Ridge York Creek 2009 Zinfandel,
$24.64-$28.99, 93 points, is 7% Petite Sirah, and once again justifies Ridge as one of the go-to wineries for Zinfandel wines. Versatile, aromatic, and having a strong backbone of acidity with firm tannin, this wine is powerful now, but filled with pleasantries that boggle the Zinfanphile's palate, and will evolve for years to come.
Very deep-dark magenta color, cedar with a floral-plum aroma, displaying bright flavors of licorice, plum, and boysenberry, its medium-plus body carries through smoothly into a fine finish of spice with some heat (14.7% alcohol).
The York Creek did not disappoint, but is a wine of considerable earnest; having been bottled in January of 2011, this is a very young Zinfandel that is beautifully flavorful now, but given a few years will only improve. often it is said that Zinfandel wines should be drunk young, and this is great for the York Creek, but I'm confident that this is an exceptional wine and may be stashed away in your cellar.
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Dennis,
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried this one, but do have the 08 and 09 Geyserville, the 09 Lytton Springs, and the 09 Paso Robles tucked away. I'm thinking about cracking open the 08 Geyserville next weekend. Just curious, is there a particular Ridge bottling that you favor year in and year out or does it vary?
Nick
Nick, I have had 11 Ridge Zins or mostly Zin wines, and only the 06 Three valleys was I unhappy with, all the others were exceptional wines for me; keep in mind that SH scored this York Creek 88 while ST scored it 92.
DeleteHere is my preface on the Ridge Geyserville 2008 Red Wine 72% Zinfandel, 20 % Carignane, 6% Petite Syrah, 2% Mourvedre (Mataro), $29.74-$34.99, 93 points.
The 10 Ridge wines minus the Three Valleys, I always have loved.
Please let me know how you enjoy them.
Nick and Dennis,
ReplyDeleteMy favorite has always been the Pagani Ranch, however, I think that differs only stylistically from the Lytton and Geyserville - all of which attain the same quality level.
J
So much for self-restraint, we had the 08 Geyserville tonight and it was really impressive. I haven't had the Pagani Ranch John (typically see the Three Valleys, Geyserville, Lytton Springs, and Ponzi Ranch around the Denver area) but I'll be on the lookout.
ReplyDeleteNick
Nick, I'll be very interested to see your review of the Geyerville. Yeah, the "impressive" is for a very fair price too. It would seem that this is another wine we have parallel-palates. :-)
DeleteI did a little expo-facto research: Ridge 2008 Pagani Ranch received scores of 92 WS, 94 RP, and 91 ST, but SH once again came through with an 83. This is where one of those "beginnings" that helps you (me) to identify with a critic's palate, and as you trust your own palate and then research what others say, a profile develops, and of course that's not going to be over one wine or varietal. Certainly, the more than 100 Zinfandels I've tasted can't compare with SH, but is certainly enough tastings to see a pattern in my palate. As for all the nay-saying against RP (This won't win me any friends), I can't remember one time I bought a wine he recommended with a high score, that I did't like; I'm sure there is one, but it doesn't come to mind.
ReplyDeleteThis is an age-old dilemma, but one worth considering in light of my own wine-tasting endeavor.
I forgot to mention that if you use SH as your guide, and you see one of these Ridge Zinfandel wines for about $30, and having a score like 83 points, do you buy it? Or do just go to the Seghesio Sonoma 2010 Zinfandel that SH scored 93 points, and cost about $21.00? Don't get me wrong, I liked the Seghesio Sonoma 2010 Zinfandel, but after drinking the the York Creek (SH 88) for three days now, it's still a great wine, and for me an equal QPR to the Seghesio.
DeleteCheers!
Funny that you mentioned the Seghesio 2010 Sonoma Zin--I was also a big fan of this wine and reviewed it earlier this year. I thought the Geyserville was a cut above, though. I don't use the 100 point scale on my blog, but if I did I would rate the Geyserville as a 93 and the Seghesio as a 91. As for SH's score on the Pagani, wow, it's way out of line with the other publications. I also did some research and saw that he gave the 08 Geyserville an 87. SH must not be a big Ridge fan.
ReplyDeleteNick, you'll see a lot of this kind of thing (Score disparity), but my understanding is that SH did these wine tastings blind. I like Seghesio so much I bought two cases of it, but I agree with you that the Ridge Zins are a step above, maybe two steps in some cases; this is where you (me) identify with other critics, and learn who to trust will match your palate, and sometimes there is a match with one wine critic on Cabs, but not Zins etc. WS seems off with my Brunello Palate while James Suckling and John from Tuscan Vines seem to have a more parallel view on them, but it's still too early to be definitive and my exploration of Brunello is in its infancy. You have to start somewhere, and I think the idea is one step at a time, all the time having a good time and enjoying the wine and the company.
DeleteThanks for yours,
Dennis
I love Ridge. Plain & simple.
ReplyDeleteScore disparity...that's one of the reasons why I just don't care about scores from anyone. I have to pay attention for work, but otherwise, I probably couldn't care less. I'm not saying that they don't have their place - they do - just not for me.
I hear you Claire, and I'm sorry for this long answer (You just might want to skip this), but you know what it's all about, Bill is so good at describing a wine he doesn't need to, but less experienced, curious, and less informed (redundant?) people, often like having some direction, and I think some kind of ranking plus cost awareness makes buying wine more accessible; I think the challenge for those who score wines is to be as consistent and free of outside influences as is possible.
DeleteWhen exploring a new varietal or one less familiar, I struggle to evaluate not only what it taste like, but putting some qualitative value so as to say to my son: If your looking for a good SB at the $10 range, Mohua is a great choice, but if you're just going to the super market, Cupcake is good too.
John from Tuscan Vines could give me two recommendations for 2006 BM, both about the same price, but one he scores 92 points and the other he scores 98 points, and I take that information to the Wine Boutique where they have both wines which neither of have I tried; which one will I buy?
Honestly, I'm glad for John's scores, but if I find that I can afford both wines and find I like the 92 point wine better, then I begin to judge our palates different without qualifying one palate bad, one palate good, only different.
I know that this quite philosophical debate is bantered about all the time, and better minds than mine have christened their blogs on one side or the other, but for the conversation of it, it is what it is! =P