2005
Ridge Vineyards
DryCreekValley, SonomaCounty
Lytton Springs
79% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, and 3% Carignane
$39.85
CSPC# 982413
(
February 16, 2008 Vintages Release
Robert Parker (US)
Issue: Issue# 165 – Wine Advocate
90 pts
“The famed 2005 Zinfandel Lytton Springs (a 12,000-case blend of 79% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, and 3% Carignane) tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol. This elegantly-styled Zin reveals a dark ruby/purple color, notes of crushed rocks, black raspberries, and sweet oak, a distinctive minerality, sweet fruit, decent acidity, wonderful definition as well as freshness, and an excellent, long finish. Drink it over the next 5-7 years. This venerable producer, with as fine a track record as any winery in the world, continues to turn out high quality Zinfandels. (Drink now-2010).”
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Stephen Tanzer (US)
Issue: Nov. / Dec. 2007 – Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar
92 pts
“(77% zinfandel, 17% petite sirah and 6% carignane) Deep red. Sweet dark berry and kirsch scents are complicated by musky herbs, dried flowers and minerals, with a suave undercurrent of oak spice contributing sweetness. Powerful cassis and bitter cherry flavors are firmed by youthful tannins, which add grip to the finish. Possesses the focus, balance and concentration to repay a decade or more in the cellar.”
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Irene Virbila (US)
Issue: November 28, 2007 – Los Angeles Times
Wine of the Week
“Take a sip. It demands another. And another. The 2005 Lytton Springs Zinfandel from the Ridge estate is one of the best in recent memory. Rich and opulent, laden with sweet spices, it has an elegance that few Zins achieve. Terrific with food, it can sidle up to just about anything wintry -- roast duck or game hen, stews or braised meats, ribs and chops, even a hearty soup such as pasta e fagioli. Region: Sonoma. Price: $30 to $34. Style: Ripe and lush, textbook Zinfandel. Food it goes with: Just about anything wintry -- roast birds, stews, braised meat, pasta e fagioli, ribs.”
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George Heritier (US)
Issue: August 7, 2007 – Gang of Pour
Not Recommended
“2005 Ridge Dry Creek Valley Lytton Springs, 77% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane, 14.4% alc., $31.99: I’d been looking forward to my first taste of the newest vintage of this old favorite, and I’m sorry to report that I’m not happy with my initial impressions. Dark garnet in color, with toffee, chocolate and some briar on the nose, and plenty more of the same on the rich palate, but where is the signature Lytton Springs “zinberry” character and the Draper perfume? I keep waiting for it to emerge, and it never does; it has the kind of depth and structure that you’d expect from a Mr. Ridge, but this toffee-chocolate thing is not to my liking. With air, some Amador-like (?!) briar-bramble comes out more and more, but no real fruit character ever shows itself. The 2004 Lytton Springs seemed to show some of the same characteristics when we first tried it a little over a year ago, but that one was also anchored with a solid core of fruit. Hopefully, this is not an example of things to come from Ridge; if that were to be the case, it would signal a fundamental change in style, one not at all to my liking. Jury’s still out on this one; further investigations will be noted. Many thanks to Tim Thomas for bringing this one and a few alternates for us to ponder.”
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Suzy Atkins (UK)
Issue: September 2, 2007 – Sunday Telegraph
Recommended
“Benchmark wine from renowned zin master Paul Draper, this new vintage is beautifully well-balanced with ripe mulberry and cherry fruit and a long, complex finish.”
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PJ Wines (US)
Issue: November 19, 2007
Wine of the Week
“From one of America ’s great producers we are pleased to offer you a classic Thanksgiving Day wine. Sourced from DryCreekValley vineyards containing vines that are more than a century old, Ridge’s ‘05 Lytton Springs has power, depth of black fruit and mineral components that are backed by elegant and oak infused tannins. Simply put, this is quintessential Zinfandel, the great American wine for roast turkey and all of the trimmings.
On the Ridge Lytton Springs estate, Zinfandel grows atop seven different hills with rows of Petite Syrah surrounding the Zinfandel on six of the hills and a few rows of Grenache on the seventh hill. The vines are tended by the legendary California winemaker Paul Draper as they have been for decades. After a slow start to the growing season and dropping half of the vineyard’s fruit due to poor weather in the summer, Draper harvested the remaining grapes at their maximum ripeness in the early fall. The wine was cold soaked, which lent the finished wine its dark, midnight-ruby color. After fermentation, the wine was aged in American oak before being bottled.
The ‘05 Lytton is lush, supple and highly sensuous, with beautiful scents of briar, plum, and forest floor. It is easily the finest wine Draper has made from these hills since the outstanding ‘97 vintage. The wine’s gorgeous black cherry flavor is accented by a generous touch of creamy cassis and a deft kiss of sweet oak. The long, rich finish is marked by cedar nuances and silky tannins.”
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Producer
05 Lytton Springs Vineyard, bottled Jan 07
The 2005 growing season was delayed bysustained spring rains and cool temperatures. Such conditions can interfere with flowering andfruit formation, but to our surprise the vines set arecord crop. To assure intensity, we dropped upto half the clusters on the young vines. Still,reminiscent of 1997, every fermentor was soonfilled. Unseasonably cool weather slowed thestart of natural-yeast fermentations; the resultingcold soak maximized the deep color. Thethirty-one separate parcels completed a naturalmalolactic and were racked to air-driedamerican oak barrels. In assemblage, a third ofthe wine (some from young vines, some fromvines picked overripe) was held out. Thiselegant, full-bodied wine, with its firm tanninsand intense, complex fruit, is among the finest ofrecent vintages. Enjoyable now, it will developfurther over the next ten years. JO/PD/EB (12/06)
77% ZINFANDEL, 17% PETITE SIRAH,6% CARIGNANE
14.4% alcohol by volume
History
In 1972, Ridge made its first Lytton Springs from vines planted onthe eastern half of the historic vineyard at the turn of the century,and purchased both the eastern and western portions of thevineyard 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 zinfandeland its principal complementary varietals: petite sirah, carignane,a small amount of mataro (mourvèdre) and grenache.
Vintage
Harvest Dates 5 September - 7 October
Grapes Average brix 25.1°
Fermentation No inoculation; natural primary and secondary. Pressed at eight days.
Aging 100% air-dried american oak barrels (20% new,25% one and two years, 55% three to five year old)
Time in Barrel Twelve months
Vineyard
First RIDGE
LyttonSprings 1972
Location The bench and hills separating Dry Creek andAlexanderValleys, just north of Healdsburg,SonomaCounty. Soils Varied, with a predominance of gravelly clay;gravelly clay loam on hillsides.
Vines Lytton East: 100-plus-year-old zinfandel, grenache,petite sirah, carignane (42 acres)Lytton West: zinfandel, and small amounts ofcarignane, planted 1953 (33 acres); zinfandel,petite sirah, mataro, planted 1989 to 1998 (54 acres).
Training Head trained (no trellis), spur pruned.
Yields 1.5 to 3 tons per acre
Growing Season
Rainfall Sixty inches (above average)
Bloom Late May
Weather Wet winter and spring with a long growing season
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Resources
Merchandising sheet from producer
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