Ridge Dinner 22 November (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Oh wow. The wine gods must be smiling on us. If served blind - not sure one would know what it was. On the nose and on the first tasting - you could imagine an old Pauillac - all cigar boxy and earthy. But then as the initial burst of flavour recedes, you're left with this slightly high-toned fruit flavour. The closest thing I can think of is an old Trevallon in great condition. This was really special - and makes me think I may need to halt the infanticide of my Ridge zins...
Zinfandels Ten or Older (Gen Hoe, Geneva): Blind. This is immediately appealing and my favorite of the night thus far by a large margin, not that it's a high bar to achieve given the wines to this point. Anyway, this opens with a wonderful Bordeaux-like bouquet featuring red berry fruit with forest floor and earthy undertones. The red fruit follows through on the palate. Medium-bodied with a finish that lingers for a bit. Terrific, and at peak if this is a representative sample (though I'd bet bottles such as this will be the exception rather than the rule at this point).
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Amazing. 19 year old Zin from my favorite Zin producer. Rich, unctuous and powerful. Held up wonderfully over the course of dinner. Complex with dark fruit, leather and roasted meat notes. I bought a case of this wine on release and it has lived in a temperature and humidity controlled environment which probably accounts for its longevity. One last bottle that I will drink soon!
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Amazing. I saved back one bottle from many years when I bought a case upon release. I opened this on a whim while rooting thru the cellar. I opened and poured and it was spectacular. It reminded me of a well aged Beaucastel. With time it faded and deteriorated, but if you had a well stored bottle and popped and poured into several glasses you will be impressed. Amazing longevity for a Zin, but not unexpected from a Ridge. Exemplary!
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Waited too long to drink this Zin from Ridge that we purchased in January of 2009. It improved after decanting but lost much of the character that was present at the winery.
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Still a good nose. Cherries rubber, grass. A little old. Softer tasting with raspberry and sour cherry, Good all and all. Nice to see what a older zin can do. Would not seek out but not avoid. Not bad for OTBN.
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This was quite a fascinating bottle. It morphed from minute to minute from the very first taste to the last. The cork on this one was especially soft, and took a bit of work to get it out of the bottle cleanly, but once out and (for safety, filtered for stray cork bits, if any--there weren't) into the decanter, we decided we wanted to experience the complete journey of this wine--especially given the other recent reviews on it.
First taste: upon first pour right after opening, it was a bit bland, closed, and with a muted redfruit quality and a weak mid palate. Earthy, but easy-drinkingimmediately, but clearly needed some air.
Second taste, 15 minutes in the decanter: some delicate floral notes started to show themselves and the fruit seemed to come forward a bit more, with a mildly barnyardy bret quality underneath a nose of leather, fresh figs and medjool dates.
Third taste, 40 minutes in the decanter: Figgy qualities had faded by this point, and from about 2 feet away on the way to my nose for a sniff, I caught a whiff of anise and a big faceful of rich raisins that was hiding earlier, and the mid palate started to improve considerably.
Fourth taste, 1 hour in the decanter: The anise notes only seemed to last for about 10 minutes, and gave way more and more to a balanced, mildly jammy flavor with nicely integrated tannins. Generally a loose in flavor and mouthfeel but with an easygoing quality to the overall flavor--not in a bad way, but just not focused in any one direction too strongly.
I think this would have continued to morph a bit more, but a friend came along and cleaned out the rest of the bottle haha I do agree this wine is probably fading, though it made a surprisingly srong showing near the end... like a good fireworks show.
Generally very easy-drinking, and turned out to be superb with the appetizers of the night: spicy italian salami, salted almonds, comte, table water crackers, dried cranberries, and dates.
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Purchased on release. Rasiny and port-like, with a late-harvest profile. Definitely in the latter stages of its lifecycle. Disjointed and meandering, although fruit levels are good. drink up.
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Rich mohogany red, with slight bricking at the edge. Explosive aromas of great intensity-- lots of underbrush, leather, and minerals with cedar shavings, blackberries and currants. Intense flavors on the mouth, but tastes a bit dried out, hot and over the hill. Full bodied, spicy currant, earth, cedar, raisin and blackberry flavors, but starting to fall out of balance, showing heat, acidity and tannins not quite in harmony. Longish hot and blackberry flavored finish.
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11/23/2021 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Ridge Dinner 22 November (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Oh wow. The wine gods must be smiling on us. If served blind - not sure one would know what it was. On the nose and on the first tasting - you could imagine an old Pauillac - all cigar boxy and earthy. But then as the initial burst of flavour recedes, you're left with this slightly high-toned fruit flavour. The closest thing I can think of is an old Trevallon in great condition. This was really special - and makes me think I may need to halt the infanticide of my Ridge zins...
My #1 WOTN, the group's second.
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9/1/2017 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Zinfandels Ten or Older (Gen Hoe, Geneva): Blind. This is immediately appealing and my favorite of the night thus far by a large margin, not that it's a high bar to achieve given the wines to this point. Anyway, this opens with a wonderful Bordeaux-like bouquet featuring red berry fruit with forest floor and earthy undertones. The red fruit follows through on the palate. Medium-bodied with a finish that lingers for a bit. Terrific, and at peak if this is a representative sample (though I'd bet bottles such as this will be the exception rather than the rule at this point).
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10/24/2015 - jgh123 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Amazing. 19 year old Zin from my favorite Zin producer. Rich, unctuous and powerful. Held up wonderfully over the course of dinner. Complex with dark fruit, leather and roasted meat notes. I bought a case of this wine on release and it has lived in a temperature and humidity controlled environment which probably accounts for its longevity. One last bottle that I will drink soon!
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1/13/2015 - dlduchon Likes this wine: 93 Points
Amazing. I saved back one bottle from many years when I bought a case upon release. I opened this on a whim while rooting thru the cellar. I opened and poured and it was spectacular. It reminded me of a well aged Beaucastel. With time it faded and deteriorated, but if you had a well stored bottle and popped and poured into several glasses you will be impressed. Amazing longevity for a Zin, but not unexpected from a Ridge. Exemplary!
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12/24/2012 - Wino Laurie wrote: 84 Points
Waited too long to drink this Zin from Ridge that we purchased in January of 2009. It improved after decanting but lost much of the character that was present at the winery.
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3/25/2012 - Mark wrote: 91 Points
Purchased at the winery on release. Fantastic bottle, aged beautifully, nice balance between fruit and tannin. I lucked upon a good bottle.
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11/27/2009 - samchuck wrote: 91 Points
Great fruit, a little past prime but drinking great.
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2/28/2009 - daxjonas wrote: 87 Points
Still a good nose. Cherries rubber, grass. A little old. Softer tasting with raspberry and sour cherry, Good all and all. Nice to see what a older zin can do. Would not seek out but not avoid. Not bad for OTBN.
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2/3/2009 - damntall wrote: 92 Points
This was quite a fascinating bottle. It morphed from minute to minute from the very first taste to the last. The cork on this one was especially soft, and took a bit of work to get it out of the bottle cleanly, but once out and (for safety, filtered for stray cork bits, if any--there weren't) into the decanter, we decided we wanted to experience the complete journey of this wine--especially given the other recent reviews on it.
First taste: upon first pour right after opening, it was a bit bland, closed, and with a muted redfruit quality and a weak mid palate. Earthy, but easy-drinkingimmediately, but clearly needed some air.
Second taste, 15 minutes in the decanter: some delicate floral notes started to show themselves and the fruit seemed to come forward a bit more, with a mildly barnyardy bret quality underneath a nose of leather, fresh figs and medjool dates.
Third taste, 40 minutes in the decanter: Figgy qualities had faded by this point, and from about 2 feet away on the way to my nose for a sniff, I caught a whiff of anise and a big faceful of rich raisins that was hiding earlier, and the mid palate started to improve considerably.
Fourth taste, 1 hour in the decanter: The anise notes only seemed to last for about 10 minutes, and gave way more and more to a balanced, mildly jammy flavor with nicely integrated tannins. Generally a loose in flavor and mouthfeel but with an easygoing quality to the overall flavor--not in a bad way, but just not focused in any one direction too strongly.
I think this would have continued to morph a bit more, but a friend came along and cleaned out the rest of the bottle haha I do agree this wine is probably fading, though it made a surprisingly srong showing near the end... like a good fireworks show.
Generally very easy-drinking, and turned out to be superb with the appetizers of the night: spicy italian salami, salted almonds, comte, table water crackers, dried cranberries, and dates.
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9/13/2007 - greywolf10 wrote: 82 Points
Lost Some Spice. Some mild Jam. A bit past its time, but some life left.
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4/20/2007 - otisabdul wrote: 85 Points
Purchased on release. Rasiny and port-like, with a late-harvest profile. Definitely in the latter stages of its lifecycle. Disjointed and meandering, although fruit levels are good. drink up.
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11/13/2004 - MarkC wrote: 86 Points
Motley Cru Wine Tasting 2004.4 (San Marcos, CA): Rustic Zinfandel blend. Brambly fruits, pepper, tannins still present, overshadowing the fruits a bit.
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6/30/2004 - PBaird wrote: 84 Points
Rich mohogany red, with slight bricking at the edge. Explosive aromas of great intensity-- lots of underbrush, leather, and minerals with cedar shavings, blackberries and currants. Intense flavors on the mouth, but tastes a bit dried out, hot and over the hill. Full bodied, spicy currant, earth, cedar, raisin and blackberry flavors, but starting to fall out of balance, showing heat, acidity and tannins not quite in harmony. Longish hot and blackberry flavored finish.
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8/22/2003 - dbg wrote:
excellent plummy, ripe but not quite raisiny fruit, deep
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2/18/1999 - mdefreitas wrote: 70 Points
Zins @ Minetta Tavern (NYC): Sulfuric! Must be an off bottle.
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