| The MO’COOL/WAYCOOL
weekend was over for the Gang. We didn’t attend the Sunday "sticky" tasting
in Ann Arbor, because frankly, we knew that we would be burned out. We saw the Zinfans off for their return drive to Byron, Ontario, promising to
visit them a few weeks later. califusa spent another couple
of days at Gang Central, working with the Director on a
project, and just relaxing. Finally, it was time for him to return to Cloudy Bay, so we drove him to Day-twah Metro and bid him a very fond goodbye. We felt as though we were friends before we had ever actually met, and that feeling has been greatly strengthened during our two collective weeks together. We’re looking forward to our next meeting with him and 9-Ball. We returned home to find an email waiting for us from Joel Goldberg. It read:
Another Pagani tasting. Could we handle it? OF COURSE WE COULD! WE ARE GANG OF POUR!!! We had a ‘95 St. Francis Reserve and a ‘94 Ridge to add to the lineup, so armed with those (and guitar and harps), we retraced our path to Joel’s and Sally’s house, where we joined by Simon, Margie, Gary and Georgine Kahle, John Wolf, Dave Guimond and the Bored Doughnuts. Before getting down to the Paginis, we renewed acquaintances and sipped on some whites, two of which were memorable.
1996 L’Ecole 41
Semillon Washington State Fries Vineyard Wahluke Slope The L’Ecole Semillon is a medium gold with a rich, concentrated nose of overripe pear/ tropical fruit/lemon drop/vanilla and a hint of canned green beans that literally leaps out of the glass. There’s toasty oak on the palate, where flavors echo the aromas, though they’re not as over the top. There’s plenty of refreshing acidity here, and the 14.4% alcohol isn’t all that apparent. A very nice glass of wine. The Morey Chassagne Montrachet is another critter completely, as one would expect. Medium gold, with flavors and aromas of grapefruit/mineral/matchstick/canned green bean and lemon squirt acidity that will allow for 5-8 years of further aging. One taster remarked " It’s a little woodier than I expected," but that wasn’t a criticism. We don’t get to taste many white Burgundies, so this was a very special treat, and I savored every sip. I wasn’t finished with the second white when some of our compadres had already moved on to the Paganis, so I drained my glass and joined the main event. This was a different lineup compared to califusa’s Ridge Pagani Madness blowout in Cloudy Bay a month and a half previous. Besides the Ridge Zins (the ‘92 ATP and ’96 were missing this time), there was also the ‘94 Ridge Alicante ATP, the ‘95 Ridge Mataro ATP (be still my heart!), three of St. Francis offerings (the ‘93 Reserve was missing here) and two from Topolos. Unlike the Cloudy Bay tasting, the wines weren’t decanted, and I felt they suffered some because of it. But then, I’m a firm believer in giving young reds plenty of air, and these are all still young reds! Nevertheless, the tasting was great fun; anytime you get this many great Zins together with a bunch of tasters like this group, only good things can happen. Since we were given scoresheets, I went ahead and scored all the wines, which is a rarity, to say the least. My notes are as follows. 1991 Ridge Pagani Ranch Zinfandel: Dark garnet, with creamy Draper perfume. Concentrated reduced black raspberry flavors, with good tannins and lots of acidity. Needs air to drink now, and another 2-5 years will improve this, to my taste. Score - 93; Rank - tied for 2nd. 1991 Ridge Pagani Vineyard Zinfandel ATP: Dark garnet with classic Draper perfume that features an earthy quality over rich Zinberry. The fruit is darker than the regular bottling, with a nice chocolate note and more good acidity and tannins. Perhaps this can age even further than the regular model. Score - 92; Rank: 3rd. 1992 Ridge Pagani Ranch Zinfandel: Ruby garnet with toasty oak and a hint of Brett. Intense black raspberry/black cherry/bramble/briar. Another one that can go awhile in the cellar. Score - 93; Rank - tied for 2nd. 1992 St. Francis Zinfandel Old Vines: Dark garnet with big creamy oak/raspberry in the classic St. Francis style, which I favor less the more I taste it. Good tannins and plenty of acidity, but the fruit isn’t as big as the first three. Score - 85; Rank - tied for 8th. 1993 Ridge Pagani Ranch Zinfandel: Ruby garnet with pretty, creamy reduced raspberry essence. Typical of the vintage for Ridge Zins, if it wasn’t as big as the ‘91s and ‘92, it was certainly the most approachable wine of the tasting, and was the favorite of all. Score - 94; Rank - 1st. 1994 Ridge Pagani Ranch Zinfandel: Dark garnet and again, typical of the vintage for Ridge Zins. Rhone-ish/plum, with some barnyard undertones, this is pretty, but not as full as the previous selections. A hint of burnt rubber never quite blows off; nevertheless it’s not as "stinky" as the bottle tasted at califusa’s. Score - 87; Rank - tied for 6th. 1994 St. Francis Zinfandel Pagani Reserve: Inky garnet with bigtime oak/coconut/ chocolate/mint/dill; like drinking a coconut peppermint patty. Score - 87; Rank - 7th 1994 Ridge Pagani Vineyard Alicante ATP: Dark garnet with some cherry peeking out from the burnt rubber/barnyard. Thin on the mid-palate, and a real disappointment. Based on comparitive notes and comments from Tom Hill and califusa, I suspect this was a bad bottle. Score: 75; Rank - 11th (dead last). 1995 Ridge Pagani Ranch Zinfandel: Dark garnet with a hint o’ Brett (!). Closed and tight; not showing the same abundant charms as past tastings. Ample tannins and lots of acidity. Score - 88; Rank - 5th. 1995 St. Francis Zinfandel Pagani Reserve: Dark garnet with more creamy oak/dill/coconut/chocolate dominating flavors and aromas. At least you can tell this is a Zin, but... Score - 87; Rank - tied for 6th. 1995 Topolos Zinfandel Pagani Ranch: Dark garnet with ripe black cherry/black raspberry flavors and aromas, and a medicinal note that detracts some. A little thin compared to its predecessors. Score - 85; Rank - 8th. 1995 Ridge Pagani Vineyard Mataro ATP: My notes read "all that Draper perfume!" (I wonder where THAT came from?!) This was a BIG favorite at last years MO’COOL, and we loved it during Bastardo’s Birthday-thon ‘98 as well. It’s not as big as the Zins, but exhibits gobs of creamy raspberry character. Good tannins and acidity here. Score - 90; Rank - 4th. 1996 Topolos Zinfandel Pagani Ranch: Ruby garnet with sweet oak/raspberry essence and decent intensity, but light in body with an almost soda pop quality. Too sweet. John Wolf remarked "This is the weirdest Zin I’ve ever had!" Score - 82; Rank - 9th. 1996 St. Francis Zinfandel Pagani Reserve: Dark garnet with big sweet toasty oak/raspberry/cream on the nose, but flavors aren’t as ebuliant. Lacks fruit on the mid-palate. All oak and mirrors. Score - 81; Rank - 10th. Some Afterthoughts: It’s interesting to compare impressions from this tasting with those of califusa’s Pagani blowout. Though no one scored that event, my clear favorites were the ‘91 and ‘92 regular and ATP bottlings, without any clear winners. This time, they were bested by the ‘93 model, which was gorgeous and exactly where I like my Mr. Ridges to be in their evolution. Hmm... The ‘95 Ridge Pagani, in particular, is something of a conundrum. We tasted it four or five times between last November and May, and each time, it was the epitome of great Mr. Ridge. Then, a bottle tasted the night the Red Wings won their second consecutive Stanley Cup was tight and closed, only starting to show some of the previously noted charms after an hour in the glass. The bottle at califusa’s offline returned to the earlier blueprint, with ravishing character, but this last time, we were back to the tight, closed version. I suspect the best policy is to give this one a few years in the cellar, as some seem to be in a dumb period now. Or, if you want to try it anyway, give it at least an hour in a decanter. Everyone agreed that the St. Francis bottlings were overoaked, and suffered in comparison with the Ridges. I’ve enjoyed the ‘95 Reserve in the past, and it was easily the best of the four bottles tasted here, but I have to agree with califusa; St. Francis is wasting great fruit with its excessive oak treatment. And, what’s the story with Topolos??? Are they getting fruit from lesser lots? From the performance of these two bottles, one can conclude little else.
This was a great tasting, and Joel and Sally are again to be commended on putting on such a wonderful event. The food was magnificent, and the tasting was a rare chance to compare different producers’ treatments of the same grower’s fruit. And, I got to jam with Guido (Dave Guimond) again, which is always fun! I can’t imagine that this occasion could have been anything but the perfect sendoff before Simon and Margie’s long journeys home. What a treat!
Care to read about the adventures of MoCool 97? Well then here you go...
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So here's
the deal:
