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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 208 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by gharter on 4/22/2024 & rated 92 points: PnP. Opens with raspberry, pepper, anise, vanilla, cherry, plum and floral aromas. Still has plenty of fruit showing blackberry, raspberry, cherry, plum, anise, black pepper, floral, and light vanilla notes. Medium body with silky tannins. This was very rustic on release and has mellowed nicely with time. Drinking very well now, but has years ahead of it. (1109 views) | | | Tasted by Mortgage92 on 4/7/2024 & rated 92 points: Ridge....Zinfandel....do I need to add anything else? The mellow body of this wine with the moderate legs on the glass accented by the mild tannins, acidity with the lasting finish, what more could a person ask for...a longer life. Yes, there is still life in this vintage and bottle, but it is drinking very nice now, so why wait? Even if it is your last bottle you will not regret consuming this wine now. Enjoy! (1217 views) | | | Tasted by Obi-Wan Cannubi on 4/1/2024 & rated 91 points: Modningstoner. Kjølig, fin balanse. Veldig god frukt. Imponert til å være zin. Kjøper gjerne igjen. Denne holder flere år. (1413 views) | | | Tasted by loj on 1/25/2024 & rated 91 points: There is a slight green note on first open, surprisingly.
However the palette depth and richness here is very elegant. Slight varnish and cedar. Pale ruby. (2221 views) | | | Tasted by asparagus on 12/5/2023 & rated 92 points: So drinkable now... this was being gulped down by everyone. Good fruit, bramble, structure and decent acid. Wonder how it will evolve with more bottle age... but who really cares? (2622 views) | | | Tasted by 6831 on 11/27/2023 & rated 93 points: Reticent aromas of dark fruit, camphor, cedar. Glides into a lush palate of blackberry, blueberry cassis, mocha, sweet oak and spice. Medium bodied. Finish is fresh and clean with good length. Shows excellent balance. Lovely wine (2549 views) | | | Tasted by CavWine on 11/18/2023 & rated 93 points: I always love this wine, but so did the three others drinking it. Tannins mellowed after a 2 hour decant, and the fruit was very present without being too jammy. Only 1 bottle left, unfortunately. (2120 views) | | | Tasted by lovemycab on 11/17/2023 & rated 90 points: Slow ox and drank over a few hours. Maybe it was an off bottle as this wasn’t as good as prior ones. Fruit was really muted. (2050 views) | | | Tasted by Fractalage on 11/3/2023: Bought multiple bottles directly from the winery upon release as member of the Zin Club. I remember this year being very tight, as most baby Lytton Springs are.
Rested upright for 3 months, and decanted off sediment leaving a glass and a half in the bottle 5 hours before tasting.
Not much nose to report except for some very faint blackberry, licorice and even less, essences of earth.
Palate, however was exquisite!
The lushness of the juice delicately tumbled over my tongue, something of a perfect spot for this cuvée. All kinds of complexities engaged and challenged my detection skills: Garigue, licorice, Christmas spices, perfect acid, delicate spice cakes with hidden but enough to pull out cinnamon, nutmeg and quality tight knit wood.
I’ve got Lytton Springs verticals in my cellar going back a decade. These wines for most years need at least 7 years bottle age to show and can stay in that sweet spot for twenty, though most would not allow that much time in bottle. 2016 was a drought relief year, and this is an interesting contrast to 2015.
The iconic label looked magnificent in front of a warm living room fire, and if I had to do this again I would wait for Christmas to open, as this with roast duck, or broiled rare ribeye would be fantastic for celebratory times with family who are not oenophiles. (Keep the 1996 Barolo hidden for ourselves!)
A fresh pour from decanter now 7 hours after decant smells more and more like Christmas season as the cakes with tart berry fit perfectly. Each swig had energy, was soft, luxuriously imparted smoke, gingerbread, boysenberry and memories of seasonal times past.
Add this to your holiday meal lineup, decant at noontime, keep ½ glass for yourself and pour the rest for others who don’t fully appreciate the depth of your cellar. This will woo your guests as you tell about the Taste Of Paris and why you opened it for this meal. (My Bruno Giacosa 2001 Serralunga D’Alba stays in my own belly!)
As this opened more and more of the oak started to show, and totally did not want to drink anymore. This is for others. Not for me. I’ve got to now hit the cellar again to find something else to open. Gotta remember not to drink any more Ridge, but only pour for others. So much time had past since the last bottle that I forget to remember! My bad.
In fact, at this point I just gotta say "UG! OAK! DOUBLE UG!" (2331 views) | | | Tasted by Francophile1 on 8/21/2023 & rated 89 points: Straight down the fairway. Consistently good regardless of the vintage. Good value wine. (2732 views) | | | Tasted by Kharles on 7/29/2023: Super tasty (2613 views) | | | Tasted by Teaky on 6/29/2023: From 375 pop and pour, brickish orange, oxidized and port like, tertiary with some dark fruited bramble, a lot of sediment in the bottle which made it a bit astringent, when I was able to have a sip it without sediment it was actually quite nice and not unlike an aged Bordeaux. Don’t know if I should mark as flawed as I won’t expect a 16 to be so advanced but at the same time I enjoyed it. Have had this twice before, last ~4 years ago and it was quite fruit forward at that time. (2517 views) | | | Tasted by ClaytonDave on 5/18/2023 & rated 93 points: Ready to drink. Will benefit from 30-60 minute decant. Smooth and lush, but not heavy. Classic Zin with notes of cherry and blackberry. (2813 views) | | | Tasted by martywil on 2/13/2023 & rated 90 points: Good balance of fruit flavors and acid in this claret-style zin perfect for food. Not as complex to me as older versions of this cuvee, but still fine. (3433 views) | | | Tasted by tourproto on 1/1/2023 & rated 91 points: Another great Zin blend from Ridge. Def should be drunk with food. A little too big to just drink without food. (2946 views) | | | Tasted by ppandian on 12/25/2022 & rated 90 points: This was a magnum. Christmas dinner with roast beef. Typical Ridge - cherries, strawberries, brambly undertones with well-integrated tannins. (2745 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 12/7/2022: First Wednesday Wine Club (Napoli in Bocca, Haberfield): "Served Blind.
Red and black berry and cherry fruit, sweet spice, a touchy of savoury ness, slight herbaceous underpin, pretty nose, interesting. Juicy, medium plus intensity acidity, those red and black fruits, softly textured tannins, pretty on the palate as well, balanced, long, charming. Lovely, really lovely.
I was so confounded by the pure joy of this wine that I completely neglected to evaluate what it was! Oops!!" (3064 views) | | | Tasted by GrapeCrusader on 12/4/2022 & rated 91 points: Wild blackberry, soy, earth and black pepper. Tannins beginning to soften a bit, but by no means non-existent. Drinking really well right now. Super smooth and tasty with a long and elegant finish. (2893 views) | | | Tasted by Opus2010 on 10/4/2022 & rated 94 points: Outstanding; really opened up after an hour (2937 views) | | | Tasted by DonDon on 10/1/2022 & rated 89 points: I’ve had quite a few different vintages of this wine and thought the 2016 would be in a better spot than this. Was fairly flat. I just felt I didn’t get the usual power and flavour profile I was looking for. unmemorable really. (2497 views) | | | Tasted by Brian of Mull on 9/20/2022 & rated 93 points: PnP. Coming back to this after several years. Color is bright ruby. On the nose: mixed red and black berries, vanilla and a little bit of cola. On the palate: Raspberry, cola, vanilla , spice and some vegetal notes. Elegant and refined. This is better than I remember. (2770 views) | | | Tasted by Shavedaddy on 9/6/2022 & rated 87 points: plum, leather, baking spices, toast, woody/green bramble. hint of umami hiding underneath. i could be convinced of some red or black cherry. really nice balance between freshness and ripeness of the fruit. good acidity. nicely balanced, but is a touch hot on the finish. med+ length. a very even fade, i.e. doesn't drop of a cliff, but doesn't linger with a ton of intensity either.
i see a lot of love for this one, and it's certainly a good wine. i have a soft spot for ridge and how they do things, just not sure i can get to 90 with this one like some others have. especially at the price. (2900 views) | | | Tasted by Winowhyno on 8/31/2022 & rated 91 points: Three more years in the cellar made a difference. Nice nose...very balanced tannins....Cherry is the dominate flavor....but not overwhelmingly. Smooth finish. Wish it wasn't my last bottle of 2016. (2642 views) | | | Tasted by vino vidi vici on 8/20/2022: This bottle is way too sweet - like surprisingly so... I realize it's still young, but sheesh - its confectionary character infers the brix levels were very high. The winemaker must have arrested vinification early to keep the alcohol levels low. Out of balance. (2681 views) | | | Tasted by pcwoz on 7/9/2022 & rated 94 points: Red-purple. Not super dense though. Nice clarity. On the nose - Plum, blackberry and Christmas cake nose. Controlled. This flows through onto the palate. Darker fruits - plums and blackberries. Also that richness and spice of Christmas cake. That's very appropriate this time of year. Like all Ridge Zins, though, that is held in check so that it's not a caricature. Very well made and still refreshing. Medium-Full and rounded mouthfeel. Yes there is lots of sweet fruits, but there is a savoury note on the finish. Also a good underlying tannin structure. Long. This will age well and is definitely at the young end for me. (3218 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Elin McCoy
Decanter, Sonoma’s most exciting AVAs (6/20/2019)
(Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley, California, USA, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Elaine Chukan Brown
JancisRobinson.com (3/1/2019)
(Ridge, Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia Highlands (2/14/2019)
(Ridge Lytton Springs Red) Login and sign up and see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (10/21/2018)
(Ridge Vineyards Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Lytton Springs, Red, United States) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Santa Cruz Mountains – The Gorgeous 2016s (Aug 2018) (8/1/2018)
(Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs Sonoma Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Hemming, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/20/2018)
(Ridge, Lytton Springs Sonoma County Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Decanter and JancisRobinson.com and JebDunnuck.com and JamesSuckling.com and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Ridge Producer website | Wikipedia
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 m) on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA near Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County.2016 Ridge Lytton Springs“69% Zin, 23% P.S., 6% Carignane, & 2% Mataro (Mourvedre); Full, destemmed crush; 100% Natural primary & secondary fermentations; Pressed @ 8 days; Aged 14 mos in 100% air-dried, AM oak barrels (15% new; 45% one, two, & three years old; and 40% four & five years old). 14.4% ABV.”
95 pts Vinous (Galloni, 8/1/18),
94 ea Suckling (11/’18), Palate Press & “Highly Rec” (Honig, 12/’18), Dunnuck (2/14/19), & Decanter (McCoy, 6/20/19),
92+ WA (Kelley, 5/’18),
92 ea WS (Fish, 10/’18) & The Fine Wine Review (Kolm, 12/’18),
91 Wine & Spirits (5/’19),
90 CA Grapevine (10/’18),
89 Connoisseurs' Guide, and
Jancis Robinson's 16 (Hemming, 6/20/18) + 17.5/20 (Brown, 3/1/19)!
Ridge Lytton SpringsHistory
In 1972, Ridge made its first Lytton Springs from vines planted on the eastern half of the vineyard at the turn of the century, and purchased both the eastern and western portions of the vineyard in the early 1990s, (In the 1870s, under "Captain" William Litton's ownership, the two were part of one property; spelling evolved into "Lytton" by 1903.) The vineyard is planted to zinfandel and its principal complementary varietals.
Vineyard
First Ridge Lytton Springs®: 1972
Location: The bench and hills separating Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, just north of Healdsburg, Sonoma County.
Elevation: 80' - 160'
Soils: Varied, with a predominance of gravelly clay; gravelly clay loam on hillsides.
Age of Vines: Lytton East: zinfandel, petite sirah, grenache and carignane planted 1901 (32 acres) and 1910 (11 acres); zinfandel and petite sirah, planted 1997-1998 (5 acres), Lytton West: zinfandel, petite sirah, carignane, grenache re-planted 1953-1968 (26 acres); zinfandel and petite sirah, planted 1980's (2.5 acres); zinfandel and petite sirah planted in 1990's (42.8 acres); zinfandel, limited petite sirah, limited carignane, in 2000's (60 acres).
Training: Head trained (no trellis), spur pruned.
Climate: Fog in a.m., warm sunny afternoons, breezes in late p.m.
Exposure: Southeasterly
Yields: 1.5 to 3.0 tons per acre
©Ridge Vineyards
In the heart of Dry Creek Valley, home to 100 year old Zinfandel vines, co-planted (as was the norm) with small amounts of Petite Sirah, Carignane, Grenache and Mourvedre, Lytton Springs is Ridge’s Sonoma HQ. This is ideal Zinfandel country and produces wines that are spectacular both young and with age.Lytton SpringsThe bench and hills separating Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, just north of Healdsburg, Sonoma County.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino CountyDry Creek Valley Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley | Dry Creek Valley Association | Appellation America | San Francisco Chronicle Article |
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