1984 Ridge Zinfandel Lytton Springs

A blend of 85% Zinfandel, 10% Carignan and 5% Grenache. Aged first in French oak and then in air-dried American oak. Dark ruby with some garnet highlights and fine sediment. Smells of roasted meat, red miso, dried herbs and dried flowers. Flavours of salty red miso, raspberry and unripe blackberry mix with dried herbs, road dust, roasted meat and chopped green herbs which leave a minty quality in the finish. Outstanding acidity and faint, powdery tannins that add a tiny bit of texture. A stunner of a wine that builds in layers to far more than a sum of its parts. (AY)

Full red with an amber rim. More black than red fruits on the nose, complicated by notes of coffee, clove, licorice and balsamico . Seriously dense, savory and dry; wonderfully filled in but not exactly silky owing to its impression of firm acidity. Boasts terrific retention of dark fruits and spices, with a complicating note of candied cherry emerging with air. Finishes saline and long, with big, deep tannins saturating the tongue and incisors and a lingering note of dusty herbs. I suspect that this slowly evolving wine has more life ahead of it than the overwhelming majority of California Cabernets from 1984. (Paul Draper noted that 1984 was a very dry, warm year during which many Cabernet vines in Napa Valley shut down from the heat.) 13.8% alcohol.

Anyone familiar with the Lytton Springs' style of Zinfandel knows that this winery has a considerable reputation for its full throttle, massive, inky black Zinfandels that are neither fined nor filtered prior to bottling. Not surprisingly, the 1979, 1980, 1983 and 1984 all have thrown considerable sediment. Should anyone be fortunate enough to have stocks of these wines, they all require decanting. None of them are showing any signs of losing their brawny richness or copious quantities of black fruit. They are all terrific Zinfandels in their own manner, but extremely full-bodied and so dense and rich that they should only be served with hefty food in the dead of winter. It is surprising how little evolution I could detect between the 1984 and the 1979. The 1979 is softer and more luscious in the finish, but all four offerings are super-concentrated, still firmly structured wines with explosively rich personalities. The most tannic is the 1983 Reserve, the most forward is the 1979, and the fleshiest is the 1984.