Ridge Lytton Springs, 2000

Picture of Lytton Springs Vineyard

This was an evening when we had a small dinner party — just one couple — of people who really pay attention to wine, and I wanted to pull out some of my best.  The first two wines, a Pomerol (Chateau de Sales, 2003) and Demoiselle de Sociando Mallet (2000) seemed to create a slight sense of disappointment in the two women in the group.  Knowing that my wife prefers a good Californian Zin over anything Bordeaux has to offer, I decided to pull from the cellar a bottle of the Ridge Lytton Springs (80% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Syrah).

What a good idea this was!  Everybody at the table absolutely loved this wine.  This (2000) was a year in which yields were especially low, but these low yields did not prevent the grapes from being fully ripened by the middle of September.  A lot of care was put into making sure that the wine was not over-oaked.

We worried that we were about to drink a wine towards the end of its life span, but it was simply perfect.  The deep berry tastes (raspberry, blueberry, and possibly some plums) showed through with just a little hint of sweetness.  The tannins were soft and pleasant with no harshness whatsoever.  While this wine is very distinctly Californian, the wine make seems to deftly avoid the kinds of faults that are sometimes associated with California particularly as it was neither over-oaked nor over-alcoholic.

I just love this wine, and it was even better than the first time I had this wine.  Click here to see my earlier comments on the Ridge Lytton Springs 2000.