Pairing: 2013 Ridge Three Valleys Sonoma County + "No Country For Old Men"

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Sharon Bowman

Sharon Bowman
I have to say that this was a grave failing of mine, as a Coen brothers enthusiast; I had never before seen "No Country For Old Men." Or more accurately, I'd once seen the first five minutes and drifted, for no accountable reason.

This was remedied yesterday and paired excellently with lamb stew and 2013 Ridge Three Valleys, which is a blend of 80% Zinfandel, 11% Carignan(e), 8% Petite Sirah, and 1% Alicante Bouschet. This clocks in at 14.4% abv but is interestingly feathery, and so on.

Right now, a next-day glass says, "Sharon, you have a cold."

That may be (it may be coming on), but it still has fine, light aromatics and nothing I dislike about Zin when it goes raisin/prune.

Josh Brolin: very underrated.
 
I had the first few vintages of Three Valleys and was underwhelmed. Maybe time to give another one a spin.

Mark Lipton
 
What did you expect and what did you find, out of curiosity? I liked its lightness, but I didn't know where to set my own expectations before I tried it.
 
Tasted in the middle of last year:

2013 Ridge Three Valleys Sonoma County 14.1% BTG
Elegant dark red fruit with a hint of oak. Smoothie. Good weight and balance. A bit too smooth, but quite OK considering the age, dominant variety (80% zin), and alcohol level.
 
What I found was a pervasive oakiness overlaying a one-dimensional Zin. It had little of the complexity or savory notes that I value in the Geyserville and Lytton Springs. Over the years, I've also rarely been too impressed by the other Ridge "zins" such as York Creek and Dusi Ranch, so take that FWIW.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
What I found was a pervasive oakiness overlaying a one-dimensional Zin. It had little of the complexity or savory notes that I value in the Geyserville and Lytton Springs. Over the years, I've also rarely been too impressed by the other Ridge "zins" such as York Creek and Dusi Ranch, so take that FWIW.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

What were the first three vintages? The oak is still there in the 2013, but maybe they've developed a lighter touch.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by MLipton:
What I found was a pervasive oakiness overlaying a one-dimensional Zin. It had little of the complexity or savory notes that I value in the Geyserville and Lytton Springs. Over the years, I've also rarely been too impressed by the other Ridge "zins" such as York Creek and Dusi Ranch, so take that FWIW.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

What were the first three vintages? The oak is still there in the 2013, but maybe they've developed a lighter touch.
Click to expand...

Looking at CT, it looks like 2001 was the first vintage, which sounds about right to me. Judging from winegrrrl's impression, I'd say that you're likely correct about their use of oak. It's also worth noting that people are still opening the 2001 and finding a very good wine, so maybe it has more to do with drinking Ridge Zins young.

Mark Lipton
 
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