1981 Ridge Vineyards, Claret, Howell Mountain, Napa County.
Wow, even though I didn’t get to try this wine until it had been open for 24 hours, it was still very much alive and delicious with full evolved maturity, in an old Bordeaux way with lightly stewed earthy dark berry and plum fruits on the medium/full palate with a touch of sous bois, dried flowers and dusty spices. Still lively and nicely balanced this unique Ridge Claret from Howell Mountain was made from 68% Zinfandel, 24% Petite Sirah and 8% Carignane, a classical California field mix, sourced from high up on Howell Mountain on iron rich, partly volcanic soils, it’s a terroir that promotes deep color, depth and tannic structure, which has kept this wine together 44 years. This wine, dark garnet with brick edges, is more like an old Cabernet, shows black raspberry, currant, pipe tobacco, incense, loamy notes, a hint of leather, old cedar, anise, spicy sage and black tea, all unfolding smoothly with the feel of falling autumn leaves and fading glories. This wine traditionally made with 100% de-stemmed grapes, was naturally fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in small barrels (barriques) for a full 21 months. It is amazing how interesting old Zin blends can be and while losing the expressive fruit after 15 years in the cellar, they still offer so much and can be wonderfully elegant, as this wine shows, even past its best drinking window. Thank you to Michael Cohen of Nielsen Bros Market in Carmel by the Sea, who has a few of these from a private cellar and who shared this with me, when we were trying the latest Ridge Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from the historic Monte Bello Vineyard, which also was a huge treat.
I’ve been lucky over the years to try some cellared, well aged, Ridge Vineyard wines, with my favorites in recent years included a majestic 1978 Estate Cabernet, Monte Bello Vineyard, 1991-1993 Monte Bello(s), a rare1995 Dry creek Carignane and a 1993 Lytton Springs, and now this unique 1981 Howell Mountain Claret joining those. Paul Drapper, who founded Ridge with some friends from Stanford, in the early 1960s, with the first Cabernet coming from the 1962 vintage and taking over the historic Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains estate, above Cupertino, in around 1966. Then things really took off for Ridge and by the mid ’70s it had gained world wide fame and was fast becoming one of California’s greatest wineries, being included in the famous Paris Tastings as well. Early on Drapper turned to Zinfandel from Sonoma and Napa counties to fill out his lineup, with many vineyards having vines planted in the late 1800s and early 1900s, like Lytton Springs and Pagani Vineyard. In the Napa Area, Ridge was fond of using grapes from York Mountain and they got some grapes from here on Howell Mountain for a short period. I have loved Zinfandel from Howell Mountain for many years, with the early 1990s Rocking Horse and then later Lamborn and Turley versions, so it was incredible to get a chance to try this 1981 Ridge. Drapper, who also wanted to express California wine through purely American lens, early on tried to use exclusively American oak barrels, and experiments led to longer air drying to promote transparency and elegance, which have proved very successful. While, not an easy bottle to find now, this 1981 Howell Mountain Claret Zinfandel field blend from old vines, then, at Park-Muscatine Vineyard, some have showed up at actions and prices vary greatly.
($ N/A ) 92 Points, grapelive