Ridge Three Valleys Red 2009
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Despite the welcome wet spring, rainfall in our Sonoma County vineyards remained below average. Flowering occurred in late May, during ideal weather; we thinned the crop to assure intense color and flavor. A mild summer ripened the grapes for a mid-September harvest. Picked by taste, each parcel fermented separately on its natural yeasts. For full extraction of color and tannin, the fermenters were pumped over for seven days, on average, before pressing. Malolactic fermentation finished by November, allowing early assemblage. Once in barrel, the wine was racked off the sediment every two months to clarify naturally. After ten months, tannins have softened. Fresh berry fruit and barrel spice give the Three Valleys immediate appeal, and it will be most enjoyable over the next three to five years.
Other Vintages
2021-
Spectator
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Wong
Wilfred
-
Spectator
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Spectator
Wine -
Wong
Wilfred -
Parker
Robert
-
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Spirits
Wine &
-
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
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.