2017 Lytton Estate Syrah

Saturated ruby in color with aromas of boysenberry, fennel, prosciutto, peach, and exotic spice. Dark berry fruit on the palate with complex clay minerals, savory herbs and a sensuous, long finish. EB (8/19)

A strong La Niña winter delivered unusually heavy rainfall. Bud-break and bloom were late. Fortunately, a warm summer and early September heat helped ripen the grapes for harvest. Syrah and viognier were co-fermented. The wine was moved to barrel to undergo malolactic, providing greater integration of tannins with fruit. This sensuous and wonderfully complex wine will be enjoyable over the next decade. EB (8/19)

At Lytton Springs West, Ridge has just over three acres of twenty-five year old syrah noir, the California selection from plantings in 1916. This parcel is situated in the well-drained site’s soil on the bench overlooking Norton Creek. Since 1996, we have produced limited amounts of syrah for the Advance Tasting Program (ATP). Over time, the consistent quality showed syrah to be well-matched to the climate and soil of Lytton Estate.

Rainfall: 61.5 inches (above normal)
Bloom: Mid May
Weather: A wet winter gave us much needed rain. Cool weather in the spring affected set across all varieties. Several heat spikes in late June, July and August saw temperatures over 105 degrees. Harvest started before the Labor Day heat wave hit; we quickly finished harvesting by mid-September.

Harvest Date: 5 September
Grapes: Average Brix 25.5˚
TA: 6.2 g/L
pH: 3.66
Fermentation: Whole-berry, destemmed, not crushed, fermented in open-top tanks on indigenous yeast; pressed after nine days; natural malolactic.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (17% new, 16% three years-old, and 67% five years-old).
Aging: Twenty-five months in barrel

Hand-harvested, organically grown, estate grapes; natural yeasts, naturally-occurring malolactic bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur; pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Average Rating: 91.8

No. of Tasting Notes: 12

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