2000 Lytton Estate Zinfandel

This vintage, like 1999, provided the conditions to ripen—if not over-ripen—several zinfandel blocks on our Lytton Estate vineyard. Hoping to make the first Ridge Essence since 1993, we delayed harvesting three small, hundred-year-old parcels on Lytton East, but the grapes did not achieve the extreme (over 40° Brix) sugar levels necessary. Surprisingly, a few blocks of forty-year-old vines on Lytton West ripened to a similar degree. Fermented separately on their natural yeasts, both lots were racked to new, air-dried american oak for completion of a non-inoculated malolactic (secondary) fermentation. In mid-winter they were racked to tempered three- and five-year-old barrels for aging, then combined prior to bottling. This opulent, exotic wine rests on an elegant, racy structure. Delicious now, it will develop beautifully over the next five to seven years.

Average Rating: 89.6

No. of Tasting Notes: 15

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