1978 York Creek Petite Sirah

The very warm September weather that overripened so much of the 1978 vintage in California did not noticeably affect the vineyards at York Creek. The temperatures at 1600ft. on Spring Mountain are typically 4 – 10 degrees cooler during the day than those in the Napa Valley below. These old, closely planted vines on Devil’s Hill at York Creek produced a relatively small crop to give us this full, rich, tannic wine. Similar vintages have needed three to four years in bottle to begin to soften and have continued to develop for a number of years beyond that point.

Begun in 1959, Ridge was one of the first of today’s chateau-size California wineries, that is, those that attempt only the highest quality at the quality levels of the classified chateaux (up to 40,000 cases). All the wines are aged in small oak cooperage with the majority receiving no cellar treatment other than racking. Located above 2300 feet on the Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains, our winery and main vineyards overlook San Francisco Bay.

Average Rating: 90.3

No. of Tasting Notes: 4

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