Lytton Springs 2018 | Ridge | California

Name: Lytton Springs 2018 | Ridge | California
Brand: Ridge Vineyards
SKU: 261
Price: 69.89 EUR
Availability: InStock

69.89 €

Lytton Springs 2018 | Ridge | California

69.89 €

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Hurry! Only 4 Left in Stock!

Ridge Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California. Lytton Springs estate, acquired in 1991 (first harvest 1972). Century-old vines planted 1900–1910 on gravelly clay loam soils. CCOF certified organic. 72% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignane, 2% Mataro, co-fermented from interplanted blocks.

Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts; pressed at nine days. Malolactic conversion completed naturally with ambient bacteria. No commercial enzymes or nutrients. Aged 14 months in air-dried American oak (10% new, balance 1–5 years). Minimum effective SO₂.

Wine Identification

This profile concerns Ridge Lytton Springs, a red wine produced by Ridge Vineyards in California, United States. The specific vintage is 2018. It originates from the historic Lytton Springs estate located in Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County. This site holds significant importance for the winery, as Ridge acquired it in 1991 after first making wine from its grapes in 1972.

Origin and Winemaking

The vineyard is distinguished by its centenarian vines, planted between 1900 and 1910, growing in gravelly clay-loam soils. The estate practices certified organic viticulture under CCOF standards. The wine is a blend composed of 72% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignane (Mazuelo) and 2% Mataro (Monastrell).

The winemaking process emphasizes minimal intervention. The grapes undergo co-fermentation from interplanted blocks using spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts. After nine days, the must is pressed. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally via ambient bacteria, and no commercial enzymes or nutrients are used. The wine matures for 14 months in air-dried American oak; only 10% of the barrels are new, while the remainder are one to five years old. Minimal sulfur dioxide is added.

Expected Profile

As a dry red wine from Sonoma County, Lytton Springs reflects the character of its old-vine blend. The combination of Zinfandel’s body with Petite Sirah and Carignane suggests a structured yet textured palate, typical of this historic terroir. The use of air-dried American oak contributes to its stylistic profile, while the low intervention methods aim to preserve the distinct voice of the ancient vines.

Critics' Scores

The Wine Advocate (Parker) awarded this wine a score of 96.

Overall Character

Lytton Springs stands as a benchmark example of old-vine California red blends. Its reputation is built on the unique combination of century-old vines, organic farming, and a winemaking philosophy that prioritizes native fermentation and restrained use of new oak to highlight the complexity of its diverse grape varieties.

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Learn more about Ridge Vineyards

In 1885 Osea Perrone, a doctor and a prominent member of San Francisco's Italian community, bought 180 acres (73 ha) near the top of Monte Bello Ridge, at 2,600 feet —792 metres— above the bay. He terraced the slope, planted vines and used limestone quarried on the mountain to build the winery that gave the wine its name: the first vintage under the Monte Bello label is from 1892.

The estate was reborn seventy years later, and in a distinctly un-winemaking way. Four Stanford Research Institute engineers —Dave Bennion, Hew Crane, Charlie Rosen and Howard Ziedler— made a quarter-barrel of Cabernet from the old vines still standing. It convinced them enough to re-bond the winery in time for the 1962 harvest. In 1966 they bottled the first Geyserville Zinfandel, and in 1969 Paul Draper joined, raised on a farm outside Chicago and drawn to wine after living in Italy and France. He was the estate's winemaker for forty-seven years, retiring in 2016 at eighty.

He described his own method as pre-industrial: native yeasts from the vineyard itself, minimal sulfur, and not a single commercial enzyme or nutrient. The house rule fits in one line —find intense fruit, intrude only when necessary— and it explains the quirk Ridge is best known for outside the trade: since 2011 it prints the full ingredient list on the back label, something no regulation required and almost nobody did.

The proof came twice. At the 1976 Judgment of Paris, the 1971 Monte Bello placed fifth. Thirty years later, on 24 May 2006, those same bottles were re-tasted: the 1971 won both the United States and United Kingdom panels and, in the combined result, finished eighteen points clear of the runner-up.

In Sonoma the story runs longer than ownership suggests: Ridge has made Geyserville since 1966 —from vines over 130 years old— and has worked Lytton Springs since 1972, though the property only became theirs in 1991. Since 2022 every estate vineyard is certified organic.

See all wines by Ridge Vineyards →