Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Deep Ruby with aromas of berry fruits, savory oak and floral notes. On the palate blackberry and cherry currant flavors with hints of cedar and leather, adding some herb notes. Fine dusty tannins, good acidity, well balanced, ending with fruit and earthy mineral notes. Nice! Grab a filet! — a month ago

Jonathan Wall

9.2

Pretty.
Glassy Cherry leather stone.
Too pretty. Could use some more personality as it matures. Half bottle. — 2 months ago

Tom Garland

9.4

1 hour decant(lots chunky/fine sediment). A gorgeous inky purplish garnet color. On the nose: dark fruit, forest floor, smoked meat, floral, cigar wrapper, pencil lead. Taste: smooth, rich, creamy mouthcoating wine with blackberry/dark cherry, dark chocolate, earth, tobacco, baking spice, and a cedar/graphite medium plus finish with some slight dusty tannins. Had this 2 years ago, and it's improved. In the beginning of its drink window at 18 years? Wow — 2 months ago

with Brenda

Shay A

9.3

(Two previous 1983 vintage wine reviews never made it on here, so copying from CT).

My experiences with 1983s has been fairly positive, and this PL certainly is among the better I’ve had from the vintage. Holding color nicely with deep ruby and slight bricking around the rim. Started off a bit dense and muddled, but hit stride about 30mins later with a mix of red and black berry fruit, cassis, a streak of herbal green down the middle (something I always get with PL). Excellent example of the fruit showing lots of flavor without being overly ripe. Leather, sweet pipe tobacco, graphite, and still some vibrancy at the finish with tannin structure. Clean and elegant at this stage. Showed well over the course of two hours. Drink up and enjoy. — 3 months ago

Jerry Raphael

9.0

Excellent Zin with a lot of fruits; blackberries, cranberries and some dark cherries. Also, spice, cedar and more. Did not know what to expect as Zin’s don’t go for a lot of aging. Happy I found this one in my cellar and have a couple of other Ridge wines I need to drink up.

I stopped purchasing Ridge years ago as I got into lighter wines. Visited Ridge Winery last century and had an excellent tasting as I remember and met and chatted with Paul Draper. — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Opened earlier in the day and double-decanted several hours prior to service; enjoyed over the course of three hours. The 1982 pours a deep garnet with a near opaque core. On the nose, the wine is developing (still!) and slightly green compared to the ’82 Mouton that was poured alongside. Cassis, purple Chewy SweeTarts, green bell pepper, old wood, some earth and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry and has massive structure still. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly bitter. Drink now with a long decant but there are decades of life left. — 5 months ago

Tom Garland

9.5

1 hour decant(some chunky/fine sediment). A splendid dark medium garnet with little bricking. On the nose: expressive perfumed nose with dark plum/cherry, currants,milk chocolate, baking spice, floral, wet forest floor, touch of roasted meat. Taste: silky, balanced, elegant wine that is singing at 20 years with dried red fruit, earth, chocolate, cedar, minerals, saline, and a spiced-tobacco-green bell pepper long finish. YUM! — a month ago

with Brenda

Steve Goore

9.2

Dark fruits, oak, and herbs combine in this zin forward red blend. Great upon opening and excellent day 2. Not familiar with Mataro (only 5%) but blended to perfection. — 2 months ago

Henry Fuseler

9.0

2/2025. #24 on WS Top 100 2024. A nice medium bodied Zin. Paired well with my grilled pork chops. — 2 months ago

Abbas Zand

9.2

Deep, dark red color. Jammy red fruit nose.
On the palate, it is not a jammy Zin. A very well balanced wine of dark red fruits, tannins, acidity, with a very long and complex finish. Great Zin.
$22 — 3 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Medium lemon yellow , fine bubbles . Quite restrained and mineral focused on the nose , then lemon confit , quince, touch of orange flowers, with some pastry notes , white flowers , honeysuckle also . Quite intense and mineral on the palate , fills out well with some lemon oil and pastry notes also , but this is reserved and elegant in style , more mineral , chalky and more intense than the 2013 had last week. Really refreshing acidity . Long and complex on the finish , I would imagine this needs more time than the 2013 too. Come back in 5 years , will show well for a further 10-15 years , perhaps longer. Very promising . — 3 months ago

ESF

8.9

Seen this for years and thought it was Lodi for some reason, but this is legit Sonoma fruit and made in a very traditional way: all brambly and spicy, great extract and personality. Balanced and cohesive all the way thru modest finish. Great QPR as well — 4 months ago

Jenks

9.4

Drank through a vertical of this, 2012-2015, quite different oldest to youngest. The ‘12 smelled like a dusty old closet, some funk, surprisingly lean wine, good after some air. ‘14 was the best mix of fruit and garrigue. Fun experience. — 5 months ago

Chris MacLean

9.0

Solid everyday zin — 2 months ago

with Sarah

Ray Vanderhoff

9.4

Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (24%), Petite Verdot (3%) and Cabernet Franc (3%). Dark ruby/purple color. Aromas of plush black fruit, violets, graphite, leather, cedar and wet gravel. Jammy raspberry and blackberry fruit flavors with additional notes of plums, black currants, mocha, coffee, tobacco and baking spices. Beautiful hints of smoke and dusty earth on the long and precise finish. Rich and concentrated with great intensity. Medium-plus body and some noticeable tannins. Still a bit tight, but heading to a very good place. Thank you so much for the wonderful gift, Kasey and Pete! — 2 months ago

Tom Barras

9.1

Considered by some to be the Wine of the Vintage, the 2005 Léoville-Barton
Is a full bodied mouthful of black currants, minerals, spices, grippy tannins and enough energy to evolve for another decade. — 2 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Flight 2 , wine 1 . Quite deep garnet , less terracotta rim . This had a whiff of oxidation about it at first which seemed to somewhat dissipate with time . Some dark spiced fruits , liquorice and menthol hints , cedar and sous bois . On the palate good ripeness and spiced dark cherry hints . Good acidity and rounded tannin . Nice length also , offering some spiced black fruits and menthol hints . Don’t think this is a pristine bottle but was enjoyable none the less , I was unsure at first if this was Napa , but coming back to it … and reading my notes , it became quite obvious . However I had this down as the Ch Montelena , not the Dominus — 2 months ago

Conrad Green

9.5

Soft fruit with some leather, dried cherry, pure plum. A slight sourness and length. Excellent, complex and full of character. — 3 months ago

with Chris, Matt and 2 others

Steven Lee

9.4

xmas 2024 wine 4. Light in color almost orange ruby. Nose of little roses, jasmin tea a mnd some orange rind. Tannin is still there but not so harsh. Red dates. — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.8

Forty-plus years on, people still talk about the greatness of the 1982 vintage in Bordeaux. There are multiple factors that contribute to this and it’s fair to say that Robert Parker’s reaction played a major role in the early popularity; certainly in the States. While some may say that 1982 was merely a “good” vintage by today’s standards, I think history has proven it to be empirically special; there was just so much quality from top to bottom. And yet, even with the high praise of the vintage, the tone shifts to hushed whispers when the 1982 Mouton gets mentioned. Up until that point, the Chateau had sort of underachieved after receiving its unprecedented promotion in 1973. But in 1982, a year full of great wine, they created a legend and firmly cemented their First Growth status. Today, I’m pleased to report the plaudits for the ’82 are all warranted.

Opened and double-decanted earlier in the day. The ’82 Mouton pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core with some sediment; almost youthful when compared to many of the other older wines poured on the night. On the nose, the wine is developing still; loaded with cassis, black berries, leaf tobacco, leather, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with fabulous structure. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and full of power. A stunning wine and well in its prime…a window I expect will remain open for a longtime to come. Drink now with bacchanalian abandon and through 2082. — 5 months ago