Tried last night w/ my cheese strata:
1. Ridge Calif 50% Syrah/Grenache (LyttonEstate/DryCreekVlly; 14.7%; 46 brls; Drk: 5/07-5/12-5/14: JO) 2005: Very dark color; strong Grenache/strawberry some blackberry/Syrah/spicy light vanilla/pencilly/oak some Draper perfume slight gamey nose; tart some tannic/hard some pencilly/smokey/oak mostly Grenache/strawberry slight blackberry/spicy flavor; very long mostly blackberry/Syrah light strawberry somewhat vanilla/Am.oak/pungent rather hard/tannic finish; speaks more of Ridge winemaking and LyttonEstate than Syrah or Grenache; a pretty big/hard Ridge that needs age. $30.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I have long faulted Ridge for making their Syrahs & Grenaches speak more of Ridge winemaking style, rather than varietal character...at least as expressed by most other wineries. But I have put that attitude behind me and now accept Ridge's Rhones for what they are..darn good Ridge red wine that only hints of Syrah or Grenache. As I was drinking this wine, I was struck by how much the spicy character spoke of Lytton Estate as expressed in the LyttonSprings Zin. That terroir thing, perhaps, that everybody babbles about but nobody understands?? I'm clueless. But this is mighty fine Ridge/Lytton red wine and, I think, be a very interesting wine down the road w/ age.
I think most of this wine came from their plantings on LyttonWest. They have some old-vine Grenache on LyttonEast (the original LyttonSprings Zin vnyd) and one of the four lots in this wine probably came from the East vnyd.
Tom