History
Ridge has just over three acres of fully mature syrah and
three and a half acres of younger vines at Lytton Springs
West. These parcels are situated in the well-drained Sites
soil on the bench overlooking Norton Creek. Since 1996,
we have produced limited amounts for the Advance
Tasting Program (ATP). Over time, the consistent
quality showed syrah to be perfectly matched to the
climate and soil of Lytton Estate. As in the past, the 2008
vintage was co-fermented with a small amount of
viognier from an adjacent parcel. Following harvest, it
was assembled, in blind tasting, from the most intense
and distinct lots.
Vintage
Harvest Dates: September 4 – October 1
Grapes: Average brix 26.6˚
Fermentation: Whole-berry, destemmed, not crushed,
fermented on indigenous yeast; pressed after seven days;natural malolactic.
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (47% one year
old, 30% two years old, 15% three year and 8% four years).
Aging: 20.5 months in barrel
Growing Season
Rainfall: Below average, at 30 inches
Bloom: Early-May
Weather: Dry spring and typical warm, dry summer, with no sustained heat spells.
Winemaking
All estate grown grapes, hand harvested. Destemmed and
whole berry fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full
malolactic on the naturally-occurring bacteria; minimum
effective sulfur (35 ppm at crush, 124 ppm over the course of
aging). Pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy
of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.