For the 4th of July 2008 we drank a delicious bottle of 23 year-old 85% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah and 5% Carignane from Geyserville, one of Sonoma's best examples of old vineyards. Just now reading the label of this RIDGE red blend called " Geyserville " and bottled in March of 1987 I read that this 1985 is the twentieth year of Ridge making this wine. At the time that I pulled it from my rack downstairs in my art/office room I was only thinking if it would be a great example of American wine to celebrate a great American holiday? It was and more. Everyone gathered, family and friends which included fellow wine-colleague Antoine Songy. It had not suffered one bit from it's age. It was mature but certainly still quite alive, full, flavorful, balanced and intriguing on both the palate and for it represented with such age. What could someone count on with a bottle now 23 years-old? What should someone look for in taste? How mellow and smooth should it be? What characteristics of the three grapes would be the most prominent at this time - the Zin, the Petite Sirah, the Carignane?
It was a celebration with family and friends over and the mood was really festive. Everyone wore broad, beaming smiles and the conversation was very animated if not downright loud. I had to speak quickly and a bit loudly, too to be heard. I wanted everyone to realize that this was a special American wine that I was opening. I did get every one's attention and we all enjoyed it/ evaluated it on our own terms. I watched peoples' expressions and smiled inwardly as I saw a fair amount of pleasure plastered from year to year, pun intended as at this point we were all quite relaxed and feeling no pain. Since it was the neighborhood people could walk home and enjoy all the flowing wine.
I think that either my father brought this himself when he visited or sent it to us. I cannot remember. It was only later the next day that I realized I had opened one of my father's gift to us. I am sorry Dad that I did not realize this at the time that we drank it because I would have been delighted to share this fact with everyone. For more technical info on this wine go to : RIDGE Vineyards, BW 4488, 17100 Monte Bello Rd, Box a1, Cupertino, California - the peak of the Santa Cruz mountains ). It's funny, looking at the bottle I realize that it was before email and web pages and all the other technological advances that are now always mentioned on labels. You;ll just have to google " Ridge " and " Geyserville " and go from there. Good luck. What journey will it take you on ? Have you drunk any older bottles of Ridge before ?
I like the way one thing leads to another, one memory connects to another, etcetera. I drank with my family and our good friends another old bottle of Zinfandel several years ago on Thanksgiving. It was a bottle of 1980 RIDGE " Geyserville " and it had been bought at the winery and given to me as a present by the same man that I was now sharing it with. His family was all there and I shared with them the story that it had been purchased and given to me by their father/husband, son-in-law. They all smiled. I think one of the sons was especially impressed by this fact. It was the only option I felt I had : to share it with the man that was nice enough to give it to me.
It did not have a very good " fill " and I was a bit worried about what we would find when we drank it. I realized that with some of the wine missing, with the fill just below the neck that it could be " iffy ". It was sublime, it was completely mature and ready to be enjoyed and it did not miss a beat with it's 28 years of age. On the contrary, it reminded me of some of the finest Italian wines I have enjoyed : it had touches/ accents of volatility and they were quickly sharp and pungent but they always on the palate expanded into lovely stretches of warm earth, sunshine and ripened grape/raisin/other toasty-roasted berry grapes - intriguing, wonderful and worldly yet provincial and of -the-exact-soil-weather-climate-place that transcends labeling to simply please/tease or not - depending on the palate and one's willingness/ability to look at a bigger picture and accept equally the strengths and the weaknesses of the wine to see it in all it's entirety. The weaknesses, the imperfections are what make it so wonderfully complete as you sip and enjoy it / as we sipped and enjoyed it with our turkey dinner on Thanksgiving here in Virginia all across the U.S. from where this wine was produced 28 years ago then.
Now it's September 1st, Labor Day weekend-Day as I type this, 2:42 PM here at home. I'm looking at the bottle of 1985 RIDGE Geyserville and the bottle of 2004 Meursault " Poruzots " white burgundy of Francois Mikulski that was given to me by Laurent Givry, Francois and Marie-Pierre Mikulski last March 2007. I will blog about this bottle of white burgundy in my next blog.
I will take a picture of both these bottles tomorrow at the store and include them in the blog on this excellent Meursault " Poruzots ".
Cheers, TONY
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