All true with AFAIK one exception - their Estate Chardonnay does use some French Oak.
Tom,
Thanks for chiming in and for the info. Great to hear the perspective on that ‘legendary’ '71. If that were today, folks would be drinking it up immediately. Any idea on what Paul thought the ‘drinking’ window would be? Did he or anyone else have any idea that the think would age as gracefully as it did? Sometimes it just happens - and that’s one of the things I LOVE about our industry - patience truly is a virtue and you are often rewarded in spades, even when you did not think you would be . . .
As far as American oak goes, my guess is that these are coopered and toasted in a more ‘elegant’ manner than much of the American oak that is used today. Most now seemed to be used for ‘maximum effect’ - you BETTER taste that vanilla and coconut or we didn’t spend our money wisely!!! (-:
Cheers
At one of the DITV’s I attended (before I singlehandedly killed off the event) I had the privilege of talking to PD about the '85 York Creek- and he autographed two bottles I was able to score from the Ridge Library that day back when Sasha (sp?) still worked there. He agreed the '85 was second best to the '71 and I flat-out asked him if had any idea that these wines would be so great from the get-go and did he know in retrospect how or what caused them to stand out from the rest. He laughed and earnestly told me that he wished he did but he did not know.
Mitch,
Thanks for sharing - and I love the honesty of that man. Me thinks that today, most winemakers would nearly ‘promise’ that things will age ‘gracefully’ for decades just to sell more wines. Shouldn’t and doesn’t need to be that way - if anyone tells a consumer that, I think they should get it in writing and ‘hold them’ to it - just as you would other consumer products. Perhaps then we’d see more honesty like this and folks would realize that there are things that none of us know for sure . . .
Cheers
2011 Ridge Petite Sirah Lytton Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (10/6/2013)
Shockingly forward and approachable. This is about the frindliest (in a slobbering puppy sort of way) Petite Sirah I have ever had. There’s some tannin in the background, but barely enough for structure. Frankly it’s just weird to drink a Ridge Petite Sirah that is this simple/fruity.
If this is the direction that the team is going to take with their renditions of this variety then I am done.
David,
We had this last night in a big tasting of Ridges. Alas, it was pretty badly corked & no fruit to be found.
But on the palate, it seemed to be very soft/fat/porky and totally devoid of any structure. Will try
another btl in the next few days.
Tom
David,
Retasted thiis wine last night:
11. Ridge PetiteSirah LyttonEstate/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (100% PS; 13.5%; Drk: 12/12-12/22: JO; Whole Berry
frmtn) 2011: First btl was pretty badly corked and no fruit; but soft/fat/porky on the palate and no structure
to speak of. Seconf btl: Black color; some fruity/plummy/licorice/ripe PS slight peppery/earthy/mushroomy
light vanilla/oak nose; soft/fat/lush/ripe fruity/plummy/licorice/ripe PS light vanilla/oak bit simple/one-
dimensional flavor w/ some hard/astringent tannins; med.short soft/fat/ripe fruity/plummy/licorice/ripe PS
light vanilla/oak finish w/ some hard/bitey tannins in the aftertaste; a rather simple/fruity/ripe PS but
totally lacking in structure or grip; hard to see this wine going anywhere; a rather simple/boring PS and
a rare clunker for Ridge. $nc (MR)/$30.00
Pretty much confirms (as if you really needed it) your take on the wine.
Tom
The Park Muscatine wines produced by Ridge were quite distinctive - twelve vintages of single vineyard Zinfandel based wines. The last nine vintages (ending in 1990) were labeled as Park Muscatine for ATP. The 1979 and 80 were labeled Howell Mountain Zinfandel, but contained only PM fruit - the 1981 was labeled Napa County Claret. These twelve wines contained varying amounts of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane, although not every vintage contained all three varieties.
For personal reasons, the Park and Muscatine families dissolved their partnership in 1991 and the property was sold to Randy Dunn. He struck a deal with Jerry Seps at Storybook, who produced his Howell Mountain Zinfandel from that fruit starting with the 1991 vintage and ending with the 1997 (as I recall). Small amounts were sold to other producers - Bruce Scotland at Cornerstone and Ray Coursen at Elyse. Randy Dunn kept most of the Petite Sirah from the small block of ancient vines and produced four vintages of Petite Sirah -1992, 93, 94, and 95 - that were sold under the Dunn label. They can still be found on the auction market, and Randy himself still has some that he’s willing to sell. They are terrific.
The Zinfandel was eventually ripped and replanted to Cabernet Sauvingnon, but the good news is that the Petite Sirah survives and is now made into a vineyard designated, 100% Petite Sirah by Randy’s son (and assistant winemaker) Mike Dunn. The label is Retro - I could not imagine a more apt name. The wines are everything you might expect from century old Howell Mountain Petite Sirah. To say I reccommend them highly would be understatement.
The next time you plan to head up to Howell Mountain, give Mike a call. He might be persuaded to meet you, show you that magical block of Petite and pull a cork or two. You will not be disappointed. It’s the real deal.
Unfortunately, the Muscatines who owned the vineyard back in the 70s and 80s are both deceased. However, Mr. Park wound up purchasing property up above Lake Sonoma and founded the Rockpile Vineyard. But that’s another story…
So good to hear from you on this Allan. Thanks.

So good to hear from you on this Allan. Thanks.
+1, always enjoy it when you share your knowledge of wine and Ridge in particular
For personal reasons, the Park and Muscatine families dissolved their partnership in 1991 and the property was sold to Randy Dunn. He struck a deal with Jerry Seps at Storybook, who produced his Howell Mountain Zinfandel from that fruit starting with the 1991 vintage and ending with the 1997 (as I recall). Small amounts were sold to other producers - Bruce Scotland at Cornerstone and Ray Coursen at Elyse.
The Cornerstone zin from Park-Muscatine fruit was labeled Cuvee Mysterieuses. Tried a bottle of the '94 last year and it was still fruit-laden and tannic, perhaps a bit too tannic for its own good. Also tried a couple of the Dunn Petites…and made a mental note to revisit them on their 50th birthday. BTW, didn’t Randy Dunn also sell Park-Muscatine PS fruit to La Jota?
Good to see you posting again!
Thank you, gentlemen.
Mark - you are quite correct. Bill Smith at La Jota made some great Petite from Park Muscatine before he sold the estate.
Actually, one of the Dunn PS was very pretty after a couple of hours of air (the 94, I think), but they mostly just wanted to sleep. The treat of the tasting was a 95 Zinfandel that Randy made, but never labeled for sale - it was drinking beautifully.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the very fine Petite Sirah that Tom Burgess produced back in the mid 70s. There was a small block just below the winery that was there when he bought the old Souverain property from Lee Stewart. Tom, unfortunately, ripped those vines after the 77 vintage and replanted to Cab - as we have seen, an all too familiar story.
I don’t think anyone said anything about the fact that this wine is from 2011 and just didn’t get ripe. I’m expecting there’s going to be many clunkers from '11.