Got my shipment the other day, so been digging deep. No real notes, just thoughts:
2016 Petit Syrah York Creek. Never had much luck with PS and unfortunately this didn’t convince me otherwise. A decent everyday wine, but nothing I’d open for an occasion.
2018 Zinfandel Guadagni. Much better than the PS, but still not a slam dunk. Couldn’t put my finger on why it didn’t fully come together, but certainly not a bad wine. This is a solid 88pts wine.
2016 Lytton Springs. There we are. Perfect Zin in almost every way. Hits right at the spot and balances that tightrope between a bigger and a leaner Zin. Great juice - for me this was a solid 92-93pts. Glad I have a few more.
Ridge’s Petites from Lytton Springs and Geyserville tend to be lighter and open on release. Their York Creeks have tended to need extended aging and reward it. I have yet to delve into my own '90s era stash. Haven’t had a current release in a long time, but don’t expect a major change.
A lot of their random wines, like the ATP stuff, come across like that Guadagni on release. They tend to age into something good. Personally, 20 years is about right for my tastes.
Wines like Lytton Springs and Geyserville are often excellent on release and all the way into old age.
I’ll be up there tasting later this week. It’s been over a year!
At a couple of major Ridge tasting the 1974 Petit Syrah was one of the best wines there. A brute of a wine in its youth, it lay forgotten in the cellar until I pulled it out in 2012 and was bowled over by how good it was.
Among a ton of Monte Bello, York Creek etc, going back to the sixties, it showed superbly both times. Maybe not the best wine there, but in the top three. Paul Draper was there both times and for him also, it was one of the top wines there. Way too early for you to write off the young ‘un
Agree with Wes here on all counts, though my taste might lean a little younger - I’ve had a lot of luck with various ATP zins at 5-10 years. Some can drink well on or shortly after release, too, like the Boatman (a newer source of fruit for Ridge). Others, like the Guadagni, will need more time, but they should all come together.
I tasted the '14 and '15 York Creek Petites last year and they were both totally shut down but they’ll get there given a long time. I’ve stopped buying the York Creek on release for that reason - I just don’t have the patience or storage.