In 1972, Ridge made its first Lytton Springs from vines planted on the eastern half of the vineyard at the turn of the century. Both the eastern and western portions of the vineyard were purchased in the early 1990s, (In the 1870s, under “Captain” William Litton’s ownership, the two were part of one property; spelling evolved to “Lytton” by 1903.) The vineyard is planted to zinfandel and its principal complementary varietals.
Just three years after the first Lytton Springs vintage in 1972, it was clear from the consistency of character and quality that this was one of those sites where soil, climate, and varietal were perfectly matched.
Lytton Springs is home to 100-plus-year-old zinfandel vines interplanted with petite sirah, carignane, a small amount of mataro (mourvèdre), and grenache. They honour the individual character of these vines by fermenting each variety and each lot separately using natural yeast fermentation, letting the wines undergo natural malolactic, and employing minimal egg white fining.
2020 vintage: 79% Zinfandel, 11% Petite Sirah, 10% Carignane
Hand-harvested, sustainably grown, estate grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulphur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 72 ppm over the course of aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of their actions. Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (15% new, 15% one year-old, 20% two years-old, 20% three years-old, 15% four years-old, and 15% five years-old).
Aging: Thirteen months in barrel
Rich blackberry and plum on the nose with notes of aniseed. Full-bodied with dark bramble fruit and well-coated tannins on the palate. The long finish reveals layers of black liquorice and dried sage.