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Ridge, Lytton Springs, 1998

Red Wine from California, United States
by Ridge
$74.99
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Lytton Springs is a field blend, not a Zinfandel: hundred-year-old Zinfandel interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mataro and Grenache on gravelly clay benchland north of Healdsburg, on the divide between Dry Creek and Alexander Valley. Ridge first made wine from the site in 1972 and bought it outright in 1991, and it remains one of California's great historic single-vineyard sites. The 1998 was hard won: El Niño pushed the season back a full month, late-August rain and sunburn forced repeated thinning, and the eighteen parcels came in over the first two weeks of October, yielding 77% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, 4% Mataro, 2% Carignane and 1% Alicante Bouschet at 14.3%, aged fourteen months in air-dried American oak. At twenty-eight years this is fully mature and long past its fruit phase - a savory, tertiary bottle from a private cellar rather than a wine to lay down further. Stand it upright, decant gently, and finish it the night you open it.

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Antonio Galloni

93 points

"Bright ruby-red. Complex, deeply pitched aromas of sappy blackberry, dark chocolate, game, leather and earth. Very full and ripe in the mouth, but with a captivating sappy quality. Flavors of dark berries, violet and spice are lifted by a peppery nuance. In a distinctly sweeter style, and more harmonious than usual at this stage of its evolution. Big, deep and impressively structured; finishes with substantial but ripe tannins. A superb showing." —Stephen Tanzer

Robert Parker

90 points

"A Ridge classic, the deep ruby/purple-colored 1998 Lytton Springs (14.3% alcohol; 77% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, 4% Matero, 2% Carignan, and 1% Alicante) boasts a sweet nose of briery fruit intermixed with red and black currants, minerals, pepper, and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, with dried Provencal herb characteristics that emerge with airing, this fleshy, beautifully pure, and stunningly proportioned Zinfandel can be drunk now as well as over the next 5-6 years." —Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Wine Enthusiast

92 points

"A vineyard blend that includes 16% Petite Sirah, 2% Carignane, 4% Mataro and 1% Alicante Bouschet. Meaty, funky and ripe, with intense fruit, lots of earthy, barnyardy accents, and a long, tannic finish. This is old style Zin, no holds barred, with full-throttle flavors for aficionados." —Paul Gregutt

More about Ridge

Ridge's 1971 Monte Bello placed fifth in the 1976 Judgment of Paris—ahead of Mouton-Rothschild—, but the winery didn't let it go to their head. Forty-plus years later, they're still making structured, elegant Cabernet Sauvignons and Zinfandels from the windswept Santa Cruz Mountains. Pure California terroir, no flash.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Carignan , Mourvedre , Petite Sirah , Zinfandel

  • Vintage

    1998

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Organic

Flatiron's Take

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Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Slow-braised short ribs, mushroom ragù over polenta, roast lamb shoulder, or aged Gouda.

Tasting Profile

Dried cherry and fig, leather, tobacco leaf and forest floor. Medium to full bodied, tannins fully resolved, acidity still lively, long savory finish.