Ridge Petite Sirah Lytton Estate (Dry Creek) 20

The 2018 Lytton Estate Petite Sirah is totally stunning. Bright, focused, and powerful, the 2018 presents a breathtaking interplay of rich Petite fruit allied to a classic, old-school sense of structure. Dark blue/purplish fruit, leather, licorice, lavender, menthol, and gravel are some of the many notes that infuse the 2018 with all those layers of flavor. The 2019 Petite Sirah Lytton Estate is a beauty, offering a plump, fruit-forward, yet concentrated style carrying ample darker black fruits, chocolate, chalky minerality, and roasted herb-like aromas and flavors. It's a big mouthful of a Petite Sirah that stays balanced and has good freshness and notable structure. Petite Sirah (a relative of Shiraz) has a long history in California and Ridge's Lytton Estate expression has a devout following. Some of the vines used to create this wine were planted back in 1901, so you can expect some serious concentration and complexity, plus a pretty hefty wallop of tannins. Gorgeous layers of blueberries, cherries, blackberries, espresso, bittersweet dark chocolate, dried flowers, vanilla, and game mingle with lots of toasty oak. Meanwhile, notes of tarragon and baking spice keep it fresh. The wines produced at Ridge Vineyards have transcended their cult following to now rival Bordeaux First Growths and Grand Cru Burgundy in quality and demand. The vineyard at Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains was first planted in 1885 and changed hands several times before being abandoned. That was until four engineer friends from Stanford Research Institute bought it in 1959. Paul Draper was appointed winemaker at Ridge Vineyards in 1969, despite never being formally trained in either vine growing or winemaking. Paul always had a strong belief in the importance of terroir and a passion for the European way of making wine. Today, he's one of the best-known and most highly regarded winemakers in the world, proven by him being named 'Winemaker's Winemaker' by the Institute of Masters of Wine. Ridge Vineyard - found in one of the coldest terroirs in California - shot to fame in 1976 when Monte Bello 1971 outperformed Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 and almost beat Château Haut-Brion 1970 at a blind tasting by French wine exp. Consider pairing this exceptional red with game, stews, roast lamb, or a spicy burger.