2018 Ridge Geyserville
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:59 am
I will always remember that first official BWE Friday night dinner in 2001 in Chicago, where someone (stefan, JScott and Whuzzup_, I guess) opened my eye on Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel. A life changing event, nothing less!
The Zin from Ridge are kind of very special wines, being big, but complex and restrained at the same time, high alcohol but well integrated, and good from day 1 to.... until when? For me, the oldest was a 2001 Lytton Springs opened in 2017 and still gorgeous.
I bought some bottles of the 2018 Ridge Geyserville, under Gerry's strong short comment of "outstanding", and it is the utopic wine, like described above: i can understand it will never have a dumb phase like a red Bordeaux, or ups and downs with diluted character like a red Bourgogne. It is medium dark red wine, with a complex and let say it that way, a superb sexy and convincing nose of bluefruit, red berries, meat, spicy vanilla american oak, flowers, incense, pink peppercorn, and a very light heat from the 14.7 % alcohol, all this at... 2.5 years old! In mouth, of course this is sligthly lush, but on flavors of concentrated acidic zin redberries, sweet blueberries, sweet bbq sauce on leather, infused oak, smoke, with some ripe tannins, return from the red acidic fruit on the long final. Clearly, that wine doesn't have too much class or tie style, but it is an extremely tour de force in the expression of a 100 % kind of near perfect american dream wine. Rating : 444C.
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As wine appreciation is highly subjeçtive, unprecise, how to keep things simple? I think it is Orlando Bobby or Robert Goulet that lately made a comment about wine and soul. That made me think a bit, and I came with that idea: rating with 3 numbers and a letter. The devil is in the details.
First number between 1 to 5:
1 being a wine I did not appreciate.
2 a ok drinkable wine, with small pleasure.
3 now we're talking, worth a try.
4 clearly a wine I liked a lot, a superior excellent wine.
5 the best.
Second number, between 1 to 5, is the soul of the wine, mixing complexity, balance, how it touches me.
1 not memorable.
2 kind of simple, not much complexity, and maybe something proeminent (tanins, acids,...) but still ok to have interest to drink.
3 the basic fun of wine, little bit of complexity, balanced, maybe not that concentrated but enjoyable.
4 we get into something here, good complexity, superb balance, you would like to drink it back for sure.
5 touch your soul, superb definition, complexity, a superb hard to describe balance.
Third number, between 1 to 5, longevity.
1 past it's best.
2 going down after the "best time" plateau.
3 right on
4 will be even better in the next 10 years.
5 will be better in the next 8-20 years.
Last is a letter.
M the wine correspond to my perception of a wine made/taste > 65-70 % Modern way.
C I can say if it is Modern or Traditionnal
T the wine correspond to my perception of a wine made/taste > 65-70 % Traditionnal way.
The Zin from Ridge are kind of very special wines, being big, but complex and restrained at the same time, high alcohol but well integrated, and good from day 1 to.... until when? For me, the oldest was a 2001 Lytton Springs opened in 2017 and still gorgeous.
I bought some bottles of the 2018 Ridge Geyserville, under Gerry's strong short comment of "outstanding", and it is the utopic wine, like described above: i can understand it will never have a dumb phase like a red Bordeaux, or ups and downs with diluted character like a red Bourgogne. It is medium dark red wine, with a complex and let say it that way, a superb sexy and convincing nose of bluefruit, red berries, meat, spicy vanilla american oak, flowers, incense, pink peppercorn, and a very light heat from the 14.7 % alcohol, all this at... 2.5 years old! In mouth, of course this is sligthly lush, but on flavors of concentrated acidic zin redberries, sweet blueberries, sweet bbq sauce on leather, infused oak, smoke, with some ripe tannins, return from the red acidic fruit on the long final. Clearly, that wine doesn't have too much class or tie style, but it is an extremely tour de force in the expression of a 100 % kind of near perfect american dream wine. Rating : 444C.
*
As wine appreciation is highly subjeçtive, unprecise, how to keep things simple? I think it is Orlando Bobby or Robert Goulet that lately made a comment about wine and soul. That made me think a bit, and I came with that idea: rating with 3 numbers and a letter. The devil is in the details.
First number between 1 to 5:
1 being a wine I did not appreciate.
2 a ok drinkable wine, with small pleasure.
3 now we're talking, worth a try.
4 clearly a wine I liked a lot, a superior excellent wine.
5 the best.
Second number, between 1 to 5, is the soul of the wine, mixing complexity, balance, how it touches me.
1 not memorable.
2 kind of simple, not much complexity, and maybe something proeminent (tanins, acids,...) but still ok to have interest to drink.
3 the basic fun of wine, little bit of complexity, balanced, maybe not that concentrated but enjoyable.
4 we get into something here, good complexity, superb balance, you would like to drink it back for sure.
5 touch your soul, superb definition, complexity, a superb hard to describe balance.
Third number, between 1 to 5, longevity.
1 past it's best.
2 going down after the "best time" plateau.
3 right on
4 will be even better in the next 10 years.
5 will be better in the next 8-20 years.
Last is a letter.
M the wine correspond to my perception of a wine made/taste > 65-70 % Modern way.
C I can say if it is Modern or Traditionnal
T the wine correspond to my perception of a wine made/taste > 65-70 % Traditionnal way.