied with polished tones of black licorice, black cherries and a lot of asian spices

overall: This was my personal favorite of the Ridge Zins that were poured. Was still very much a zin, but has a more polished and sleek feel to it
Red
2007 Ridge Zinfandel East Bench USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
88 points
nose: very good rich nose filled with tones of black fruits, black licorice, along asian and black spices. The tones are a bit surface tones, though they do balance each other well

taste: full bodied with big tannins and rich tones of black cherries, black fruits, and asian spice tones. Fairly brooding on the palate and there is a touch of heat with it too

overall: Very good right now, this is a bit unforgiving right now and its hard to tell where this is gonna go
Red
2006 Ridge Monte Bello USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
93 points
nose: lifting nose with well balanced tones of dark red cherries, sour cranberries, cedar, mint, black currants, and a touch of flowal tones. Has real good purity on the nose with real good depth that helps make a real classy nose

taste: great medium/full feel with big tannins and pure tones of dark red cherries, sour cranberries, mint, cedar, some leather, and black currants. Very polished feel, but comes off as extremely tight and young with medium acidity

overall: A baby, but this has the chance to be a real beauty in the years to come. The tannins are fairly chewy right now, so patience is needed, but one will be very happy to have this in about 13 years

Flight 2 - Ramsay & Rasmussen (4 notes)

Red
2007 Ramsay Pinot Noir North Coast USA, California, North Coast
87 points
nose: nice nose of dark red cherries, spices and some bits of berry tones

taste: very good medium feel with tones of strawberries, dark red cherries, and a touch of spice tones

overall: a very nice pinot for the money. The tones worked well and hada some good balance too
Red
2007 Ramsay Merlot Napa Valley USA, California, Napa Valley
85 points
nose: soft nose of berries, red currants, and red cherries. A nice and agreeable nose that is well balanced and not too simple

taste: very good medium bodied tones of red currants and red cherries that is nice and easy on the palate

overall: a pretty standard merlot. Good tones that are easy going and nice
Red
2006 Ramsay Cabernet Sauvignon USA, California, Napa Valley
88 points
nose: extremely good nose of red currants, red cherries, and sour berries. Very pungent as it comes out of the glass

taste: well balanced with good medium/full bodied tones of red currants, red cherries and some bits of sour berries. The tannins are pretty big on this right now too

overall: a really enjoyable cab at a good price. Well balanced and can even age a bit as the tannins are big along with the fruit holding back a bit
Red
2006 Kent Rasmussen Pinot Noir Carneros USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
90 points
nose: very good nose of creamed berries, red cherries, cola, and spice tones. Well balanced with nice depth and good forward tones

taste: excellent medium tones of raspberries, cola, red cherries and various berry tones. Good medium acidity gives this a nice spine

overall: Extremely enjoyable. While there is some cola and tart fruit tones on this, its balanced well and isn't too much in that direction

Flight 3 - Spring Mountain Vineyards (4 notes)

White
2007 Spring Mountain Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
88 points
nose: really good and tart nose of tropical fruit, lemons, and ripe citrus tones. Good depth to go with the tart and fresh tones

taste: excellent light feel with crisp medium acidity and tones of stone fruits and tropical citrus tones

overall: a really good sauvignon blanc with fresh tones on both the nose and palate. Would be great in a warm summer setting
Red
2005 Spring Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
91 points
nose: hi-toned and expressive nose of red fruits, red currants, red cherries, and some pretty tones of cedar underneath. Very well balanced and pungent that is very attractive

taste: polished and smooth medium/full feel with good supporting tannins giving into tones of red fruits, cedar, cherries and some bits of currants and spices

overall: a Elegant young cabernet. Has the real pretty mountain fruit nose and palate going very well at this time, and should round out real nicely over the next couple of years
Red
1987 Spring Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon USA, California, Napa Valley
92 points
nose: beautiful and wafting nose that is filled with excellent tones of cedar, red fruits, red currants, tobacco, and plush tones of red cherries. Well layered and elegant, this is the kind of nose that you need to spend some time with

taste: pretty and polished tones of cedar, red fruits, tobacco, and red cherry tones all blends well together. Excellent depth and a real lovely medium feel with refined tannins still sticking around

overall: the kind of cab that I'd love to spend some real time with. Has a lot to offer and shows a side that wants to tell you a story
Red
2001 Spring Mountain Vineyard Elivette USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
92 points
nose: elegant and pretty tones of berries, cedar, red fruits, and red cherries all balance out very well together with really good layering on the nose

taste: a real attractive plush medium feel gives into tones of cedar, red fruits and red cherries. Very well balanced and polished on the palate

overall: This has a real elegant style to it. Well balanced with really good fruit flavors blending well together. This is in a really good spot right now

Closing

It would've been nice to have been there longer, but no real complaints as the Ridge lineup was excellent

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