The Californian that trumps Bordeaux

Monte Bello Cabernet, from the original vineyards on Monte Bello ridge, is recognised as one of the great Bordeaux-style wines of California, frequently beating its French competitors in blind tastings

THERE IS AN intellectual strain running through Ridge winery in California. Originally founded by a doctor, then revived, first by a theologian and more recently by a group of research scientists, its legendary winemaker majored in philosophy before turning to more mundane matters such as wine. In its most recent incarnation, Ridge started out as a hobby for four engineers from nearby Stanford Research Institute. They spent their weekends at the century-old winery, tending vines and making wine. As their favourite wines were red Bordeaux and white Burgundy, they planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. High up in the hills overlooking Silicon Valley, it was cooler than the other regions, but above the damp cold fog that sweeps in most days.

The original winery had been built in 1890 by a prominent San Francisco doctor of Italian descent. Like most wineries in California, it was abandoned during prohibition. In the 1940s, theologian William Short bought the winery and planted some Cabernet Sauvignon, which is still in use today. The new owners slowly renovated the winery, but retained many of the original features.

The first wine was made in 1959, the first commercial vintage in 1962. This was long before California became known as a quality wine-producing area; the competition made cheap jug wine generally labelled Chablis or Burgundy.

Ridge was the first to use a vineyard name on its label, and one of the first to state the grape variety. In the late 1960s and 1970s, it began searching out and making wine from old Zinfandel vineyards. Over the years, it has produced wines from more than 100 plots. This has now been narrowed down to about 15 carefully selected sites running from San Luis Obispo in the south to the Alexander Valley in the north.

The company owns just three of these vineyards, Monte Bello (the original vineyard), Lytton Springs and Geyserville, buying grapes from the remainder. In 1969, the company was joined by Stanford philosophy graduate Paul Draper, who made the wines for the next 40 years, crafting a range of idiosyncratic wines that went against everything else that was then fashionable in California. Draper preferred less alcoholic wines that reflected the soil on which they were grown. He also championed the semi-native Zinfandel. Today, Monte Bello Cabernet, from the original vineyards on Monte Bello ridge, is recognised as one of the great Bordeaux-style wines of California, frequently beating its French competitors in blind tastings, the most famous being in the “Judgment of Paris”. The Ridge Zinfandels (they make no less than 12), have a similar reputation among aficionados of that grape. Geyserville and Lytton Springs are the best-known.

Ridge wines are unique for many reasons; the refusal to blend wines from different vineyards (this means 26 different wines each year); the use of American oak, where other upmarket producers prefer more expensive French barrels; the old-style winemaking, using natural yeasts and no filtration; the addition of a small proportion of other grape varieties in each wine. This makes for distinctive wines with real personality, often enjoyed by wine-drinkers who shun other New World wines.

Can wines at €40 and €100 be considered bargains? Compared to the fabulously expensive superstar wines from the Napa Valley and other parts of California, Ridge wines have always been fairly priced. In my experience, they also deliver every year. Of the limited range available in Ireland, it is only the Chardonnay that I find less than inspiring, although those who enjoy powerful oaky white wines might disagree. But the red wines are always impressive – opulent but never excessive, with complex earthy, spicy, dark fruits and real mineral depth.

Eric Baugher, the current winemaker, said on a recent visit to Dublin: “Ridge is all about letting the terroir and the grapes do the work on their own.”

WINE DIARY

L’Ecrivain Restaurant will host an Alsace wine dinner with Séverine Beydon-Schlumberger of Domaine Schlumberg this Wednesday. Tickets are €100 per person. To book, call L’Ecrivain on 01-6611919.

Ballymaloe House in Co Cork, will hold a Riesling tasting this Thursday with three winemakers: Séverine Beydon-Schlumberger from Alsace, Carl Ehrhard from Germany, and Tim Adams from Australia. The cost is €25, to include nibbles. For more information, contact Colm@ballymaloue.ie or Ireland@australia.com, or book direct on res@ballymaloe.ie, tel: 021-4652531.

The Corkscrew in Chatham Street, Dublin 2, will hold its Summer Wine Fair on Sunday, May 27th, from 12.30-5.30pm in the Westbury Hotel. Tickets are €25, with proceeds going to Debra Ireland.

Pearl Brasserie and Redmonds Fine Foods are holding a seven-course gourmet tasting dinner on Wednesday, May 30th. Places at the dinner cost €110, and can be booked at pearlbrasserie.com.

BOTTLES OF THE WEEK

Ridge Lytton Springs 2006, Dry Creek, Sonoma Valley 14.5% €42 or £29.95Made primarily with Zinfandel, but co-fermented with 16 per cent Petite Syrah, plus a small amount of Carignan, this has a sweet, ripe nose, a profusion of soft, sleek, damson and loganberry fruits with an earthy touch and a long, fresh, dry finish. Super wine, and worth every penny. Stockist: James Nicholson, jnwine.com

Ridge Monte Bello 2011, Santa Cruz 12.8% €455/£395 per case of six bottles, excluding duty, shipping and VATThe Cabernet-based flagship wine from Ridge is currently on offer "en primeur", for delivery in June 2014. I tasted a cask sample in Dublin recently. It is classic California Cabernet, with an amazing depth of colour, a hedonistic nose of sweet, ripe, cassis, which flows through on,to a massive palate of rich fruit, dry tannins and new spicy oak. I wouldn't touch it for at least 10 years. Stockist: James Nicholson

Touraine Sauvignon 2011, Domaine des Corbillières 13% €11.20A lovely zippy, fresh Sauvignon with plump, green fruits and very good length, this disappeared from the Wilson fridge with remarkable speed. Stockist: Wines Direct, Mullingar, 1890-579579, winesdirect.ie

Beaujolas Blanc 2010 Domaine des Terres Dorées 12% €14.10This arrived too late for inclusion in my recent article on unoaked Chardonnay, but it is one of the most attractive examples of the genre that I have tasted in a long time. Light refreshing but impeccably balanced Chardonnay, with limpid crystal-clear fruit. Stockist: Wines Direct, Mullingar, 1890-579579, winesdirect.ie