Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs 2018

Hailing from old Zinfandel vines in the historic Lytton Springs vineyard, which are planted with complementary Petite Sirah and Carignane vines, this is a mighty, juicy, robust, decadent beasty, bursting with flavours of raspberry, black pepper, liquorice and garrigue. The palate has rich, black fruit and is gorgeously full and viscous. It has well-coated tannins and a long, voluptuous finish. Sorry, this is a rather straight-laced tasting note. The wine isn't though, don't worry. It's a raucous bundle of joy.

Ridge can trace its history back to 1892 when the first Montebello wine was released from the same vineyard and winery where this iconic wine is still made to this day. The Lytton Springs vineyard was incorporated into the estate in 1991. The philosophy at Ridge has always been to use minimal intervention to bring out the true terroir in the wines. However, this approach is backed by very modern equipment and facilities and top-class technical analysis.

Paul Draper joined Ridge in 1969 and rose to become the present CEO and chief winemaker. A Stanford graduate in philosophy with years of traditional winemaking experience around Europe, Paul was a guiding light in the development of the present Ridge style. Paul Olney is the head winemaker for the Lytton Springs wines since 1999 having joined Ridge in 1996. Again extensive travel in Europe, with experience working at some top estates such as Romanée Conti as well as some of California’s top names gives John a wide winemaking experience to call upon.

Vineyards are working sustainably with organic certification in progress and minimal intervention.