Community Tasting Notes 52

• pitcrewstrategist Likes this wine: 90 points

  November 9, 2023 - divine- always my favorites- ridge - in my heavy napa cellar. this ones' been sleeping since i purchased it, wow! I think it is at or near it's absolute peak...Amazing bouquet of rick dark, some floral. Definite mix of red and black fruit. Oak has mellowed out over the years. Definite herbal undertones. Very tasty and enjoyable, but drink it now or near now....

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• Joelene wrote: 92 points

  June 4, 2023 - Great grip and acidity, good freshness, still young, better after 3 hour decant. Hold.

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• Rich S Likes this wine: 90 points

  May 27, 2023 - Popped and poured. Mix of red and black fruit with some sweet and sour notes on the palate from the American oak which definitely comes through. Some development of tobacco and herbs. Good acidity but not much in the tannin department. Smooth mouthfeel but getting a little soft. I think this wine is a touch below where it was a few years ago so I would say drink up if holding any. Still, very tasty and enjoyable merlot.

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• BRR Likes this wine:

  January 16, 2023 - This is in its prime drinking window, in my opinion. The nose was a fresh and complex mix of dark fruit and spice, and the palate followed suit. Dark cherry, coffee grounds, maybe a bit of herb...enjoy while it still has great fruit but isn't too primary or unevolved to provide complexity. I agree with the prior two TNs in that this indeed has some Cabernet-like character. Will hold for quite some time too, I'd imagine.

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• La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 94 points

  August 19, 2022 - From a well-cellared bottle that had been decanted one hour in advance, this wine (100% Merlot, sourced from the Monte Bello Vineyard) was tasted in double-blind fashion over a two-hour period. Opaque crimson in color, it delivers an intensely aromatic and flavorful package of ripe black currants, Montmorency cherries, baking spices, bittersweet chocolate, dill and tobacco. Medium-to-full-bodied, low in acidity, seamlessly alcoholic (13.5%) and judiciously oaked, it wraps its flavors with plentiful silky-textured tannins and is layered on the mid-palate. Smooth and long on the back end, this is a tremendous Merlot that was misidentified by most tasters as being a Cabernet Sauvignon. Comparably cellared bottles should provide pleasure for another five years or more. Drink now-2027.

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Pro Reviews 1

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2012
• Type Red
• Producer Ridge
• Varietal Merlot
• Designation Estate
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Santa Cruz Mountains
• Appellation Santa Cruz Mountains
• UPC Code 744442151004

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 327 (45%)
• Consumed 394 (55%)

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