Last night, before departing for my sister-in-law's funeral in Florida,
Jean decided that she'd like a paella dinner with some friends. The
paella in question was meat-cetric with chicken thighs and a smoked
andouille, so she wanted a red wine and specified Zin. Looking at the
"ready to drink" list, I pulled from the cellar:

1999 Ridge Geyserville
nose: oak, berries, minerals
palate: soft, slightly oaky, Zin berry fruit

Not as impressive as most of my previous Geyserville experiences have
been. Is it different or am I? This wine had less structure than I
expect from a Ridge "Zin" but did have the rich, fruity character that I
expect, especially from Geyserville. Still a fine wine, and
surprisingly good with the paella.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

In article , Mark Lipton
wrote:

Last night, before departing for my sister-in-law's funeral in Florida,
Jean decided that she'd like a paella dinner with some friends. The
paella in question was meat-cetric with chicken thighs and a smoked
andouille, so she wanted a red wine and specified Zin. Looking at the
"ready to drink" list, I pulled from the cellar:

1999 Ridge Geyserville
nose: oak, berries, minerals
palate: soft, slightly oaky, Zin berry fruit

Not as impressive as most of my previous Geyserville experiences have
been. Is it different or am I? This wine had less structure than I
expect from a Ridge "Zin" but did have the rich, fruity character that I
expect, especially from Geyserville. Still a fine wine, and
surprisingly good with the paella.

Mark Lipton

I'm beginning to wonder about Ridge anyway. At both of their tasting
rooms over the winter I was less than impressed with any of their
offerings even a few library wines that were OK but not up to previous
standards.

On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:40:12 -0400, Lawrence Leichtman
wrote:

In article , Mark Lipton
wrote:

Last night, before departing for my sister-in-law's funeral in Florida,
Jean decided that she'd like a paella dinner with some friends. The
paella in question was meat-cetric with chicken thighs and a smoked
andouille, so she wanted a red wine and specified Zin. Looking at the
"ready to drink" list, I pulled from the cellar:

1999 Ridge Geyserville
nose: oak, berries, minerals
palate: soft, slightly oaky, Zin berry fruit

Not as impressive as most of my previous Geyserville experiences have
been. Is it different or am I? This wine had less structure than I
expect from a Ridge "Zin" but did have the rich, fruity character that I
expect, especially from Geyserville. Still a fine wine, and
surprisingly good with the paella.

Mark Lipton

I'm beginning to wonder about Ridge anyway. At both of their tasting
rooms over the winter I was less than impressed with any of their
offerings even a few library wines that were OK but not up to previous
standards.

I went looking for my TN on '99 Geyserville and couldn't find it. Had
'96, 97, '00 and others, but couldn't find '99. Oh well--must have
been a big night!

I can't imagine '99 being much out of character though. It's always
been my favorite among the Ridge "6" major zin bottlings they do each
year.

I will agree however that the tendency seems to for less over-the-top
fruit bombs. Less concentration and in some cases almost
unobtrusiveness. Lytton Springs each year becomes less remarkable and
Paso Robles is spotty and often herbal in character. The one climber
of the last few vintages (at least to my taste) is the Ponzi.

Oh well, all things must pass and maybe the reign of Draper is over.

Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
www.thundertales.blogspot.com
www.thunderchief.org