2018 Ridge Petite Sirah “Lytton Estate”

2018 Ridge Petite Sirah “Lytton Estate”

2018 Ridge Petite Sirah “Lytton Estate”

The 2018 Lytton Estate Petite Sirah is totally stunning. Bright, focused and powerful, the 2018 presents a breathtaking interplay of rich Petite fruit allied to a classic, old-school sense of structure. Dark blue/purplish fruit, leather, licorice, lavender, menthol and gravel are some of the many notes that infuse the 2018 with all those layers of flavor. The 2018 is a real stunner.
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​Rated 96 Points Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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​Ridge is making spectacular wine, as good as ever and yes they are inexpensive for what’s in the bottle. Ridge has proven itself to be one of the finest producers in California. From the legendary Cabernet Ridge Montebello to some of the greatest single vineyard Zinfandel based wines like Lytton Springs and Geyserville. Ridge makes some greatest wines ever made in the USA. We have just received a tiny allocation of the 2018 Ridge Petite Sirah “Lytton Estate”. Yes this is from Lytton! The oldest Petite Sirah vines were planted on Lytton in 1901 and the first wine made from the vineyard was in 1972. Ridge’s history begins in 1885, when Osea Perrone, a doctor and prominent member of San Francisco’s Italian community, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello Ridge. By the mid-60s, it had produced several Zinfandels including the Geyserville. In 1972, Lytton Springs joined the line-up and the two came to represent an important part of Ridge production. The Ridge approach is straightforward: find the most intense and flavorful grapes, guide the natural process, draw all the fruit’s richness into the wine. Lytton Springs has been one of favorite blends ever. I love the wines ability to drink spectacularly well with just a couple of development and how the wine develops great depth and nuances with longer term cellaring.

In 2002 Ridge started bottling a sperate Petite Sirah limited offering form the finest from the oldest best blocks from Lytton. The wine was a massive hit and it was decided as a result to make a separate Petite Sirah bottling. The wine always performs brilliantly, but in 2018 they nailed it with a huge 96pts by Vinous who hails the wine as ‘totally stunning’.​