Ridge Lytton Estate Petite Sirah 2009
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Not surprisingly, given the name on the label, this one stood out in our tastings for its deeper fruit and its sophisticated layering of ripe blackberries, peppery spice and suggestions of dark soils. Full in body and fully ripened, the wine is deep and supple from first to last on the palate, and the late-arriving tannin that puts it rough stamp on the finish is nothing more than one should expect from this combination of maker and source. There will be those who are happy to drink it now with chewy chunks of charred chuck, but count us as among those who will lay it away for five to ten years while it rounds out.
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Wine & Spirits
A deep, dark well of sweet black cherry juice, savory scents of black mushrooms and equally black tannin, this has the chewy intensity of well-grown petite. It's suited for long aging, needing time to allow its complexity to blossom.
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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.