Sometimes it is nice to have a fully mature bottle. In this case it may have been a touch over the hill, and it wasn’t the greatest of wines, but it was still nice.
Bridgehead Mataro 1995, Ridge
Nice dark fruit nose, but it is a bit hot. No wood standing out on the nose, it is all nice and clean and fruity, although the fruit is quite dark and brooding. The palate has fruit, but it tastes soft and mature. The tannins are a bit dried out. But this has reasonable balance and, despite being a bit hot, is not over-bearing. The quality comment is ‘perfectly drinkable’ and there is no shame in that.