2022 Ridge Petite Sirah Lytton Springs Estate

Matured for 16 months in 20% new air-dried American oak, the 2022 Petite Sirah Lytton Estate is powerful and pretty. It unfurls slowly on the nose to reveal aromas of blackcurrant, grilled beef, iron, tar and violet. The full-bodied palate features concentrated, iron-laced flavors. It has a frame of muscular, grippy tannins and juicy acidity, and it has a long, floral finish.

Full bottle 1,334 g. Vines planted 1901–2008. Whole-berry fermentation. Both primary and secondary (malolactic) fermentations are completed by ambient yeasts and bacteria. Pumpovers are limited to once daily. Aged 16 months in 100% air-dried American oak barrels (20% new, 5% one-year-old, 12% three-year-old, 22% four-year-old and 41% five-plus-year-old barrels). pH 3.76, TA 6.5 g/l. Minimum effective SO 2 for this wine (35 ppm at crush; 86 ppm over the course of ageing); pad-filtered at bottling. Certified organic. Deep purple with a fuchsia rim. Warm with pepper, cinnamon spice, a feral savouriness and ripe black fruit. Drying tannin and fresh acidity on the palate. As is often the case after tasting Zinfandels, this feels lacking in fruit with a taut, structured finish that isn't much fun at the moment. (SCJ)

The 2022 Petite Sirah Lytton Estate is made from 100% Petite Sirah from Lytton Estate. The small berries make for a classic, peppery varietal wine that smells like cotton candy and pepper, tart red fruit more than blue, and has great acidity retention. Spicy, broad-shouldered, and softly tannic, it will do well with cellaring. Aged in 15-20% new oak, all American, it presents as quite floral and is supremely balanced and focused. Medium-bodied, the texture stands out, rich and complex in purple fruit. It should drink best from 2028 through 2032. Set in the Santa Cruz Mountains with a second winery and vineyard acreage in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley called Lytton Springs, Ridge made its first Monte Bello in 1962 (the Monte Bello Vineyard dates back to 1885) and is devoted to single-vineyard winemaking, what it calls “pre-industrial winemaking,” organic and sustainable farming, and full transparency; it is one of the few wineries to list ingredients on its back labels. Winemaker Paul Draper joined in 1969. The winemaking team today consists of head winemaker John Olney, who has been on the team since 1996, Lytton Springs winemaker Shauna Rosenblum, and assistant winemaker Michael Bairdsmith. It remains one of the great names in California wine, celebrated for making ageable wines.