Tasting Note                         

91+  2009 Ridge  Lytton Springs   12/26/11 ($30)

 71% Zinfandel, 23% PetiteSirah, 6% Carignane    14.5% alc
Color: Deep purple ruby. Very young looking. (3.0) Bouquet: Maraschino cherries, vanilla extract and cotton candy. A little sweet at this point. (3.0) Body: Heavyweight with excellent fruit, acidity and tannins. Coats the mouth with ripe, concentrated fruit. (3.5) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but shows more briar, earth and butterscotch. Also has some heat. (3.0) Finish: Excellent acidity propels the fruit, giving it persistence, but more simple than the flavor at this point. (3.0)
Overall: Shows very ripe, concentrated maraschino cherry and cotton candy fruit, but also has fine structure, giving it outstanding potential. Hard to judge at this point, being young and unformed. Can be enjoyed now, just decant for an hour or two and serve at cellar temperature to calm the heat. Ripe for Lytton Springs. Reminds me of some of the better Seghesio Zins, such as San Lorenzo or Rockpile with all those sweet cherries. Not as classically structured as the '08, but still delicious. Both vintages have a lot of potential, but if I were a betting man, I'd take the '08 in the long run. (15.5)


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