| |
|
Futures & pre-shipment offer 30 April 2008 |
|
If ever a company demonstrated the benefits of stable ownership and no need for a credit line or the occasional, unscripted rights issue, then it is Ridge. The owner has taken a God-like approach to management, giving responsibility and free will in equal measure to Paul Draper, who in turn has adopted an almost democratic approach to his part of the management and creative processes; hiring gifted people and letting them contribute their best: philosophy in action in the wine trade. Results are clear and Ridge have outperformed most of their rivals in both quality and honest pricing.
|
|
Most - not all. Shafer, too, have hired the best, and, though a family enterprise, allow much freedom to their employees.
Like Ridge, they also avoid some of the semi-slavery work and living practices used by many in California.
No wonder the family are held in such high esteem in `The Valley`, a fact which played into their hands when the owner of the coveted Borderline vineyard decided to sell up in the late nineties.
Two miles south of the winery buildings, John and Doug were well aware that this was the perfect source for their mainstream Cabernet bottling - one which would enable them to create a signature Stags Leap Cabernet.
Such transactions are rarely just about money; vineyard owners form emotional attachments to such places, and can be very picky about succession.
The Shafers were the chosen ones. The result is One Point Five, which, in only its second vintage, is a new Napa benchmark.
|
|
`Dad and I learned the wine business together,` says Doug Shafer.
`At some point we coined the phrase `a generation-and-a-half` to describe our partnership because it wasn`t the classic second-generation story where a parent hands off an established, profitable family business to a son or daughter.
We were both here in the fingers-crossed days when no one was sure the winery would be a success.` /AR
|
|
Offered subject to remaining unsold. Shipment: Shafer late spring 2008; Monte Bello 2010, other Ridge wines autumn 2008. Prices in brackets are anticipated retail.
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
| Ridge Vineyards Santa Cruz |
|
Cs
|
Bt sz |
Cs ib
|
Bt inc
|
|
| 2006 | Santa Cruz Chardonnay |
|
12x
|
75cl |
£250
|
(£32.95)
|
| 2007 | Monte Bello |
|
6x
|
75cl |
£390
|
|
|
|
12x
|
37.5cl |
£400
|
|
||
|
|
3x
|
150cl |
£400
|
|
||
| 2006 | Geyserville |
|
12x
|
75cl |
£210
|
(£26.95)
|
|
|
12x
|
37.5cl |
£110
|
(£14.95)
|
||
|
|
6x
|
150cl |
£220
|
(£56.95)
|
||
| 2006 | Lytton Springs |
|
12x
|
75cl |
£210
|
(£26.95)
|
|
|
12x
|
37.5cl |
£110
|
(£14.95)
|
||
|
|
6x
|
150cl |
£220
|
(£56.95)
|
||
| 2005 | Santa Cruz Cab/Merlot |
|
12x
|
75cl |
£250
|
(£32.95)
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
| Shafer Napa Valley |
|
Cs
|
Bt sz |
Cs ib
|
Bt inc
|
|
| 2006 | Red Shoulder Chardonnay |
|
12x
|
75cl |
£210
|
(£29.95)
|
| 2005 | One Point Five Cabernet |
|
12x
|
75cl |
£300
|
(£38.95)
|
| Special offer: |
|
|
|
|
||
| One case of each |
2x
|
12x
|
75cl |
£495
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
Ridge Vineyards
|
|
2007 began with a cold and dry winter. Flowering was disturbed by cool and rainy periods and although this didn`t affect the number of bunches of grapes it had the effect of producing smaller berries than usual - a great indication of quality.
An Indian summer extended hang-time, ensuring brilliant tannins and aroma-packed fruit, as well as healthy acidity.
What many thought would be a short harvest turned into a protracted affair of rain interruptions with cool temperatures.
An intense, long-lived Monte Bello.
|
|
2006 was a challenging season for Ridge`s classic North Coast Zinfandel-based wines.
Fruit had to be eliminated following an extreme heat spike in late July which sunburned west-facing blocks.
The harvests took place between mid-September and mid-October after a warm growing season with above average rainfall.
With fine tannins and good concentration, the wines can be drunk immediately but will keep for 8-10 years.
|
|
Stormy weather in spring 2005 disrupted flowering at Ridge`s Santa Cruz Mountains vineyards, reducing yields to the lowest since 1996.
Moderate summer weather and perfect ripening before harvest produced small berries which required careful handling.
Elegant yet rich, the 2005 Cabernet/Merlot is tempting right now, but will develop for 12 to 14 years.
|
Shafer
|
|
`One of Napa`s most prominent and respected wineries, Shafer is a poster boy for remarkable and consistent quality across the board.
All of this is the work of the brilliant father and son team of John and Doug Shafer as well as their long-term winemaker and vineyard manager, Elias Fernandez.
With over 200-plus acres of estate holdings, and 55 surrounding their winery in Stags Leap, this is a winery that never seems to disappoint.` - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, December 2007
|
|
Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay `06: `Rich and creamy, both in flavor and texture, with fleshy fig, apricot and light nutmeg shadings.
Yet for all its power it offers a sense of elegance and balance. Drink now through 2011. 92 points.` - James Laube, winespectator.com, 2008
|
|
`The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five (99% Cabernet and 1% Petit Verdot) is a meatier, more structured wine, but slightly deeper than the 2004, with broad black currant fruit flavors intermixed with some spice box, crushed rock, and spring flowers.
It is characteristic of Stags Leap in its elegance and finesse. The wine has good acidity and freshness, but is long and seamless.
Drink 2007-2022. 90 points.` - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, December 2007
|
|
|
© Uncorked® 2008 Cs ib prices are in bond (duty unpaid) Vinotheque, exclusive of VAT, per whole, unmixed case unit shown, and no further discounts apply Offered subject to availability E&OE Payment due on receipt of invoice, except for approved trade accounts Delivery London £8.50 plus VAT; Home Counties £12.75 plus VAT; other UK addresses excluding Highlands and islands £17 plus VAT Storage £8.40 plus VAT per standard (9 litre) case per annum for fewer than 25 cases, £7.50 for 25 cases or more, payable in arrears Andrew, Jim, Peter, Zoë, Colin Uncorked Ltd Exchange Arcade Broadgate London EC2M 3WA |
| Tel 020 7638 5998 | Email drink@uncorked.co.uk |
| Web uncorked.co.uk |
Registered in England no 4479554 Registered office 82 St John Street London EC1M 4JN |