89 2004 Ridge Lytton Springs 3/16/07 ($30)
79% Zin, 18% PS, 3% Carignane 14.5% alc
Color: Medium deep garnet with a touch of purple. (3.0) Bouquet: Black raspberry and some sweet cassis and very ripe plum with briary spice. Rich and accessible. (3.0) Body: Middleweight with acidity and some tannin underneath the fruit. Oak and fruit integrate nicely. The fruit is a little restrained and not particularly concentrated, but all is in balanced. (3.0) Flavor: Fruit is not as forward as the bouquet, but still tasty. Also new oak and eucalyptus are more prominent here. A lot of DCV spice and some heat. (2.5) Finish: Parallels bouquet with good length, but shows a little bitterness from oak. (3.0)
Overall: This LS seems to follow the style of the last two vintages (’02 and ’03) with good fruit, good structure and good spice, but seems to lack that extra something that has often made Ridge Zins magical for me. The ’99, ’00 and ’01 had that magic; I hope it returns to LS soon. In all fairness, I still expect this to improve in the next 2-4 years. (14.5)