* * * Acquired from a private collection. This wine was actively cellar-stored by its owner, and we have also kept it in our temperature-controlled cellar since receiving it. Due to its age, the wine's fill line is at mid-shoulder in the bottle. * * *
Ridge Vineyards is a famed Californian wine producer founded in 1962 and based in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but with vineyards in several parts of the state. Ridge originally came to York Creek in 1971 in search of its old-vine petite sirah. They first harvested zinfandel in 1975, and made both wines in every vintage since.
York Creek produces fruit with a purity of character that is at once distinctive and indicative of its mountainous pedigree. The creek itself flows year round and is a defining feature of the landscape. In warmer months, the water exerts a mitigating influence on the ambient vineyard temperature. This, along with York Creek’s unique position high atop the Mayacamas Range, means that this particular site is markedly cooler than vineyards on the valley floor. Elevation and cooler temperatures allow the grapes to ripen more slowly and evenly and to retain their acidity, which makes for complex and age-worthy wine.Â
