TN: Some recent wines: 86 Beychevelle, 89 Dominique and more

[Blanquito]

• 1989 Château La Dominique - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (6/5/2012)
  My 3rd or 4th bottle of this in the last few years, and each has been terrific. This bottle doesn't have that distinctive note of beef jus that the others showed (and the '82 bottling of this chateau), but it makes up for it with sweet cherry fruit and an engaging spiciness. A claret FOR the greenphobic. It's got a highly expressive nose that's fully mature, with wintergreen, mulling spices and sweet cherries. In the mouth, it's clean, cool, rich and sweet with pitch-perfect acidity and a lovely svelte, resolved structure. This seems quintessentially Right Bank to me, still Bordeaux: elegant texture with strong structure all married to the sweet black cherry of merlot. Excellent. (93 pts.)
• 1986 Château Beychevelle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (6/3/2012)
  Wild, expressive nose with loads of green pepper and roasted poblano followed with notes of dust, eucalyptus, cherry. This wine has an intense green streak, yet there's lovely deep fruit too and the tannins are relatively svelte for an '86 Left Banker. A wine that gets attention with intensity, serious depth and texture, and a great finish. NOT for the greenphobic, however, and it's almost too much for this herb-lovin' taster. Needs red meat to show best. (93 pts.)
• 1991 Ridge Lytton Springs - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (6/3/2012)
  Tasted double blind... lovely, slightly porty nose of sweet caramel, vivid notes of dried strawberries, a bit of heat. Tastes of rich cinnamon, mulled wine, dark fruit. This gives the impression of a bit of residual sugar next to its drier table-mates. Someone guesses zinfandel and I eventually settle for the '99 Ridge Lytton Springs as my guess. Despite its ripeness, this deflty balances its parts and maintains a sense of elegance. A very young bottle, except for the caramelized American oak (now fully and beautifully integrated). (93 pts.)
• 1989 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja (6/3/2012)
  Tasted double blind... Nose of licorice and anise, hints of mint, some pleasant oaky notes, reminds me of a classy Priorat bouquet. On the palate, this is marked by tons of acidity with the fruit playing second fiddle. Clearly some age here, with a resolved, velvetly mouthfeel. Would be outstanding if the acidity were reigned in. (92 pts.)
• 2001 J & HA Strub Niersteiner Paterberg Riesling Spätlese *** - Germany, Rheinhessen (5/29/2012)
  It begins quietly with a subdued nose of mineral and lime, but this baby is anything but boring. On the tongue, there's fantastic, endless length, big sweet palate impact, yet it's not heavy at all. This bottling is in better shape than the non-star spatlese, indeed it is going strong. To be sure, it has mellowed and become creamier, and some honeyed notes have taken hold. The Granny Smith bite has mellowed into a Golden Delicious, but there is still an awesome zing holding everything in balance. Drink now, it can't get much better than this. (93 pts.)

[DavidG]

Cool note on an old favorite - '91 Ridge Lytton. Mine are long gone.

[Bacchus]

I've got a single 1972 Ridge Geyserville downstairs. Wonder if it's ready yet?

[DavidG]

A 1978 Lytton Springs Winery zin tasted/drunk in about 199? was an amazing wine. Not that I generally recommend aging zins.

[JScott]

I'm a huge fan of Ridge Zins (and Monte Bello). The zins will age better than 98% of the world's cabs. I still have some '90's era zins in the cellar.

[Ramon_NYC]

I'm a huge fan of Ridge Zins (and Monte Bello). The zins will age better than 98% of the world's cabs. I still have some '90's era zins in the cellar.

I'm somewhat surprised that Ridge Zins will age better than 98% of the world's cabs. I'm not that familiar with Ridge, but have had mostly cab-based Bordeaux that are 60 years old and less at time of drinking adn were stellar. Does this zinfandel aging claim extend beyond the 90's vintages?

[JScott]

Ramon, in a word, no. Many Ridge Zins hold up surprisingly well out past 15 or even 20 years. I personally wouldn't hold them longer than that though some will still be going.. Don't get me wrong - top end classified Bordeaux are among the most age-worthy reds in the world and I'm a huge fan. Those are among the ones I'd put in the 2%. I will easily defend the ageability of Ridge Zins over most of what is produced in Bordeaux, though. I would take a 15 year old Ridge Zin over a similarly aged village Bordeaux all day long. Put another way, how many wines produced today are worth holding 20 years? There's an ocean of Cab out there that will be well in decline by it's 20th birthday and I would argue that most of Bordeaux production falls into this category, too.

[Blanquito]

I agree with JScott- Ridge zins hold up nicely for 15-20 years, and so can't compete with many a classified growth for longevity.

Ridge petite sirah, however, can go toe-to-toe with any of the world's greatest dry table wines in ageability (I had the 79 ridge PS recently that appears to be immortal).

[Tom In DC]

Channeling CabFan here, many late 1960's/1970's/early 1980's wines from California have survived -- and even developed, to my taste -- far beyond a reasonable person's expectations. Ridge zins are certainly in this category. Starting in the late 1980's, I think the style changed for more for drinkability, taking better advantage of the relatively ripe raw materials.

[JScott]

Very true, Tom. Not so sure as many have the longevity they used to, with some exceptions. Togni, Monetelena, certainly Dunn still have as long a life as any notable Bordeaux.

[Claret]

1982 Ridge York Creek Zin and 1992 Montelena drunk last week were great.

The Ridge is the best old zin that I have experienced. Cloudy appearing yet smooth textured in the claret style.

[JScott]

Claret, that's one of the things that's always struck me about the Ridge Zins as they age; they can actually start to resemble Bordeaux a bit. Especially the Geyserville, I think.

[Bacchus]

Oh boy; you're making me want to open that '72 Geyserville. But it's the only one down there!! I've got that classic "eat your cake and have it too" problem!

[JScott]

Bacchus, you do know that the primary function of this website is enabling. We have a long, proud tradition of enabling purchases, consumption and occasionally mild misbehavior. Even the slightest urge is considered to be more than ample justification for action. Every itch must be scratched. Saturday night. Bottle of '72 Geyserville. Accident? I don't think so......

[Blanquito]

The 87 and 88 Geyservilles were lovely 6 and 12 months ago, though these bottles were going more Burgundian than Bordeaux. Very ethereal and delicate, with the 87 seemingly in need of consumption.