What is it: It's Ridge, y'all know the drill. "Pre-Industrial" (standard practice for high end wineries with fancy branding) winemaking, American oak, pretty transparent process. 100% Petit Syrah from the Lytton Estate vineyard in Dry Creek Sonoma.
Price Paid: I think like $40 3-4 years ago
Nose: Purple/blue fruit, some sort of violet-ish floral note, an earthy thing I'm told is volcanic soil
Palate: Quite tannic, though unlike 2.5 years ago, it's at least enjoyable and not doing the fresh-Barolo thing to my mouth. Moderate acid. Blueberry, blackberry, violets, a sort of sweet-leafy thing (is this the "Green Tobacco" note I see sometimes).
Takeaway: It's clearly well made and while from the tasting notes, it all looks like flavors I enjoy, the tannin/body/acid balance is pretty messy for my tastes. If you want "What if Montefalco but California", this will scratch that itch nicely. Alternatively, if you get a thicc steak this would be perfect. 3.5/5
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This wine needs about 3 hours to decant. Had it on a whim a month ago with only 30 minutes and it was not nearly as good as last night after 3 hours. Also, serve slightly below room temperature. Deep and savory. Loved it.
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Decanted for about 3 hours. Stunning nose, fresh cassis and respberries, dark chocolate, supported (rather than overpowered) by American oak. The palate is fresh, lively, there is lovely juicy fruit, nothing hot or overripe, still young and structured but with great tannin quality. Cool and fresh, crunchy with cutting acidity. Already beautiful with a great future. 17.5+/20
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Oaky, rustic nose with some sweet black cherry fruit. Chalky and coarse palate of stewed black fruit and tart, acidic red cherry. Chewy tannins, dry fruit, tobacco leaf, and astringent oak on the finish. Doubtful there's enough fruit to improve but the oak needs time to be tamed.
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Nice wine, opened but not decanted for about 45 minutes before pouring. Enjoyable, but not as much as a Ridge Zin that I had later in the evening. Medium bodied, nice acidity. Medium length finish.
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Upon opening floral nose, dark inky color, still pretty tight with a lot of acidity and tannins. Definitely needs to breathe. Can go another 5-7 years IMHO.
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A sheep in wolf's clothing. This presents an agressive nose even upon opening, but with a gently fruity soft palate following. From first taste, and even after a two hour decant, there is a sense of hot alcohol up front but delicate ripe bush fruit and late season plums in back. Quite enjoyable. Frankly, this is better than some Napa cabs I have had recently at 3x the price.
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Very well done. Blue fruits, anise, plums, black pepper, and earth. Soft, round tannins that last forever. Great now, but I’ll give a year for the next one.
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Much softer and smoother than you’d expect for a young petite, consistent with the relatively short (12 month) time in oak. Drinking nicely with just a short amount of air.
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Deep purple color. Very primary and young. With some air this is showing dark fruit notes of blueberries, black cherries, leather, some spices, also some graphite, lavender and some minty freshness. It‘s pretty full-bodied, with medium-high acidity and medium-high tannin that is very good quality. Long fnish with plenty of complexity. Another excellet Petite Sirah from Ridge, it combines the structure and richness of the grape with the polish and superb quality of the house style. Lovely.
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Very rich but also truly balanced; neither cloying nor jammy as so many Petite Sirah examples can be. Nose was full with gorgeous cedar/vanilla oak tones accompanying ripe black/blue fruit, plus a cool menthol quality tempering the ripeness. Oak buried the fruit a bit, but not so much that it was muted. Palate was similar to nose; rich, fairly tannic blueberry and plum, gentle oak spice, with more than enough acidity/minerality to feel fresh. I need to try this again, had a couple glasses at a party so wasn't able to track the evolution with air. If this was blind I'd probably have guessed a good CA Syrah made in a fairly ripe style with high quality oak, or maybe even a Napa Cab with particularly dark-berry style fruit.
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Ridge Night and Burgers (Aureole Restaurant, NYC): Popped n' poured at a NYC restaurant. It was the first red wine of the night. Not particularly enjoyable on the first sip. It really opened up over the course of 25 minutes. I have one more bottle, and I really think it would benefit by being open for 30 minutes before drinking. Nice spice notes. Less alcohol (13.8%) than I was expecting.
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Fun to try a 100% Petite Sirah, this is full of bright red plums, blackberries, black pepper and violets on the nose, this full-bodied wine had all the fruit you are looking for along with serious length and chalky tannins.
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I am a big fan of Ridge Zins and Zinfandel blends. This is the first Petite Sirah and I am hoping it needs more time in the cellar. Little thin, maybe tart. OK but not what I expect in a Ridge.
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Dense deep ruby purple Heavy dusty blackberry blueberry aromas and flavors. Bone dry. Nose feels heavy, but lighter on the palate with a bit more lift.
Very Soundly made, but I’d definitely wait.
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3/4/2024 - ThatFrenchieGuy Likes this wine: 90 Points
What is it: It's Ridge, y'all know the drill. "Pre-Industrial" (standard practice for high end wineries with fancy branding) winemaking, American oak, pretty transparent process. 100% Petit Syrah from the Lytton Estate vineyard in Dry Creek Sonoma.
Price Paid: I think like $40 3-4 years ago
Nose: Purple/blue fruit, some sort of violet-ish floral note, an earthy thing I'm told is volcanic soil
Palate: Quite tannic, though unlike 2.5 years ago, it's at least enjoyable and not doing the fresh-Barolo thing to my mouth. Moderate acid. Blueberry, blackberry, violets, a sort of sweet-leafy thing (is this the "Green Tobacco" note I see sometimes).
Takeaway: It's clearly well made and while from the tasting notes, it all looks like flavors I enjoy, the tannin/body/acid balance is pretty messy for my tastes. If you want "What if Montefalco but California", this will scratch that itch nicely. Alternatively, if you get a thicc steak this would be perfect. 3.5/5
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12/10/2023 - mdsh00 Likes this wine:
Very well after about a 2hr decant. Soft yet lightly velcro tannins.
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12/3/2023 - CavWine Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine needs about 3 hours to decant. Had it on a whim a month ago with only 30 minutes and it was not nearly as good as last night after 3 hours. Also, serve slightly below room temperature. Deep and savory. Loved it.
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9/24/2023 - ploher wrote:
Decanted for about 3 hours. Stunning nose, fresh cassis and respberries, dark chocolate, supported (rather than overpowered) by American oak. The palate is fresh, lively, there is lovely juicy fruit, nothing hot or overripe, still young and structured but with great tannin quality. Cool and fresh, crunchy with cutting acidity. Already beautiful with a great future. 17.5+/20
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8/6/2023 - oenophilemoose wrote:
Decanted for 90 minutes. Decidedly tart and acidic and unenjoyable. Unlike any PS I have ever consumed. Bad bottle?
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5/9/2023 - VAGenius wrote: 88 Points
Oaky, rustic nose with some sweet black cherry fruit. Chalky and coarse palate of stewed black fruit and tart, acidic red cherry. Chewy tannins, dry fruit, tobacco leaf, and astringent oak on the finish. Doubtful there's enough fruit to improve but the oak needs time to be tamed.
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4/23/2023 - snarfglk Likes this wine: 90 Points
still a 90+ wine
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12/30/2022 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice wine, opened but not decanted for about 45 minutes before pouring. Enjoyable, but not as much as a Ridge Zin that I had later in the evening. Medium bodied, nice acidity. Medium length finish.
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5/20/2022 - tourproto Likes this wine: 90 Points
Upon opening floral nose, dark inky color, still pretty tight with a lot of acidity and tannins. Definitely needs to breathe. Can go another 5-7 years IMHO.
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4/16/2022 - ppandian wrote: 89 Points
Excellent! Same notes as the last bottle.
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1/21/2022 - Stoic Warrior Likes this wine: 90 Points
A sheep in wolf's clothing. This presents an agressive nose even upon opening, but with a gently fruity soft palate following. From first taste, and even after a two hour decant, there is a sense of hot alcohol up front but delicate ripe bush fruit and late season plums in back. Quite enjoyable. Frankly, this is better than some Napa cabs I have had recently at 3x the price.
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9/17/2021 - RichardsEric1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
I haven't had many Ridge Lytton estate vintages, but they always surprise me with their elegance. This one is no exception.
Color. Dark purple. But not inky.
Nose. Candied strawberry. Melted chocolate. Cinnamon and clove.
Palate. Dry dusty tannins covered in cocoa powder. Cherries. And a finish that lasts 30+ seconds.
This a super yummy wine.
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4/8/2021 - snarfglk Likes this wine: 90 Points
90+
nice even petite sirah, throwing some sediment, but not major
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2/28/2021 - Jackstraw212 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very well done. Blue fruits, anise, plums, black pepper, and earth. Soft, round tannins that last forever. Great now, but I’ll give a year for the next one.
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2/3/2021 - ppandian wrote: 89 Points
Restrained black berries and strong tannins. Almost opaque..drinking well but will do better in a couple of years.
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11/6/2020 - Alex Barbera Likes this wine: 92 Points
Spasswein mit super Trinkfluss
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10/8/2020 - Mtnmd1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Youthful, graceful, elegant, well structured style of petite.
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6/26/2020 - Coachron13 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Much softer and smoother than you’d expect for a young petite, consistent with the relatively short (12 month) time in oak. Drinking nicely with just a short amount of air.
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5/30/2020 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep purple color. Very primary and young. With some air this is showing dark fruit notes of blueberries, black cherries, leather, some spices, also some graphite, lavender and some minty freshness. It‘s pretty full-bodied, with medium-high acidity and medium-high tannin that is very good quality. Long fnish with plenty of complexity. Another excellet Petite Sirah from Ridge, it combines the structure and richness of the grape with the polish and superb quality of the house style. Lovely.
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5/2/2020 - matage wrote:
No formal notes as this was over a week ago but I remember thinking it was young... very young..
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2/29/2020 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very rich but also truly balanced; neither cloying nor jammy as so many Petite Sirah examples can be. Nose was full with gorgeous cedar/vanilla oak tones accompanying ripe black/blue fruit, plus a cool menthol quality tempering the ripeness. Oak buried the fruit a bit, but not so much that it was muted. Palate was similar to nose; rich, fairly tannic blueberry and plum, gentle oak spice, with more than enough acidity/minerality to feel fresh. I need to try this again, had a couple glasses at a party so wasn't able to track the evolution with air. If this was blind I'd probably have guessed a good CA Syrah made in a fairly ripe style with high quality oak, or maybe even a Napa Cab with particularly dark-berry style fruit.
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12/23/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 91 Points
Ridge Night and Burgers (Aureole Restaurant, NYC): Popped n' poured at a NYC restaurant. It was the first red wine of the night. Not particularly enjoyable on the first sip. It really opened up over the course of 25 minutes. I have one more bottle, and I really think it would benefit by being open for 30 minutes before drinking. Nice spice notes. Less alcohol (13.8%) than I was expecting.
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6/28/2019 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fun to try a 100% Petite Sirah, this is full of bright red plums, blackberries, black pepper and violets on the nose, this full-bodied wine had all the fruit you are looking for along with serious length and chalky tannins.
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5/14/2019 - spicy1 wrote: 87 Points
I am a big fan of Ridge Zins and Zinfandel blends. This is the first Petite Sirah and I am hoping it needs more time in the cellar. Little thin, maybe tart. OK but not what I expect in a Ridge.
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5/12/2019 - MRichman wrote:
Very good bright pruple fruit.
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1/14/2019 - tak4 wrote:
Bay Area Wine Tour; 1/11/2019-1/15/2019 (Bay Area, CA): I am not really familiar with petite sirah so not rating this one. Deep purple wine. Moderate elegance. Touch of sauvage. Seems nice but needs time.
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11/14/2018 - cos65 wrote:
Dense deep ruby purple
Heavy dusty blackberry blueberry aromas and flavors. Bone dry.
Nose feels heavy, but lighter on the palate with a bit more lift.
Very Soundly made, but I’d definitely wait.
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9/9/2018 - Frijole wrote:
deep dark burgundy red, little clarity, burgundy hue
Nose: sour plum, blackberry, chocolate, tar, stone, dust, vanilla, tannins, oak
Pal: sour plum, blackberry, dark chocolate, tar, tobacco, dust, vanilla, green pepper, wet earth, dirt, oak
Feel: medium, full, tannic, savory, acidic
Finish: medium
T8
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9/8/2018 - CJM wrote: 87 Points
Clear, very deep garnet with no rim browning. Leather, tar, oak. Low acids, medium tannins. Cinnamon. Medium tannic finish. Tasting Event.
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