A COUPLE OF WEEKENDS AGO our good friend and old customer Marco came to see us
here with his son. They were visiting from Florida and they were here on both
business and pleasure and it was great to see them. Marco was all worried that
his son would break a bottle, I was not worried at all.
MARCO HAD RECENTLY DISCOVERED the Chenin Blanc wines of South Africa and he
bought a bottle of the DE MEYE Stellenbosch 2013 dry white, $11.99, 12.5%
alcohol by volume, go to : www.demeye.co.za for more info. He invited my wife
and I to join them for dinner later that night as we are all old friends. After
talking with my wife we heartily accepted their invitation.
IT WAS DARK and we did not know the way later that evening as we drove to
Reston, VA. and finally found their town house. It was well-worth our efforts,
we had a grand time. Always good to see old friends and reconnect.
MARCO GRILLED some delicious steak and served it up piping-hot with a grand
green garden salad, and a savory rice dish, too. I opened a bottle of RIDGE 1985
Lytton Springs Zinfandel that was a blend of grapes. I have had the bottle a
long time. Either my father brought it to me from California when he visited, or
I bought it. The price on the bottle was $9.95 a bottle: a small rectangular
white strip with the price marked simply in black ink.
I HAD NO IDEA what we would discover when we sampled the RIDGE Lytton Springs
1985 Zinfandel. It was a crap-shoot, you simply do not know?!? I was hopeful, I
was silently praying, I wanted it to be good, not old and tired and faded. The
cork came out all in one piece, that was a good sign.
THE LAST BOTTLE of RIDGE wine that I had was a low-fill bottle of 1980 Zinfandel
that our good friend Harry had brought back for me after visiting the winery
with a group of business associates. I shared it with Harry and his family at a
Thanksgiving celebration that we were invited to that included a lot of his
family.
THE 1980 RIDGE Zinfandel was a touch faded, and yet it was magnificent as it
slowly climbed out of the bottle and over the rim of my glass. I was amazed and
impressed both. What a complex medley of earthy, peppery, spicy, leather and tar
and olive accents. All the fruit was so well enveloped by a sweet and rich oak :
both fruit and oak mellowed and living still in such harmony. This was pretty
amazing! It was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by all. Thanks Harry!
THE 1985 RIDGE " Lytton Springs " Zinfandel was bright and radiant and fresh and
alive and cheerful and silky an red-berry-toasty-berry-cherry-
amazing! Who would have even thunk this possible, believed it to be so?!? It
tasted like it had been bottled for only a few years and not 29 years! Wow, this
blew me - us all away. It , too was thoroughly enjoyed by us and it went great
with the meal.
I SAVORED EVERY bite, every sip, and I could not have imagined a better time to
enjoy it. Made me think of my father and our visit so many years ago to RIDGE
way up at the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It's pretty impressive that view
along with the wines and the winery staff, too.
THIS IS ALL GREAT , but a bit of a ' tease ', I know. SO : we have the ...
RIDGE 2011 Paso Robles 100% Zinfandel from the Benito Dusi Ranch for you at
$35.99 a bottle, 14.5% alcohol by volume to enjoy if you are RIDGE fans!
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