Wine & Spirits - Winter 2016 - 50

TOP 100 WINERIES 2016

M ULTISOURCE
XXXXXXXX

Ravenswood

M ULTISOURCE
XXXXXXXX

Ridge
Founded: 1976
Founded:
XXXX
Winemakers:
Owner/winemaker/viticulturist:
Joel
Peterson & Gary Sitton
XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX
Viticulturist:
Paul Sequeira
Acres owned:
XXX Brands
Owner:
Constellation
Cases
XXXXXX
Annualproduced:
production:
850,000 cases
100%
Estate grown: N/A
Importer: Sonoma,
Xxxxx Xxxxx,
Xxxxx, XX
Location:
California
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Website: ravenswoodwinery.com

Gary Sitton
Xxxxxxx
& Joel
Xxxxxx
Peterson
Zinfandel savant Joel Peterson didn't set out to build a near-million-case-peryear brand in 1976, when he crushed his first few tons of grapes. Now, his
Vintners Blends can be found in grocery stores from Florida to Alaska, yet his
single-vineyard wines remain California classics.
Zinfandel Originals: Every year, Peterson makes a handful of singlevineyard zinfandels from old-vine sites in Sonoma and Napa. His
approach is remarkably consistent: harvesting at modest potential
alcohol, fermenting without added yeast, then aging in a mix of new
and used French oak for about 18 months. Of the 2013s, the Teldeschi Vineyard Zin from Dry Creek Valley is especially stunning.
Planted on red, gravelly benchland soil between 1900 and 1910, the
vines grew a wine that's bright yet deep and savory, its flavors ranging from zesty pomegranate to umami-rich black trumpet mushrooms, a healthy dose of petite sirah giving the wine its firmness. It's
a classical Sonoma zin for the cellar.
A Volcanic Claret: While zinfandel is Ravenswood's calling card, Peterson has quietly been making one of Sonoma's most evocative Bordeaux-variety blends since 1986. The Pickberry Vineyard sits on the
cool northeastern slope of Sonoma Mountain, its rocky, volcanic
soils yielding monumental cabernet that Peterson tames with merlot.
Tasted recently, a 1988 Pickberry was drinking perfectly-
full of pure, supple cedar and cassis flavors-while a
1991 was still frisky and surprisingly youthful. The 2012
is dynamite: You can sense the cool atmosphere of the
site in aromas of mint and violets, while the structure is
stony and racy at once.
Blends for the Rest of Us: Peterson made his first Vintners Blend Zinfandel in 1983, bottling bulk juice
from Gundlach Bundschu. He soon transitioned to
sourcing fruit, and the wine took on a life of its own.
Simple and plush, the Vintners Blend zin is still a
good value, but keep an eye out for the bold, spicy
2013 Petite: It's is one of the best California reds
you'll find for less than $10. -L.S.

TOP-SCORING WINES

Founded: 1886
Founded:
XXXXEric Baugher (Monte
Winemakers:
Owner/winemaker/viticulturist:
Bello), John Olney (Lytton Springs)
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Viticulturist:
David Gates
Acres
Owner:owned:
AkihikoXXX
Otsuka
Cases
produced:
Acres owned:
280XXXXXX
Estate
100%66,000 cases
Annualgrown:
production:
Importer:
Xxxxx72%
Xxxxx, Xxxxx, XX
Estate grown:
Website:
Locations:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Cupertino, CA and

John Olney
Xxxxxxx
& Eric
Xxxxxx
Baugher

Healdsburg, CA
Website: ridgewine.com

As longtime winemaker Paul Draper announced his retirement, Ridge released
a pair of classical wines from its Monte Bello vineyard, including the best
Estate cabernet we've ever tasted.
A New Era: Paul Draper has been the animating force behind Ridge
for the past four decades. He joined the winery in 1969, and hewed
to traditional European winemaking techniques as modern additives
and practices like de-alcoholization and micro-oxygenation altered
the way wines around the world were made. His crowning achievement-which he would, no doubt, attribute to an exceptional vineyard site-was Monte Bello, a savory, long-lived, cabernet-based wine
from limestone-veined soil high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. For
those who might worry about Ridge's future, Draper points out that,
while he's been involved in the major assemblage tastings over the
past decade, winemakers Eric Baugher and John Olney and vineyard
manager David Gates have largely been in charge of the wines.
Mountain Velvet: Monte Bello often shows a youthful charm shortly
after release, then shuts down for ten years or so before blossoming into its mature self. The 2012 is certainly worth catching in its
youth. The blend includes a fairly high proportion of merlot-22
percent-and the warm 2012 growing season gave a plush,
satisfying vintage of Monte Bello. There's a deliciously lush
blackberry flavor in the foreground, while Monte Bello's
characteristic cedary aroma, elegant tannins and lively
acidity form a classic vintage that will be as delicious in
ten or twenty years as it is now. Underneath its richness,
Baugher finds a lot of implicit structure in the wine:
"Until the 2013 came along, we felt 2012 was one of the
most structured Monte Bellos since 1992."
Monte Bello, Jr.: The more forward, softer lots from
Monte Bello go into the Estate cabernet. The 2013 is a
tantalizing hint of what the soon-to-be-released 2013
Monte Bello will look like. California's protracted
drought encouraged a powerful cabernet with uncommon structure and verve to its savory cassis flavor. It's
surprisingly firm, and the fruit is pristine. Cellar it like
you would Monte Bello, Sr. -L.S.

TOP-SCORING WINES

XX '12
94
'XX Sonoma
XxxxxxxxMountain
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
Pickberry
$XX Vineyard
(XX/XX) $50 (2/16)

XX '13
95
'XX Santa
Xxxxxxxx
CruzXxxxxxx
Mtns. Estate
Xxxxx Monte
$XX (XX/XX)
Bello Cabernet $55 (10/16)

XX '13
94
'XX Dry
Xxxxxxxx
CreekXxxxxxx
Valley Teldeschi
Xxxxx $XX
Vineyard
(XX/XX)Zinfandel $37 (2/16)

XX '12
93
'XX Santa
Xxxxxxxx
CruzXxxxxxx
Mtns. Monte
Xxxxx Bello
$XX (XX/XX)
Vineyard Red $175 (2/16)

XX '13
92
'XX Sonoma
XxxxxxxxValley
Xxxxxxx
OldXxxxx
Hill Vineyard
$XX (XX/XX)
Zinfandel $60 (2/16)

XX '13
90
'XX Santa
Xxxxxxxx
CruzXxxxxxx
Mts. Estate
XxxxxMonte
$XX (XX/XX)
Bello Merlot $50 (10/16)

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http://www.ravenswoodwinery.com http://www.ridgewine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2016