Ridge Night

Monthly meetup of a group that met here on r/wine a few years back, and our second single-producer tasting (first was Zind-Humbrecht).

As you might expect, the '94 Monte Bello was just drop-dead gorgeous. Texture was pure velvet, beautiful red fruit character, elegant cedar and herb undertones. Capable of going toe-to-toe with any of the greatest Bdx blends. '12 Monte Bello clearly from the same family but darker-fruited and very burly when tasted alongside the '94. Both were double-decanted the night before and have plenty of life left in them; the '12 will be better in 10+ years for sure. Paired the Monte Bellos with a porterhouse, double-thick pork chop, and slice of A5 wagyu off the grill.

The standout of the evening was the '00 Jimsomare. Generous red raspberry on the nose and palate, touch of the Monte Bello menthol, everything crisp and integrated just right, zero sense that anything was sagging after 25 years. The '20 Jimsomare showed well, I've been disappointed with prior bottles of this vintage coming off as a bit flabby. Paired the Jimsomares with BBQ chicken, LA galbi and boerewors.

Popped-and-poured the '10 Chard which took some time to come to life after opening. Deep gold color, yellow apple and butterscotch on the nose, oak was nicely integrated, but probably at or just-past peak now.

The two Syrahs were quite similar, despite one being a blend with 11% Viognier and the other with 7% each Grenache and Mourvedre. Viognier blend was a bit more elegant.

The Green & Red is looking like one of Ridge's best new Zins, really nice to see them buying some of that fruit. To-do: line up a side-by-side of the Ridge with the Green & Red Vineyards bottlings.

Second pic is "pre-tasting audit" of the Ridge collection I've been working on it for 6-7 years now… thought I'd share given this sub has been known to over-index on Ridge nerds.