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And another bloody pulpit here:
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I was very very impressed w/ all the fruit left in these Zins. Only the
'72 Geyserville was too tired & not very exciting to drink. Not only
were these intellectual pleasures, they were all a genuine sensual pleasure.
In much better condition than the previous batch of old Ridges. It was
clear that, across the board, Ridge made some terrific wines in the '80
vintage. But I don't recall them as anything special at the time.... just
more good Ridge Zins.
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The big surprise, for me, was the '78 Paso Robles. I did not like at all
those early Ridge Paso Robles. They always seemed to have a hard underlying
chalky flavor that I found unattractive. Nowadays, the Paso Robles has
much more of that classic jammy/blackberry/Paso fruit and much softer &
rounder on the palate. More mainstream Paso Robles.
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Another surprise was the '80 YorkCreek. The early YCs I had dismissed as
rather simple Zins w/ lots of forward/raspberry fruit but not the structure
for aging much. The '80 was stunning... and one you don't have to qualify
with "...for an 18 yr old Zinfandel"!! My impression of the more recent
Ridge YorkCreeks is that they're much more serios/complex Zins of equal
stature to the Geyserville & Paganis.
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The HowellMountain Zins: Another set of Zins that I did not care for back
in the old days. I found them to be rather hard & closed, not a lot
of fruit; the (now) classic dusty/earthy character I usually find in anybody's
Howell Mtn Zins. Then I tasted a few in the mid-'80's and was amazed at
how well they had evolved, so started buying them regularly. Then, because
the vnyds were being replanted and Paul Draper didn't think the quality
of fruit was up to snuff, they discontinued that appellation. What a pity.
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So, I didn't like Paso Robles, YorkCreek, Howell Mountain back in those
days. What DID I like. Loved the Occidentals, the MonteBellos (MonteBello,
Jimsomare, Pichetti), the Geyservilles, and, especially, the Amadors (Esola
& Eschen vnyds ones). By & large, I think all the Amadors have
pretty much expired; but they were some of the best Amador Zins around
in their youth; during a period that great Amador Zins were few and far
between (and a period when you could drink Sutter Home and not be ashamed
of it!!).
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The old urban legend is that Zins don't age. Utter nonsense!! I DO think
their aging is a bit less predictable than Cabernet or Syrah, however.
I'm still waiting for my '74 Sutter Home White Zinfandel to come around!!
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Thanks to both Blair Swartz and Steve Sterbenz for supplementing my set
of Zins w/ some from their archives. Prices are all (obviously) purchase
prices. Current fair-market price on these Zinfandel would probably be
in the $25-$40 price range because..... ZINS DON'T AGE!!
TomHill (heading off for LA & more Ridges than you can shake a stick
at)
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