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February 2010
Loren Sonkin
rates 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2007 Cabernet Franc 90 points:
Review from
Loren Sonkin on Mark Squires Bulletin Board. 90 points. "I think this is
one of the best wineries in Ohio and certainly the best for red wines.
2007 was also one of the best vintages in these parts. I served this
blind and Jeff thought it was local. Most others found it to be very
good although no one pegged it for a Cab. Light ruby in color, clear and
bright. The nose has pretty strawberry notes with some cherries. A bit
of an herbal note as well. Nice texture. This is a very good red wine. I
don't know about "varietal correctness" but it is delicious. For $17
Ohio, I am going to lay down a few. I think it ages well for 5 to 10
years as it got better all night long. (90 pts.)"
Loren Sonkin rates this wine 90
points on cellartracker.com.
"IMO, this is the best winery for red wines in Ohio. And, 2007 was the
best vintage in these parts in a long time. Perhaps it truly will be a
vintage of the century. I drank this bottle over two nights. $18 Ohio.
Ruby in color with some opaque qualities to it. On the first night, it
showed plenty of raspberries and some cassis. While these remained, on
Day 2, a bit of green tobacco and an underlying earthiness came out. On
the palate, this was medium bodied raspberry juice on Day 1, but it put
on weight and showed much more complexity on Day 2. Layers of fruit and
earth. I think a year or two in the cellar (or at least a couple of
hours in a decanter), but this is a quality Cab Franc. It does not have
any off green flavors. Want to impress someone with the quality of an
Ohio red wine? This is it. And, the price is very reasonable for the
quality."
Recent posting from blog Two Dogs, a Flamingo and a Bottle of Wine about
our Petit Verdot. See
http://dogswine.blogspot.com/2009/07/kinkead-ridge-petit-verdot-2005.html
"I've been
sitting on half a dozen bottles of the Kinkead Ridge 2005 Petit Verdot
for almost two years since its release, tasting it only at the winery on
two occasions. Yesterday evening I was moving some wine from one
location to another and decided it was time to see if the wait paid off.
Dinner was two small lamb chops and some rosemary roasted potatoes and
the weather was cool for this time of year. Out came the cork from the
bottle.
The wine was intensely dark purple, almost black in the glass. After
five or ten minutes it began to open up and offer dark, ripe plums and
cassis and a few super dark cherries thrown in the mix. The nose was
earthy and there were a few herbs and flowers coming out of the glass as
well. The taste was equally about dark fruit, plums and blackberries
mostly. The wine was very tannic, but the tannin never interfered with
the fruit. During the course of the evening the tannin finally began to
settle a little though it still had a wonderful grip. There was good
acid and with the tannins softening the finish was smooth, clean and
long.
I've had numerous bottles of Kinkead Ridge's wine, both red and white
over the last few years and have appreciated all of them. Some are
obviously better than others and bottle for bottle my favorite is still
their Riesling. This wine, however, is the best I've had from them. It's
hard to imagine that it could get any better. Total production was only
76 cases and the wine checked in at an almost perfect 13.4% alcohol. I'm
very happy there are five more bottles in the cellar. "
This is an
interesting article about wine competitions. We enter very few, and
there seems to be justification in this story why. "A survey of
approximately 65 judging panels between 2005 and 2008 yielded just 30
panels that achieved anything close to similar results, with the data
pointing to "judge inconsistency, lack of concordance--or both" as
reasons for the variation. The phenomenon was so pronounced, in fact,
that one panel of judges rejected two samples of identical wine, only to
award the same wine a double gold in a third tasting." Click
here to read the article.
2006 Revelation,
Rated the Top Red Wine in the 2008 Ohio/Michigan Wine Clash, Bronze,
American Wine Society
Sold out before we could enter it into later competitions. When it won
this bronze it was only in bottle a short period of time.
2006 River Village Cellars Syrah, Bronze, American Wine Society. Sold
out before we could enter it into later competitions. When it won this
bronze it was only in bottle a short period of time.
2006 River Village Cellars Cabernet Franc, Silver, Finger Lakes Wine
Competition, Bronze, American Wine Society
 Kinkead
Ridge 2004 Cabernet Franc rated one of the Top 100 Exciting Wine Finds,
international list compiled by Tom Stevenson, British editor of the New
Sothebys Wine Encyclopedia and publisher of the paperback Wine Report
2008. "Succulent, intensely flavored fruit, ripe, supple tannins, and a
truckload of flavors--from cherries, cassis, chocolate, and cream, to
vanilla and coconut."--Sandra Silfven, Atlantic Northeast editor of the
2008 Wine Report "This shows what promise there is in Ohio." --Tom
Stevenson
Please note: We
did not enter any wine into the Finger Lakes International Competition
this year, as I was on vacation when the deadline passed.
Ann Boucher names 2005 Petit Verdot her 2007 Wine
of the Year. "My reasons for this choice and the long introduction are
simple; the wine is very good and by industry standards is completely
unknown. Furthermore, consider that the vineyards are still young and
owners, Ron Barrett and Nancy Bentley, have literally and figuratively
only scratched the surface of their site. Give the high quality I have
observed this far, I do predict big things from Ripley in the future. Chave Hermitage big? Perhaps not, but I think Kinkead Ridge is producing
exciting and novel wines, while at the same time quite literally giving
birth to a new fine wine region. For this alone they merit high praise and
loyal patronage."
"Rest assured, the quality at Kinkead Ridge is
very high, and I would argue represents the best in Ohio and possibly the
eastern US. I would also add that yes indeed their terroir
is worth expressing! A good sniff and a quick taste will prove that to
anyone. The important thing to me is that these are not wines of ego,
rather they are clearly wines of place. Ron and Nancy have worked hard to
clearly express the virtues of their vineyard, and have given the wine
drinking public something rare indeed… an entirely new wine region, with
its own unique combination of flavors and aromas. To me this is exactly
what fine wine is all about."
Click here to read this stunning review.
--Chuck and Ann Boucher, Serendipity Wine Shop, Columbus
2007 American Wine Society Compeition
GOLD MEDAL: 2006 Viognier/Roussanne
Silver Medal: 2005 Cabernet Franc
This competition was held a full month earlier than last year, the
beginning of October. The red wines were only released in September
after a May bottling, and were probably too young to be sent to this
competition.
2007
Finger Lakes Wine Competition
GOLD MEDAL: 2004
Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. 2000+ wines; 141 gold medals; 15 for
Cabernet; only one from Ohio. Ours.
2006
American Wine Society Competition, November 8-9, Baltimore Maryland DOUBLE
GOLD. 2004
Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Franc. Double Gold means every one of the six
judges gave the wine a Gold Rating. SILVER.
2004 Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. BRONZE.
2004 Kinkead Ridge Syrah BRONZE:
2005 Kinkead Ridge Viognier/Roussanne
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Kinkead
Ridge 2003 Viognier/Roussanne honored as one of the TOP
100 Exciting New Wine Finds in the World
by Tom Stevenson in
the 2006 Wine Report paperback. Listed in the TOP FOUR New Up-and-Coming Producers in the
Global Report/Atlantic Northeast. 2003 Viognier/Roussanne
listed in the TOP 10 of Most Exciting or Unusual Wines,
Atlantic Northeast. The review is in the Archive
link, December 2005. Tom
Stevenson also edits the New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia.
This book is available in your local bookstores or
on Amazon.
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 SILVER
MEDAL. Kinkead Ridge 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is our first
entry into this prestigious competition.
 Kinkead
Ridge wines garner three medals at 2005 American Wine Society International Commercial
Competition in Las Vegas. 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bronze; 2003
Syrah, Bronze, 2004 Viognier/Roussanne, Bronze.
Only one other Ohio winery
won medals for vinifera wines. Congratulations to Ferrante,
Geneva. To see all the results, click here.
Kinkead
Ridge won a silver medal at the 2004 competition for their 2002
Revelation Cabernet blend, and a bronze medal for the 2003
Viognier/Roussanne.
July 2007, Re 2006 Viognier/Roussanne:
A wine writer tasted this wine with an importer and colleagues at the
Winds, where they were presenting their wines from the south of France,
including a new Roussanne-Viognier cuvee. The group was "enormously
impressed and amazed. The wine displayed the kind of balance they are
trying to achieve."
December
2006
Reviews by Ann Boucher, Serendipity
Wine Shop, Columbus, Ohio
Kinkead Ridge
Cabernet Franc 2004
I gave this wine to my husband blind and asked him what he thought.
He raised the glass to his nose, swirled and took a good sniff. Putting
on his best airs, he said, without skipping a beat, "very nice...
Cabernet France... definitely French." Then he took a good sip into
his mouth, swirled and chewed the wine for a moment, and completed his
diagnosis, "Bordeaux." Always the business man, he then asked,
"how much and what's the stock status?" never guessing he
could be wrong about the wines provenance. When I told him it was
Kinkead Ridge 2004 Cabernet Franc, his eyes lit up. When I told him that
it will retail for $16.99 his jaw dropped. As for stock status, only 355
cases were made. Needless to say not much to go around, and if history
is any guide, it will all be gone fast.
River Village Cellars White Wine 2005
This was my first introduction to the wines of Kinkead Ridge. I was
floored! Having been in the trade for 20 odd years, I have not tasted a
dry white wine from Ohio of equal quality. This wine has a very inviting
nose of honeysuckle and apricots. On the palate, it offers lush fruit
with a hint of spice. It's surprisingly rich, with a subtle honeyed
mid-palate. Unlike many Ohio wines, which can show a hollowness or
discontinuity, this wine is complete. The 2005 Viognier/Roussanne
clearly proves that with proper care in both the vineyard and cellar,
full, complete and delicious dry whites can be made in Ohio. Moreover, I
would argue that this wine surpasses most new world efforts with white
Rhone grapes, including a few very pricey efforts from California. In
short, this is a very good wine at an outstanding price. Trust me, it is
time that all wine drinkers give Ohio a second look.
Kinkead Ridge Syrah 2004
This wine brings me back to the cellar of Denis Alary, a top notch
producer in Cairanne, a Village appellation in the Cote-du-Rhone. A few
years back, I was sampling through various wine in barrel and came upon
a Syrah of which Denis was particularly proud. Still very young and
closed-up, it was obvious that the wine was going to be great.
Similarly, the Kinkead Ridge Syrah is presently closed up and a bit
awkward, due to its youth. But there is no doubt that this wine is going
places, and I, for one, want to be there when it arrives! Everything
about it hints of big things to come -- subtle raspberry, a bit of
spice, with a hefty curtain of tannins, obscuring everything from full
view.
Definitely not ready to drink, today, but if you are looking for a
special and unique wine, that will amply reward, given a little
cellar-time, you cannot go wrong with this one. As with everything that
Kinkead Ridge produces, quantities are very limited, as only 149 cases
were produced in 2004. Get it while you can or you may have to wait
until next year.
Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Although the wine shows many of the hallmarks of classic Cabernet
Sauvignon: black cherry, cassis and artful barrel aging, it also
exhibits charming singularities not found in Cabernet from the Napa
Valley or Bordeaux. Namely, the wine is not muscular, heavy or in anyway
over proportioned. Rather, it's bright and focused, a wine with poise --
more like a well-appointed debutant, than a hulking NFL lineman. We all
know the latter, over extracted, over oaked... just plain over the top!
Fine for sipping now and then but poorly suited for the table. Kinkead
Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon offers delicate perfume. It is a pretty, almost
feminine wine, and brings to mind the great reds of Chinon, Bourgueil or
even Cru Beaujolais. A Frenchman would argue that the finesse and
perfume comes from the limestone based soil, and I would tend to agree.
This is a wine of place, very old world in style, perfectly suited to
the table, and unique to Ohio.
May, 2006
Bell's Wine Shoppe: Probably the oldest single owner wine shop in
Washington, D.C.
"Kinkead Ridge Cabernet 03 Ohio. "This is a dry,
medium-bodied, cleanly made Cabernet. The bouquet and flowers are
varietal with some added briary notes often found in wines from
Bordeaux. Pleasant wine at what appears to be a value price (liquor and
wine are highly taxed and notoriously expensive in Ohio)". Jim
Stuztman, who donated the tasting bottle says: "These guys review
tough on mid-west wines. This is as good a review as they've given to a
mid-west wine."
April 2006. G.A. Benton reviews Kinkead Ridge in Columbus Alive.
"
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Down by the River
"Perusing
the aisles of a few select wine stores, I realized time was running out
for some delicious Ohio wines.
 Delicious
Ohio wines? If you're thinking those three words sound strange
together (and who could blame you?) then get off your sudsy beer
haunches and check out Kinkead Ridge Vineyards.
Made in very limited quantities (about 50 to 200 cases per wine), the
current stock of Kinkead is quickly dwindling, though it's still
possible to find bottles of these southern-Ohio-made winners.
If you're already on to Kinkead, I'm encouraging you to increase your
supply right now. If the wines are new to you, here's a little
background. Read
more...
March 1, 2006 Jon Christensen
(Columbus Dispatch) reviews our Viognier/Roussanne
2004 Kinkead Ridge (Ohio River Valley) Viognier-Roussanne
($14.95)
"This remarkable achievement deserves to be compared to the
priciest dry whites from France's Rhone Valley. Its rich hints of
apricot and other stone fruits, minerally crisp finish,
food-accompanying versatility and restrained alcohol put this
southern Ohio gem ahead of just about anything close to its price.
"
Matt
Citriglia's review of the 2004
Viognier/Roussanne... "sublimely fragrant and
elegant restrained white wine that would stand up to
any of the best that the southern Rhone has to
offer"... and the 2003 Cabernet Franc:
"Here in Ohio it produces a wonderful
moderately tannic red wine with herby red fruit and
great fragrance...
"Most wineries in Ohio
run from vinifera grapes... Ron Barrett and Nancy
Bentley took on the challenge and have grown a
variety of vinifera right here in Ripley on the
limestone ridges." Matt is Ohio's only Master
Sommelier.
Andrew Jones,
international wine writer
Kinkead Ridge 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
WOW rating: 88
"This is the first Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon ever
released and replaces the Revelation blend of 2002 and 2001. A
small quantity of Petit Verdot was used in the blend. Kinkead
Ridge continues to demonstrate that the Ohio River Valley can
surprise America with the character and quality of its Cabernet
Sauvignon. Whilst this example is not from the greatest vintage
and the vines are still relatively young, the result is rewarding.
This Cabernet Sauvignon has a healthy ruby color and an aroma of
blackcurrants and morello cherries. Small French and American oak
casks contribute to the vanilla hints and toasty characteristics.
Try this wine with herb-roasted chicken, lamb sprinkled with
rosemary and soft cheeses."
Andrew Jones,
international wine writer
Kinkead Ridge 2004 Viognier/Roussanne
WOW rating: 88
"Another distinctive dry white blend from Kinkead Ridge, the
wine kings of Ripley, Ohio. This stylish wine offers a tempting
orange blossom bouquet, followed by hints of kiwi fruit, peaches
and tropical fruit on the palate. Its hallmark is finesse and it
leaves a lingering aftertaste. Pair this elegant wine with
delicately flavored dishes, sushi or seafood risotto."
The Wine
Buzz, Volume 3, Number 3, p. 24
Kinkead Ridge mentioned by Chef-Owner Alana (Alanas,
Columbus)
"The
encyclopedic wine list runs several pages, and is probably best
tackled under the tutelage of sommelier Kevin... The dozen or so
glass offerings include a Viognier/Roussanne blend from Kinkead
Ridge Winery in Ripley, Ohio."
and
Chef-Owner Julie Frances (Aioli, Cincinnati)
"While
wines like Chateau de la Greffiere, Macon La Roche-Vineuse find
favor, local Kinkead Ridge wines are popular too. Their rich,
aromatic Viognier/Roussanne makes a delicious pairing with the
grilled whole Spanish bass with pancetta, winter squash puree,
fennel salad and tapenade."
The
Wine Buzz, Volume 3, Number 3, p. 27 WineFinds
"Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003 (Ohio River Valley);
$17.95. Medium bodied and slightly tart, with chocolaty cherry and
tobacco flavors." "Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Franc, 2003
(Ohio River Valley); $15.95. Rustic, slightly barnyard nose, but
big juicy Cab Franc flavors of cherries, berries and herbs."
From Sandra
Silfven, wine writer Detroit Daily News:
October 2005. "The Viognier/Roussanne was another home run.
The Cab Franc was an utter delight. I called it a
"happy" wine. The nose was so bright, the flavors so
over-the-top correct. In my mind, I compared the body and mouth
feel to a French red burgundy. It was not the high-extract deal,
but very powerful for not having that concentration that is so
popular in California. Three days later, the nose was just as
sassy."
The Wine
Buzz, Volume 3, Number 1, p. 16.
Kinkead Ridge Viognier/Roussanne, 2004 (Ohio River Valley); $14.95
Floral,
citrus and tropical notes on the nose, followed by plenty of fruit
-- think kiwi and lime -- and a bit of minerality. Good balance,
good acid and nice depth. Only 177 cases of this wine were made.
Cheers to winery owners Nancy Bentley and Ron Barrett for trying
something new in Ohio.
2004
American Wine Society Competition
 Kinkead Ridge, an Estate Winery has won medals for both its entries in the
prestigious American Wine Society Commercial Wine Competition held
November 10-11 in Pennsylvania. 1038 wines were entered from 196
wineries in the U.S., Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy, France,
Romania, Mexico and Korea; this is the first competition that
Kinkead Ridge entered since planting their vineyard in 1999. Both
wines that we entered won medals.
2002
Revelation, Silver Medal
2003 Viognier/Roussanne, Bronze Medal
March 2005
2002 Revelation, rated 91 by Andrew Jones, international wine writer.
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Andrew
Jones, Editor, (England) says the following about the
2002 Revelation:
Rating: 91
"Kinkead
Ridge excels again. Just when I thought winemaker Ron Barrett should be
best known for white wine, he has produced an exciting Bordeaux-style
red blend. Comprising 53% Cabernet Franc, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and
just 2% Petit Verdot, its origin would fool many experts in a blind
tasting and could easily be confused for a Médoc of the Cru Bourgeois
level.
If Kinkead Ridge can do this with young vines, the future looks very
promising indeed...
Revelation tempts one with its vanilla and cherry notes on the nose.
These are confirmed along with bramble and blackcurrant on a
middleweight palate that leads to a long, smooth finish.
Small volume means full order books, so be brave and order in advance.
That will give you a chance to enjoy a rising star from Ripley,
Ohio."
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2003
Viognier/Roussanne.
International wine writer Andrew
Jones gives this wine a 90. Click here.
December 2003
International wine writer Andrew Jones reviews Kinkead reds. For the text of the
article click here.
October 2003
eRobertParker.com
Review by Executive Oenophile
Member Ed Hatfield.
Click here to read the text.
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Kinkead Ridge Awards & Reviews
