Lytton Springs

Lytton Springs bottlings are generally perceived as quintessential zinfandel, which is true, as far as it goes. On the Ridge Lytton Estate (East), zinfandel grows atop seven hills; petite sirah surrounds the zin on six, grenache on the seventh — an unusual configuration. There is some interplanting. Lytton Estate (West) is a magnificent hodgepodge of grapes, including more zinfandel, which seems so at home here. The wines are classic Dry Creek Valley. They show the potent, ripe boysenberry and blackberry of old-vine Sonoma zinfandel, notes of leaf and briar, and the intricacy of multiple varietals. Acid and tannin are firm, yet not overwhelming; in youth, at least, fruit predominates. These balanced, powerful zins become more nuanced with age.