95 Affinity, 93 MonteBello, 04 Pride Merlot and Cab

[oostexan]

Took a couple clients out this past week and went to a restaurant that we have a wine membership with. So I hauled a bottle of 95 Robert Craig Affinity from Dallas to Detroit as my contribution to the evening. The below is the general concensus for the rankings of the wines we tried side by side:

1. 1995 Robert Craig Affinity - Delicious wine. Brite ruby, red cherries, good core of solid fruit, well integrated vanilla oak, lovely long finish. The WOTN for all five of us. This is the type of wine I like to drink. Ironically, it is also the least expensive by a long shot.

2. 2004 Pride Mountain Merlot - One word comes to mind..lush. Velvety smooth and long lasting Merlot finish.

3. 1993 Ridge Monte Bello - Dark fruit, tobacco, solid concentration and lovely finish. Very nice, but not a blockbuster like I had anticipated. Good color with little to no browning but the fruit did not seem to really bloom after an hour or two of sipping on it. Still a fantastic drink.

4. 2004 Pride Mountain Cabernet - Deeply concentrated, dark cherries, chocolate, outstanding wine. The fact that this came in last place is really more of a testament to how great the others were.

Had a couple other wines while I was on the trip, but was able to take detailed tasting notes. So these are off the top of my head:

1999 Lewis Alec's Blend - Saw GAD's tasting note on the 02 so decided to order it. The wine is just as deeply concentrated as I would expect it with no age. Very deep fruit, still lots of tannin, even for an 8 year old wine. Delicious chocolate, dark cherry and some pepper spice on the finish. Still needs time in the bottle, but was a wonderful bottle of juice.

1989 Talbot - Pepper, cigar ash, brite fruit. Lite ruby and complex finish.

Interstingly, Eric the sommelier would have ranked them as - Pride Merlot, Affinity, Monte Bello, Pride Cab.

Mark

[winoweenie]

I have been and still am an ardent advocate of Mr. Craigs efforts. Have made numerous posts on all vintages back to the 92s' if my tired ole' memory mite be correct for a moment. He seems to make the necessary adjustments even in the uneven vintages like 93, 98, and 2000. Think the Ridge is a victim of this uneven vintage. Bob Foley is another of our perennial favorite and the handsome devil builds a WIDE fan club with the ladies at every stop. WW