2006 North America

This impressive 2006 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (68 percent), Merlot (20 percent), Petit Verdot (10 percent) and a handful of Cabernet Franc (two percent). This is an extremely concentrated wine with powerful aromas and an expansive palate bursting with black forest fruit, mocha, juniper and sweet spice flavours, whilst fine tannins provide impeccable structure. As one expects of Ridge’s wines, this should age for a further thirty years or so.

Ridge Vineyards makes wines that compete in terms of quality and desirability with Bordeaux First Growths and Grand Cru white Burgundies. Founder Paul Draper has practised and engendered a practical, hands-off approach to winemaking at Ridge, one that has resulted in an exceptional and highly sought-after range of wines.

The Cailloux Vineyard Syrah is Cayuse's flagship wine with a production of over 700 cases and was the first vineyard planted by Christophe in 1997. Another stunning effort in 2006 with classic blueberry, blackberry and spiced notes to the nose. Great expanse, that will develop gamey hints and soften with time. The palate offers waves of black fruit with sweet tannins and real energy and freshness. This hedonistic effort will need a few years in bottle and drink for a decade. Stunning.

The 2006 Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard is even more complex aromatically (perhaps kinky is a better word) with its notes of crushed stone, smoked meat, well-aged game, blueberry, and black raspberry. Full-bodied, ripe, intensely flavored yet elegant, it has a 60-second finish that is pure silk.

Christophe Baron remains in fine form. His estate, just on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla AVA, consists of five small but distinct vineyards (41 acres in total – with more on the way). Syrah and the Bordeaux varietals are the principal focus but some of the finest parcels of Tempranillo, Viognier, and Grenache grown in the USA are on this estate.

The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and much of the estate is planted on rootstock to prepare for the day when phylloxera works its way through Walla Walla. The wines are all fermented with indigenous yeasts and bottled unfined and unfiltered. 
Jay Miller, Wine Advocate #185, Oct 2009

Knox (named after Jim’s son) is a blend of the best fruit from the Bien Nacido and Le Bon Climat Vineyards. The wines see 18 months in barrel (75% new French oak) and filtration is done only as a last resort. The wine then rests in bottle for a year before it is released. The 2006 has a serious weighty fruit on the nose that will need 3-5 years to show its best. Very focused and darker berry fruits come to the fore. Superbly structured, with well-defined red and black fruit that will fill out with time. Another top-drawer wine.
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team

I've long been a fan of Ridge Vineyards and in particular their Zinfandels. The grape is known for mass production of plummy, strawberry fruit flavoured wine for very easy consumption. Geyserville and Lytton Springs completely dispel those images with expressive wines showing great depth which are very much influenced by their terroir. The direction of Ridge ensures these wines are beautifully balanced which in turn gives them plenty of potential to age should you be able to resist for long enough. Of the two, Lytton Springs is the more seductive and accessible in youth. The 2006 vintage represents superb value for money.
(Jake Dean - Fine Wine Manager) Aged for 15 months in american oak, boasting more Zin (80%), more pretty Petite Sirah (16%) and less Carignan (4%) than its stable mate Geyserville, this Dry Creek Valley wine is all griottines, espresso coffee and chocolate; a slender, more feline, come-hither kinda wine that's drinking just fine now and over the next 5 years, especially with spicy Tex-Mex cuisine;
(David Berry Green)