Note to reader: I’m currently practicing for my Unit 3 WSET Diploma exam. In all likelihood, you have no idea what that means. Just understand that I will occasionally post very, very boring tasting notes in the WSET style as a form of practice. In order to mitigate the dryness, I’ll try to give you a little bit more of my subjective opinions at the bottom of the notes.
A Dry WSET Tasting Note:
This wine is deep purple, with slow moving, tinted legs and signs of sediment already being thrown in the half bottle. The nose is youthful with a medium plus intensity showing blackberry jam, mocha, black pepper, and dark chocolate. On the palate, the wine shows flavors confirming dark fruits, pepper, and chocolate. The younger/stalky tannins are medium in intensity. Acid in the wine is of med intensity while alcohol is medium plus. The wine’s body is med plus/high. The finish is medium plus in length and shows the wine’s only green/bitter notes. The intensity of flavors on the palate is a medium plus/high as the wine displays a port-like richness.
Conclusions:
A very good/excellent example of the complex and extroverted New World style of wines that is characteristic of Ridge winery. The use of American Oak is noticeable in the prevalence of the mocha and chocolate flavors that compliment varietals’ characteristics nicely. The barley/yeasty note on the nose confirms the use of native yeasts. This wine is ready to drink and will improve. Drink through 2020.
Non canonical (i.e. not looked well upon by the WSET judges but more interesting) tasting notes:
Ridge appeals very much to the American in me. It’s as if there were a wine version of manifest destiny and Ridge Vineyards took it all, did it all, and did it their way. I recall the first time I ever tasted a Ridge Zin- particularly because it was embarrassing. It was in a blind tasting given to me during an interview for a sommelier position. I believe the bottle was a 95 Geyserville but it may have been another vintage/vineyard. What’s important is that, I called it as an Amarone. I thought, what else would be so rich and extracted yet complex and fully dry? I didn’t get the job but, no one else in the room called, “Vintage Californian Zin dominant field blend, indigenous yeast, American oak” either. And that’s not because you can’t suss those things out of the wine. It’s a big wine and all of those characteristics are backed up by unique flavors and aromas. It’s just that, who else does that? Not a lot of wineries that’s for goddamned sure. And honestly, if a lot of people did do it, I’m sure we’d get tired of it pretty quickly. But few do and I still fucking love Ridge. It’s big, its fruity, its funky, its chocolatey. It’s American.
