Winemaker Notes
After two years of full yields, this Spring Mountain District vineyard above Napa Valley set a very small crop in 2008. Despite mild summer weather, the grapes were ripe by Labor Day, two weeks earlier than usual. Harvest began September 5 with the young zinfandel, and ended the next week with the thirty-six year old petite sirah; individual parcels fermented separately on their natural yeasts. We pressed as the wines went dry, at eleven days on average. Following natural malolactic, we tasted the finished wines, selecting the five most intense to represent the vintage. The combined lots then aged for fourteen months in air-dried american oak. This full-bodied wine shows the rustic flavors and firm structure typical of zinfandel from York Creek. It will evolve over the next seven to eight years.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Another iconic site from Ridge, the 2008 Zinfandel York Creek (79% Zinfandel and 21% Petite Sirah, tipping the scales at 14.9% alcohol) displays plenty of boysenberry, blueberry and black cherry fruit notes, a healthy dark ruby/purple color similar to the other wines, but more earth, tannin, structure and grip. This is not as forward and elegant as the Lytton Springs, nor as exuberant and flamboyant as the Pagani Ranch. It is almost a Zinfandel with a Cabernet Sauvignon soul and structure. Give it another year or so of aging and drink it over the next decade.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.