An oversupply of increasingly alcoholic Ridge Rhônes was what a big part of what got me to drop out of the ATP club a decade ago. Sold some, kept some, now I have a small corner of the cellar full of them and will pull them to see if they're worth drinking when we need a glass of big red and aren't feeling picky. This is okay for a single glass with red sauce: it's still got some big purple fruit and decent acidity, but it's also got a lot of raspy tannins and barrel char in the background, which become tiresome after a glass. Meh.
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Drink this wine now, I do not think more bottle aging will help, however, the fruit flavors are still there. This 15 year old syrah from Ridge was "discovered" in my cellar (not showing up in my Cellar Tracker) as I thought i had consumed all my previous bottles...wrong. However, this win was still good with the dark fruit flavors, slight pepper and moderate finish. It worked well with the char-grilled strip steak.
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Still quite disappointing, not unlike 3 yrs ago or so. Tannins are still harsh and bitter (wood tannins, I suspect), and the wine remains an utter oak bomb. That oak is never going to integrate, and if it ever does, no fruit will remain. Little fruit remains as of now. Viogner is very noticeable - not surprising, since there is 10pct of it in the blend. Why so much oak, why so much ripeness and alcohol? To be honest, Ridge’s Syrahs have never delivered for me, and among their Zins/field blends, only Geyserville and Lytton Springs work consistently for my palate, esp. with 6-12 yrs of bottle age. (I adore aged Monte Bellos, but those are in a different league, and of course hail from a different region).
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Maybe I got a bad bottle of this - but this was bitter, ripe, burnt and extremely alcoholic. A good example of why I stopped buying the ATP wines - they just present as more ripe version of the standard wines - and the Zins seem to lack the structure of the Lytton and Geyserville (maybe the lack of Petite Sirah?). Ridge has also never done well with Syrah (or Grenache) and this would be exhibit A of that. Too hot, too ripe and practically late harvest - I have no idea why they added Viognier because the last thing this looks like is Cote Rotie. I am a big Ridge fan, but this was disappointing.
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Was very good. On the dry side, nice fruit. Enjoyed on day 1, finished 2 days later and I think not only did it hold up, but it got even better. Recommend giving it some air then.
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Drink it now. There’s still good fruit. Blackberry or current. Very mellow with a good finish. But things are fading. Drank it next to an ‘11. The ‘11 was shining. The ‘09 was mellow but still very good.
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Wow. Full fruited, showing no signs of age. Rich, lush dark fruit, blueberry, expansive, big. Very good, still young but drinking great. Wish I had more.
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Rather disappointing. Harsh and bitter tannins, esp. on the tip of the tongue (wood tannins, as opposed to skin, I suspect), with a ton of obtrusive oak on both the nose and palate. Viogner is very noticeable, esp. on the nose, and gives the wine some lift. But the wine is unbalanced and not exactly graceful or well integrated. Ample air did not help as much as I was hoping. I have another bottle, which I will revisit in 2022-2024, in the hopes that bottle age will help. For now, a rather disappointing wine. Over the past three days I have had 3 very different expressions of Syrah, which has been an interesting experience. For my taste, the Arnot Roberts Clary ‘12 was heads and shoulders over this Ridge bottling, and over Keplinger’s Kingpins ‘10 (the most expensive bottle, and my least preferred one). Perhaps not surprising, as I typically find cool weather Syrah more palatable.
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29% petite sirah makes this a great pairing w BBQ pork ribs! The petite sirah stands up to the BBQ and the plum, dark cherry notes, and spice of the zin round out the smokey BBQ flavors.
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Deep dark center, red rim with modest signs of age. Dense kirsch and boysenberry nose, blackberry jam, pepper, jalapeños. Powerful, black plums and blackberries, strong tannins still, black pepper and green chilis, good length. Great Syrah, California, drinks well now (with serious tannins still), might be better in 2 or 3 years.
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Describing the '08. Plum colored. Decanted 90 minutes. Still developing. A bit of a mid palate medium bodied wine. Red and blue fruit. Nice but not great. May get better with age.
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Full bodied with ripe dark fruit and spice. Not terribly tannic but holds together nicely. Can age for a bit, but drinking well already. Drink now-2017. The 10% Viognier rounds it out nicely.
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Very dark violet color. Almost opaque. Aromas of roasted nuts, dark berries and a touch of alcohol. Intense black fruit initially on the palate, quickly developing spicy notes and hints of garrigue and leather. Very Rhône-like, reminiscent of Châteauneuf. Moderate, fairly ripe tannins that could probably benefit from at least a couple years of cellaring. Enjoyable now in its youth but I'm interested to see how it will mature. One of the better Syrahs Ridge has produced.
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3/14/2024 - ppmm wrote:
An oversupply of increasingly alcoholic Ridge Rhônes was what a big part of what got me to drop out of the ATP club a decade ago. Sold some, kept some, now I have a small corner of the cellar full of them and will pull them to see if they're worth drinking when we need a glass of big red and aren't feeling picky. This is okay for a single glass with red sauce: it's still got some big purple fruit and decent acidity, but it's also got a lot of raspy tannins and barrel char in the background, which become tiresome after a glass. Meh.
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1/7/2024 - Mortgage92 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Drink this wine now, I do not think more bottle aging will help, however, the fruit flavors are still there. This 15 year old syrah from Ridge was "discovered" in my cellar (not showing up in my Cellar Tracker) as I thought i had consumed all my previous bottles...wrong. However, this win was still good with the dark fruit flavors, slight pepper and moderate finish. It worked well with the char-grilled strip steak.
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1/1/2023 - sdahar Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wonderful syrah tannins with oak in the background. Enough fruit to hide the alcohol but that might not be true in a few years.
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7/13/2022 - casjf Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic Syrah blackberry and black pepper flavors. Very powerful wine: needs a strong entrée to stand up to it.
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6/23/2022 - bravo.solares Does not like this wine: 87 Points
Still quite disappointing, not unlike 3 yrs ago or so. Tannins are still harsh and bitter (wood tannins, I suspect), and the wine remains an utter oak bomb. That oak is never going to integrate, and if it ever does, no fruit will remain. Little fruit remains as of now. Viogner is very noticeable - not surprising, since there is 10pct of it in the blend. Why so much oak, why so much ripeness and alcohol? To be honest, Ridge’s Syrahs have never delivered for me, and among their Zins/field blends, only Geyserville and Lytton Springs work consistently for my palate, esp. with 6-12 yrs of bottle age. (I adore aged Monte Bellos, but those are in a different league, and of course hail from a different region).
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3/20/2022 - wchrisw Likes this wine:
Drank over 2 days. Good on day 1 but outstanding day 2. Wet stones , violets, lavender.
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8/17/2021 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Morphed into a delicious wine. Excellent wine, great price if you are willing to wait 10 years.
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5/17/2021 - MusignyBlanc wrote:
Maybe I got a bad bottle of this - but this was bitter, ripe, burnt and extremely alcoholic. A good example of why I stopped buying the ATP wines - they just present as more ripe version of the standard wines - and the Zins seem to lack the structure of the Lytton and Geyserville (maybe the lack of Petite Sirah?). Ridge has also never done well with Syrah (or Grenache) and this would be exhibit A of that. Too hot, too ripe and practically late harvest - I have no idea why they added Viognier because the last thing this looks like is Cote Rotie. I am a big Ridge fan, but this was disappointing.
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11/13/2020 - aaronmphoto Likes this wine: 91 Points
Was very good. On the dry side, nice fruit. Enjoyed on day 1, finished 2 days later and I think not only did it hold up, but it got even better. Recommend giving it some air then.
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10/9/2020 - alfazed Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tobacco, bliss, smooth and silky, rose
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7/17/2020 - bbmd10 wrote:
Great but past due.
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7/17/2020 - bbmd10 wrote:
Great, but past due.
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6/20/2020 - bbmd10 wrote:
Well balanced, more than a hint of fruit. Has stood up well.
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4/12/2020 - Guarded by Griffs wrote: 91 Points
Drink it now. There’s still good fruit. Blackberry or current. Very mellow with a good finish. But things are fading. Drank it next to an ‘11. The ‘11 was shining. The ‘09 was mellow but still very good.
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9/19/2019 - sdahar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent, completely integrated. Worth the wait.
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1/27/2019 - MRichman wrote:
Wow. Full fruited, showing no signs of age. Rich, lush dark fruit, blueberry, expansive, big. Very good, still young but drinking great. Wish I had more.
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1/14/2019 - bravo.solares wrote: 88 Points
Rather disappointing. Harsh and bitter tannins, esp. on the tip of the tongue (wood tannins, as opposed to skin, I suspect), with a ton of obtrusive oak on both the nose and palate. Viogner is very noticeable, esp. on the nose, and gives the wine some lift. But the wine is unbalanced and not exactly graceful or well integrated. Ample air did not help as much as I was hoping. I have another bottle, which I will revisit in 2022-2024, in the hopes that bottle age will help. For now, a rather disappointing wine. Over the past three days I have had 3 very different expressions of Syrah, which has been an interesting experience. For my taste, the Arnot Roberts Clary ‘12 was heads and shoulders over this Ridge bottling, and over Keplinger’s Kingpins ‘10 (the most expensive bottle, and my least preferred one). Perhaps not surprising, as I typically find cool weather Syrah more palatable.
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12/4/2018 - WineCPA wrote: 93 Points
Drank beautifully. At its peak. Black fruit, integrated tannins, spice, and tar.
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7/6/2018 - casjf Likes this wine: 92 Points
29% petite sirah makes this a great pairing w BBQ pork ribs! The petite sirah stands up to the BBQ and the plum, dark cherry notes, and spice of the zin round out the smokey BBQ flavors.
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8/12/2017 - pdadams66 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep dark center, red rim with modest signs of age.
Dense kirsch and boysenberry nose, blackberry jam, pepper, jalapeños.
Powerful, black plums and blackberries, strong tannins still, black pepper and green chilis, good length.
Great Syrah, California, drinks well now (with serious tannins still), might be better in 2 or 3 years.
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4/17/2017 - jcr2000 wrote: 92 Points
Still very fresh and vibrant. No signs of fading.
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2/18/2017 - Jmb4263 wrote: 94 Points
drinking very well at the moment. northern rhone style wine.
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12/3/2016 - Italiana Likes this wine:
Very nice bottle. Dark red. Cellar aromas. Smooth mouthfeel. Balanced, with plenty of fruit flavors. If more wines could be like this. . .
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5/27/2016 - Silveradoup wrote: 92 Points
Needs 5 years, 92+ based on its potential.
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3/10/2016 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Describing the '08. Plum colored. Decanted 90 minutes. Still developing. A bit of a mid palate medium bodied wine. Red and blue fruit. Nice but not great. May get better with age.
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1/17/2016 - cdebeau Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lively Syrah with balanced fruit
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12/9/2015 - moxielady wrote: 93 Points
Balanced, dark fruit and spice
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11/5/2015 - brockley23 wrote: flawed
Corked. Took back to winery and was replaced with another vintage as they did not have any 2009 in stock. Great customer service.
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4/4/2015 - Italiana Likes this wine:
For me, lots of blackberry flavors with an intriguing bitter back note. Nicely done.
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8/30/2014 - Italiana Likes this wine:
Not so overwrought as many others. Smooth, rich, and enjoyable.
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3/8/2014 - Cadby wrote: 93 Points
2009 Lytton Estate Syrah ++++ $32
Again Viognier delivers elegant viscous texture. Beautiful wine.
http://8wordsonwine.blogspot.com/2014/03/2009-lytton-estate-syrah-32.html
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1/25/2014 - WineCPA wrote: 91 Points
Full bodied with ripe dark fruit and spice. Not terribly tannic but holds together nicely. Can age for a bit, but drinking well already. Drink now-2017. The 10% Viognier rounds it out nicely.
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1/3/2014 - kosinski wrote: 91 Points
Very dark violet color. Almost opaque. Aromas of roasted nuts, dark berries and a touch of alcohol. Intense black fruit initially on the palate, quickly developing spicy notes and hints of garrigue and leather. Very Rhône-like, reminiscent of Châteauneuf. Moderate, fairly ripe tannins that could probably benefit from at least a couple years of cellaring. Enjoyable now in its youth but I'm interested to see how it will mature. One of the better Syrahs Ridge has produced.
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9/14/2012 - karlamei wrote: 85 Points
Tasted at Ridge Monte Bello. Was quite impressed.
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9/5/2012 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
No notes taken but this was quite enjoyable. Primary for sure, but with some nice floral notes. Needed air to show its best.
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7/23/2012 - David J Cooper wrote: 83 Points
Medium light red. Very mediocre nose of red fruit and buttery oak. Mid weight flavours and a dry finish. Not very interesting.
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