Just the sound of Young Ridge excites us. It excites you. Rough vintages come and go, great wineries and magician winemakers remain, turning less than ideal fruit into a sum that’s a lot more than its parts. With this 2011 Young Ridge vintage we need to once again give you our sincere thoughts and praise accordingly. Patience is needed and it WILL reward. It’s a beautiful wine, while today it’s that gorgeous or handsome wearing massive black sunglasses and a baseball cap. Make that a mask, of youthfully astringent tannins and the varietally true greenness Cabernet offers. Give this ugly duckling at least a year to develop its self-esteem and show its swan-ness when it grows up.

A dark mahogany edged narrow perimeter is filled in by a deep garnet core adorning the wine with instant appeal. The nose highlights vibrant aromas of cassis, plum, raspberry, herbs, black pepper, and jalapeno. Assertive tannic influences of cedar, chocolate, and mocha shadow the fruit while taking over the youthful palate. The long, drying grip needs time but cannot conceal the complexity beneath. If you had the urge to pop one without aging, decant long and pair with steak.

This is exactly what young Bordeaux does in less than perfect vintages. It always comes around as the one that the press overlooked, blowing minds with due aging. True that not many great 2011s were made, but if there’s a wine to be kept for experiencing the full potential of this tightly wound harvest down the road, Young Ridge is it. Trust us, the swan is in there.

Here’s what the wine press has to say:

92 Points - Chris Sawyer MS - “Deep, dense and sophisticated. This estate wine opens up with alluring aromas of ripe berries, dark fruits, dried herbs, leather, tobacco and noticeable hints of mineral, fresh earth and spice. On the palate, the robust flavors of dark plum, cherry, black raspberry, grenadine, wild sage and bittersweet chocolate are balanced with firm tannins, silky texture, and a kiss of cedar leading to a long, velvety finish. Pure mountain fruit in every sip.”