[LONG] TN: IndyWine '04

I totally agree with your assessment of this wine. Even better when I find it on sale for around $10.

If you ever make it to Napa, Luna is a very nice winery. They specialize in Italian varietals, mainly Pinot Gris and Sangiovese. They make a late harvest PG that is wonderful. It's nice to take your generous taste of this wine and go to the top of their bell tower and get a scenic view of the Silverado Trail side (quiet and peaceful) of the southern Napa valley.

All things considered, price and quality, this is always my favorite Ridge wine.

I'm looking forward to a tasting of Ridge wines at a local store on March 4th. We will be tasting 10 Ridge wines and from the sound of their announcement, Paul Draper, their winemaker, may be attending.

Usually a nice wine, but price creep has removed most of its best selling point. This is also a wine that very seldom seems to go on sale.

This has usually been my bargain zin around the house. This year though, I stocked up on the 2002 Castle Rock Russian River Zin for the same price.

This winery usually has very good wines, but they are usually marginally over priced in my opinion. I still enjoy tasting their wines and occasionally pick up a bottle

Thanks for the great notes.

] Mark Lipton wrote: ] ] >

] >2002 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc ($15.95) ] >n: grassy, grapefruit ] >p: grass, tropical fruits, grapefruit ] >One of my favorite CA SBs, this year's version again hits the mark with ] >enough acidity and fruit to stand up against the Kiwi competition. ] >

] ] I totally agree with your assessment of this wine. Even better when I ] find it on sale for around $10. ] []

Just chiming in with agreement, this has always ranked among my favs of the CA SBs too. I like it better at 10 bucks, though... :(

] >

] >2001 Ridge Lytton Springs ($25.95) ] >n: cedar, tar and blackberry fruit ] >p: rich entry, red berry fruit with balanced acidity, medium-full body, ] >ending in a slightly tannic finish. ] >One of my favorite wines, year in and year out, it didn't disappoint. ] >Classic Lytton Springs Zin with a good future ahead of it. Glad I've ] >got some squirreled away in the cellar. It still needs a year or two ] >before it'll be at its best, IMO. ] >

] All things considered, price and quality, this is always my favorite ] Ridge wine. ]

Yup, I always look for this one too. Isn't it odd how we sometimes tend to run in a pack on AFW?! at US$26 it seems to me this remains a good deal.

][] ] >2001 Cline California Zinfandel ($9.95) ] >n: minerals, cedar, tart berry fruit ] >p: mint, medium body, berryish fruit, slightly tannic with an acidic ] >finish ] >Another good bargain Zin! Maybe a touch more acidic than it needs to ] >be, but still a nice wine for drinking while your Geyserville is ] >developing... ;-) ] >

] This has usually been my bargain zin around the house. This year ] though, I stocked up on the 2002 Castle Rock Russian River Zin for the ] same price. ]

When we lived in SF this was our house zin. It wasn't this expensive a couple of years ago, alas, but that's par for the course. Worth mentioning that there is more vintage variation from Cline than many other CA producers.

] >2000 Duckhorn Paraduxx ($49.95) ] >n: tart, Zin berry fruit ] >p: rich entry, berry fruit and some oak, followed by a clean finish. ] >I've liked this Cab/Zin blend a lot in the past few vintages, and this ] >one isn't bad (but not up to the level of the fantastic '98 or '99). It ] >comes across like a medium-full bodied Zin without much Cabernet ] >character showing at the moment. Not worth the pricetag this year, I ] >think. ] >

] This winery usually has very good wines, but they are usually marginally ] over priced in my opinion. I still enjoy tasting their wines and ] occasionally pick up a bottle ]

I've always liked Duckhorn too, but "marginally overpriced" is an understatement. At least it's good solid winemaking, but a half a century??

] ] Thanks for the great notes.

idem!

-E