Tasting Note                         

90    1993 Ridge St.Cruz Mtns. Cabernet     12/6/03($22)

Color: Medium garnet with quite a bit of onion skin. Looks totally ready.(3.0) Bouquet: Cedar and cigarbox with rich blackberry, marzipan and walnuts, also some eucalyptus and grass in the background.(3.0) Body: Solid middleweight with healthy amounts of tannin just integrating with fruit and complexity.(3.0) Flavor: Milk chocolate, cedar and walnuts. Has a silkiness that is characteristic of fine Ridge reds.(3.0) Finish: Surprising tannin and length for the apparent size of the rest of the wine. Still balanced and classy.(3.0)
Overall: This is the best of the three bottles of this wine that I have had, I think because this one was drunk immediately after opening, it was given no air, doesn’t need it since totally ready for the amount of fruit it has. ’93 is a very good, but not stellar vintage for both the SCM Cab and Merlot and there is nothing overly impressing about this wine, but still has a balanced, classy Ridge personality that shines through. Shall we say, “Restrained Power!” The genius of P.Draper is that he is not afraid to sacrifice size for the sake of balance and complexity. Few winemakers have this kind of confidence in their own judgement and even fewer pull it off as frequently as PD does.(15.0)