Paul Draper’s love affair with Cabernet Sauvignon goes back a long way to dinners with a European school friend’s family and tasting old vintages with Michael Broadbent of Christies. Still, he does not affect to make imitation Bordeaux (and has a firm commitment to US oak over French). First and foremost, he sees the winemaker’s principal role as being to reflect the character of each vineyard, year in, year out.
A superb insight into Ridge wines, hosted by The Wine Society who have a great schedule of tastings.
Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay 2003 – a rich nose and palate with fig, cashew, vanilla, toasted hazelnuts and honeycomb cut by a lively vein of acidity. Very good rich style.
Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay 2000 – a touch creamy but much more restrained, with delicate melon, floral and citrus notes, a hint of struck match and a fine, mineral finish. Very good.
Ridge Geyserville 2003 (Zinfandel, Carignan, Petite Sirah) – a primary, sappy, berry nose with leafy hints; the palate shows sweet plum, raisin, cinnamon spice, that hint of leaf and a sheen of vanilla oak. Very good.
Ridge Geyserville 1996 (Zinfandel, Carignan, Petite Sirah, Mataro) – a touch bloody/gamey with liquorice and raisin, lots of fruit spice (plum pudding); complex and well balanced. Very good.
Ridge Lytton Springs 2003 (Zinfandel, Carignan, Petite Sirah) – glossy, vanilla-edged berry fruit nose and palate with raisined notes on the finish. More gutsy and structured than the Geyserville with textured tannins. Very good.
Ridge Lytton Springs 1996 (Zinfandel, Carignan, Petite Sirah, Grenache) – a bloody nose leads onto a rich, developed palate of rich fruitcake/plum pudding – plenty of liquorice and spice, the alcohol adding a rum and raisin note; ample tannins. Good.
Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains 2002 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Petit Verdot) - heady, perfumed nose with cassis, blueberry, vanilla and a nice dusty edge. Cherry, blueberry and cassis on the palate are beautifully brought to the fore by a lively, savoury acidity and framed by layered (taffeta) tannins – intense, firm and long. This really did it for me and, at around £22/bottle, it makes it a great value for money choice (speaking relatively!)
Ridge Home Ranch 2002 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Petit Verdot) – I found this to have greater rusticity than the Santa Cruz despite its higher price tag (around £40) – malty, smoky, sweetly fruity/gamey flavours with an exotic spice (orange peel and clove) character. OK.
Ridge Monte Bello 2002 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Petit Verdot) – an exciting, slightly exotic nose with lead pencil, plum and star anise. Beautifully managed tannins: textured but oh so fine grained….Intense black berry and currant fruit with attractive bay leaf hints. A pure seam of minerality undercuts the whole. Seriously, seriously impressive.
Ridge Monte Bello 1992 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Petit Verdot) – more developed, savoury, smoky nose with underlying dried herbs/tea leaf and that mineral core more evident now the puppy fat has been shed. Fine but present “tensile” tannins now well-integrated with the blackberry and briary fruit. Plenty of palate presence, complexity and length. Very good indeed.
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
December 2006
