2018 Ridge evening with the “Running” Club.

Ridge is the largest single producer in my collection. I have been buying their wines since before we had children — technicolor California fruit with old world restraint and structure.

But it is not just the wines. Ridge was started by nerds from Stanford Research Institute, and that obsessive focus runs through everything. The labels use Optima font and list precise blend percentages. They were the first winery I know to print full ingredients on the back—reverse osmosis, tartaric acid additions, all the things others hide. They age in American oak when their peers use French. The whole operation speaks to my soul. I do not just love Ridge; I love loving Ridge.

We tasted eight reds from the 2018 vintage — a strong, representative year at Ridge, and one where I had accumulated enough bottles for a proper horizontal. During my years in California, I joined Ridge’s Advance Tasting Program, California’s original wine club since 1977, offering single-vineyard wines in tiny quantities unavailable elsewhere. Several wines here came from ATP allocations.

The setting: an unseasonably warm evening outdoors with friends from my “running” club. Food was fried chicken, Devon Wagyu cheeseburgers, and beef dripping chips.

We each picked our top three bottles. Favorites got three points, second place two points, third place one point. I have included ABV throughout because some of these push the boozy limits of what I would normally drink.

Chardonnay Estate 2019, Ridge

14.3% abv. 100% Chardonnay. Voluptuous and boozy with tropical fruit, but there is underlying acid and grit that keeps it engaging. Some lemon character, but unmistakably new world. Joint third with seven points — almost entirely from two people who made it their favorite. This was somewhat polarizing – if this style speaks to you, it really speaks to you.

Grenache Blanc 2023, Ridge

14% abv. 84% Grenache Blanc, 14% Picpoul, 2% Roussanne. Exuberant tropical fruit that put me in mind of Um Bongo, a weird “fruit” juice from my childhood. More intense than the Chardonnay, white Châteauneuf du Pape comes to mind, with acid backbone and minerality providing lift. Fun, but if this were not Ridge I would not have sought it out. Better places to spend your money in their range.

Syrah, Grenache, Mataro 2018, Ridge

13.8% abv. 59% Syrah, 27% Grenache, 14% Mataro (Mourvèdre). Ridge’s take on the Southern Rhône blend, and nearly impossible to find — Wine-Searcher shows no European availability. This is not just new world Châteauneuf. It has echoes of those restrained, sub-14% CdPs from years past, but it is very much its own thing. Real class and refinement. Even writing these notes the morning after, my mouth waters. The back label lists tartaric acid addition — the winemaking shows. Of all the ATP wines, this is the one I wish I had bought more of. My and the table’s favorite.

Petite Sirah Lytton Estate 2018, Ridge

13.5% abv. 97% Petite Sirah, 3% Zinfandel. I own several bottles of this, and despite its violent tannins, I love it. But tasting it alongside these others—the tannins are almost perverse. There is also a greenness, something bitter that I do not normally enjoy in wine. Yet it has so much energy and zip. Think cru Beaujolais with serious grip and substance. The only person at the table who ranked this top three was our biggest beer nerd, which tells you something.

Rockpile Zinfandel 2018, Ridge

14.4% abv. 88% Zinfandel, 12% Petite Sirah. Big blackberry fruit reminiscent of Australian wines, with tannic, herbaceous character from the Petite Sirah. Tartaric acid on the back label — Ridge knows what they are doing. Joint third, but like the Chardonnay, the votes came from two people who loved it. Another polarizing wine.

Boatman Zinfandel 2018, Ridge

15% abv. 98% Zinfandel, 2% Petite Sirah. The booziest wine of the night and the purest Zinfandel. Lighter color than the wines around it. Big attack but more structure and backbone on the finish than expected. The alcohol is nearly in balance — likely helped by the tartaric acid addition on the label.

Mazzoni Home Ranch 2018, Ridge

14.2% abv. 56% Zinfandel, 42% Carignane, 2% Petite Sirah. My handwritten notes say “So fruit! Weak knees.” No acid added, but there is a sergeant-major structure to this — it does not ask, it commands. Stone fruits and parma violet at the core. The high Carignane proportion gives it structure and energy that pulls you in. I love the 2018 Lytton Springs and suspect it will age longer, but tonight this was outstanding. Table’s second favorite after the Syrah/Grenache/Mataro.

Lytton Springs 2018, Ridge

14.5% abv. 72% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignane. I ordered this at a restaurant in Cornwall last year and immediately bought a case. Second bottle from that case, drinking beautifully right now. Tightly coiled, with an almost confected core — marzipan and blueberries. Next to the Mazzoni, this shows more restraint. Everything you want from a Ridge Zinfandel. On this night, though, it underscored how strong the entire range is, and how unfortunate that ATP wines are not available in the UK.

What this tasting showed: Ridge’s ATP wines are not just interesting — they are genuinely exceptional. The Syrah/Grenache/Mataro proved that, winning the table despite being virtually unobtainable outside California. The Mazzoni Home Ranch ran it close. Both wines demonstrated that Ridge’s small-production program delivers substance, not just novelty.

The 2018 vintage performed exactly as hoped — strong across the board without being showy. Even Lytton Springs, the flagship available everywhere, showed better in context of the full range than on its own.

The frustration is access. Living in California meant ATP membership. Back in the UK, I’m stuck with the core range, excellent as it is. The Syrah/Grenache/Mataro alone justifies the program, and we cannot buy it here on mud island.