Ridge Lytton Springs Red Blend 2009
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Connoisseurs' Guide
This winery's mastery of Zinfandel is once again evident here, and, if showing the richness and depth that we anticipate from Lytton Springs bottlings, this wine is keenly composed and comes with a little more polish than usual. It is young, it is incisively fruity and it is well-filled, and it forgoes bombast and flashiness for structured precision and great ageability.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Lytton Springs is the biggest and most structured of these 2009 Zinfandel-based reds, largely owing to the earthier soils and the presence 23% Petite Sirah. Black fruit, plums, tar, licorice and smoke are some of the notes that flow from this generous, inviting red. The Lytton Springs is fairly structured, and can definitely benefit from another year or two (perhaps more) in bottle. The blend is 74% Zinfandel, 21% Petite Sirah and 5% Carignane. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2029.
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Wine & Spirits
Johny Olney considers 2009 to be the best vintage from this historic vineyard since 2005. This release includes 23 percent petite sirah and six percent carignane, so it's not labeled as zinfandel. The blend balances tannic complexity from old-vine fruit with the richer, brighter notes of young-vine zin. The younger fruit fills out the texture without diminishing the tension and edginess of the wine. It's black, smoky and subtle, a red to decant now with grilled sirloin or to cellar for ten years.
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Wine Spectator
Briary and a bit untamed, but appealing for its cherry and dill aromas and well-structured wild berry, underbrush and cedar flavors. Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane. Drink now through 2017.
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2021- Vinous
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Ridge's history begins in 1885, when Osea Perrone, a doctor and prominent member of San Francisco's Italian community, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He planted vineyards and constructed a winery of redwood and native limestone in time to produce the first vintage of Monte Bello in 1892. The historic building now serves as the Ridge production facility.
Though Ridge began as a Cabernet winery, by the mid-60s, it had produced several Zinfandels including the Geyserville. In 1972, Lytton Springs joined the line-up and the two came to represent an important part of Ridge production. Known primarily for its red wines, Ridge has also made limited amounts of Chardonnay since 1962.
The Ridge approach is straightforward: find the most intense and flavorful grapes, guide the natural process, draw all the fruit's richness into the wine. Decisions on when to pick, when to press, when to rack, what varietals and what parcels to include and when to bottle, are based on taste. To retain the nuances that increase complexity, Ridge winemakers handle the grapes and wine as gently as possible. There are no recipes, only attention and sensitivity.