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1993 Zinfandel

The initial bottle opened six months after I received it was way too sweet. It was a late harvested wine but there was no such claim on the front label, only the back. It tasted like it had had sugar added to it. A year later it was undrinkable. It tasted like spoiled homemade jam or jelly. Of the case, I drank one bottle initially and could not drink the second after tasting. I poured all but one bottle out. Just a reminder for Paul Draper if I run into him again. I go way back with Ridge also including one of the founders. I particularly enjoy their Chardonnay which most people have never seen.

When you visit Ridge winery again ask them about their Heart's Desire.

Reply to
Bill
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The 1970 Ridge Jimsomare Zin was even better than the 1971 Occidental. I had both side by side at the late Dave Bennion's home. The guy who tended the vineyards for Ridge sold me a bottle of the 70 Jimsomare and Parker slipped it in to a Bordeaux tasting in about 1982 or so. Everyone thought it was an older Bordeaux from 1966-1971. For those of you who aren't familiar with Ridge, Dave was one of the original owners and also served as winemaker. He also opened some Late Harvest wines. Dave died in a automobile accident, if I recall.

Sometime ago I wrote about my Eisele-mania tasting where I had virtually every Eisele cab wine from the 1971 Ridge Eisele to the 1978 Phelps & Travis Fretter.

Reply to
Joe Rosenberg

I have kept a very few bottles of Ridge Zinfandels from the 70s. Of course all were ready many years ago, but most are still holding fairly well. The wines are Lodi Essence 72(sweet LH), Monte Bello 73, Shenandoah Esola 78(dry LH), York Creek 78, Dusi Ranch LH 78 (quite sweet).

Here is some information frm the front and back labels of the 78 York Creek. Napa County, 85% Zinfandel, 15% Petite Sirah. Spring Montain,

1600 ft. Alcohol 13.9% by volume.

78 Zinfandel, York Creek, bottled May 1980. At York Creek, the Zinfandel is divided into a number of widely separated and quite different blocks. The upper vineyard ripens last and seems to add greater fruit and definition to the wine. In 1978 when almost all our other Zinfandels overripened in the unusually warm weather before harvest, the York Creek did not and gave us this full, elegant wine. It should begin to open up by fall, but would benefit from several years f bottle age. PD (4/800

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Reply to
Cwdjrx _

I've had a number of their Chardonnays, and have found them to be very solid wines. None of them are my benchmark wines, but they're better than most of what's produced in CA.

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

I tried _really_ hard to get a bottle of the '70 Jimsomare, but it remained out of my reach. :^(

I've never been disappointed by _any_ of the Eisele Vineyards Cabernets I've tasted. The '77 was particularly memorable for me. I shared that off the wine list at a Christmas luncheon at Mauro's in downtown Los Angeles on 8th Street. It doesn't exist anymore, but that's the elegant restaurant featured in the movie "Pretty Woman". The bottle cost me ~$45US, and was worth every penny! Who cares what we ate? ;^D

I still have one bottle of the 1991 Phelps Eisele (which I've never tasted) that I bought at ~$35US in the pre-Araujo days. I know it'll be good, but I don't know when I'll open it...

Tom S

P.S. - The 1977 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet was also a stunning wine. IMO,

1977 was a really excellent year for California Cabernets - but for some reason it was largely ignored. Most of the 1978s that were raved about weren't as good, or as reasonably priced.
Reply to
Tom S

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