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Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs 2016

RedUnited States2016

By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-12-31 · Published 2026-09-16 · Updated 2026-09-16

In one paragraphRidge Vineyards Lytton Springs 2016 is a field blend from an old-vine site in California's Dry Creek Valley, co-harvested and co-fermented as 69% Zinfandel, 23% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane and 2% Mataro, at 14.4% ABV. The vineyard was already 80 years old when Paul Draper discovered it in 1972; Ridge bottled its first Lytton Springs that same year and acquired the entire vineyard outright in 1991 — the same Draper whose 1971 Monte Bello placed 5th (the top-ranked American wine) ahead of top Bordeaux houses at the 1976 Judgment of Paris. The 2016 vintage has 2,388 Vivino ratings averaging 4.2 (21,698 across all vintages, also 4.2), with two listed critic scores of 92+ and 91. The nose leads decisively with vanilla and oak (2,089 mentions), followed by black fruit — blackberry, plum (1,881). Structure: intensity 4.8/5, very high, with a comparatively gentler tannin of 3.0 and acidity of 2.7. The recommended drinking window is 2021–2031. I rated it 4.5 stars on 31 December 2019; the world average price is US$65 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026).

Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs 2016 bottle — my own photo, 2019.12 — Photo: Daniel Min, 2019.12 (Vivino log)

4.5

Father's rating / 5 ★★★★½

4.2

Vivino 2016 vintage average (2388 ratings)

Vivino-listed

Vivino-listed critic scores 92+ and 91 (2 entries, publications not named)

World average US$65

World average price (Wine-Searcher)

At a glance

Producer

Ridge Vineyards

Region

United States · Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County, California)

Grapes

69% Zinfandel · 23% Petite Sirah · 6% Carignane · 2% Mataro (field blend)

Alcohol

14.4%

Style

Very full-bodied, high acidity (Vivino: Californian Zinfandel)

Drinking window (Vivino)

2021 – 2031

Food pairing

Beef, Lamb, Poultry

World average price

World average US$65 / 750ml (ex-tax, Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026)

In one line

4.5/5 — higher than Vivino's 4.2 average · world avg price US$65 · An old-vine field-blend vineyard discovered in 1972 and fully acquired in 1991 by Paul Draper — the same winemaker whose Monte Bello beat top Bordeaux at the 1976 Judgment of Paris.

Two Vivino-listed critic scores — 92+ (logged May 2018), 91 (logged Oct 2018).

Market note: The blend is 69% Zinfandel, 23% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane and 2% Mataro; harvested 29 Aug–15 Sept, native-yeast fermentation, aged 14 months in oak (15% new) — per Ridge's official product page.

Father's note — Daniel Min

Original author of the notes

2019-12-31 4.5 ★★★★½

blackberriesvanillaoakchocolatelicoricecoffee

“Medium body, smooth and sweet. Perfect balance blended. 전체적으로 미디엄바디에 부드럽고 스윗한 느낌. 사랑하는 사람이 생각나는 맛.”

Tidied by Haru

Show original

“Blackberries, vanilla, oak, chocolate, licorice, coffee. Medium body, smooth and sweet. Perfect balance blended. 전체적으로 미디엄바디에 부드럽고 스윗한 느낌. 사랑하는 사람이 생각나는맛.”

Min Haru Aspiring sommelier Level 1 · Cork

blackberriesvanillaoakA memory from December, at twenty-one

What I learned today: a field blend.

Today at Bar Suda I was poured Ridge Lytton Springs 2016. I held it by the stem, breathed in, and a whole night came back: the last night of the year when I was twenty-one, the kitchen table. Blackberry, vanilla, oak, chocolate, licorice, and coffee at the end. Every aroma is clear; what I don't know is which bottle Father poured that night with the label covered. What I remember is that as midnight came close he sat a long while with the glass in his hand, looking out the window.

Master Seo told me what the aromas say: vanilla and oak are what people who drink this bottle name most (2,089 times), followed by the black fruit of blackberry and plum. Its intensity is very high, 4.8 out of 5, but acidity (2.7) and tannin (3.0) sit low, so it isn't rough. Then the story. When Paul Draper found this vineyard in Dry Creek Valley in 1972, the vines were already eighty years old: Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane and Mataro growing mixed together, an old-style 'field blend'. Ridge bottled its first Lytton Springs that year, and exactly twenty years later, in 1991, bought the whole vineyard.

Father wrote: "Medium body, smooth and sweet." On paper it's a powerful wine, yet he called it smooth. Probably, that night, the roundness reached him before the power did.

What I learned today: a field blend. Not grown apart and mixed later, but grown together and ripened together.

Today's photo on Instagram →

Master Seo told me about the field blend: four grapes growing in one vineyard and ripening together.

What this wine is

When Paul Draper joined Ridge Vineyards as head winemaker in 1969, his job was to turn a rundown house dating to 1886 into something "respectable." He built Ridge's reputation on Cabernet Sauvignon from the cool Santa Cruz Mountains and helped establish, in America, the idea of a "vineyard-designated" wine — one that puts the vineyard's own name on the label, the way Monte Bello does. That reputation crested on 24 May 1976, when English merchant Steven Spurrier staged a blind tasting in Paris now known as the Judgment of Paris. French judges, to the world's astonishment, rated California wines above French ones — and Draper's 1971 Monte Bello placed 5th among the reds, the highest-ranked American wine there. In a 2006 rematch, it placed first overall, proof that the wine simply needed time to show what it was.

Lytton Springs was a separate discovery Draper made outside Monte Bello altogether. When he first found this Dry Creek Valley site in 1972, the vineyard was already 80 years old — an old-style "field blend" where Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane and Mataro grew intermingled in the same rows. Ridge bottled its first Lytton Springs that same year from purchased fruit, and exactly twenty years later, in 1991 — timed to the first vintage's 20th anniversary — bought the entire vineyard and winery outright. The wine still follows that old California practice today: several varieties, harvested and fermented together from one vineyard.

Haru — The last night of the year, twenty-one, the kitchen table. Beside the covered bottle, Father sat with his glass, looking out the window as midnight drew near. — **Haru** The last night of the year, twenty-one, the kitchen table. Beside the covered bottle, Father sat with his glass, looking out the window as midnight drew near.

What the world says

The 2016 vintage has 2,388 Vivino ratings averaging 4.2 — exactly matching the 21,698-rating average for the Lytton Springs label across all vintages. Two critic scores are on file: 92+ (May 2018) and 91 (October 2018).

The flavor keywords lead heavily with vanilla and oak (2,089 mentions), followed by black fruit — blackberry, plum (1,881) — and red fruit — cherry, raspberry (939). Structure: intensity at 4.8/5, the highest of any Zinfandel-based wine this magazine has covered, yet tannin sits at a gentler 3.0 and acidity at 2.7 — powerful without being rough.

"Love the nose. Oak and berries. Palate is juicy and not too tannic. Wonderful with food or just enjoying a bottle with friends." — Vivino review, Dec 2019, 4.5 stars

"Short note: Dense, intense, strong, full bodied, ripe... WOW! And could taste at least as good over the next years, if you still find a bottle." — Vivino review, Nov 2021, 4.5 stars

With a recommended drinking window of 2021–2031, I drank mine in December 2019 — about a year before that window even opens.

How I drank it

31 December 2019, the last night of the year, 4.5 stars. "Blackberries, vanilla, oak, chocolate, licorice, coffee. Medium body, smooth and sweet. Perfect balance blended. Overall medium-bodied, smooth, and sweet. Tastes like someone I love." Where most of my notes stop at listing structure or aroma, this one shifts into an entirely different register in its last line.

Ridge's own structure data puts this wine's intensity at a very high 4.8/5, yet my note calls it "medium-bodied and smooth" — a gap between the number and the impression. That's probably down to acidity (2.7) and tannin (3.0) reading lower than the intensity would suggest: powerful but not rough, with a round, enveloping texture. I suspect that's what led to "tastes like someone I love." Choosing this wine for the year's last glass was probably chance, but the sentence I wrote down about it wasn't — it's the most personal line in any note in this magazine. My score, 0.3 above the community average of 4.2, clearly carries something the numbers alone don't explain.

Where this wine shows up

History The Judgment of Paris (1976) · 24 May 1976, Paris

Monte Bello 1971 — made by the same Paul Draper who runs Lytton Springs — placed 5th among the reds (the top American wine) ahead of leading French houses at Steven Spurrier's blind tasting, reshaping California wine's reputation. Note this was a different Ridge wine, not Lytton Springs itself, though made by the same house and winemaker.

Ridge Vineyards official — The Judgment of Paris · Wikipedia — Judgment of Paris (wine)

Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.

Vivino community data

2016 vintage rating distribution (2388 ratings, average 4.2)

5★		344 (14%)
4★		1726 (72%)
3★		292 (12%)
2★		22 (1%)
1★		4 (0%)

Most-mentioned aromas

Family	Mentions	Top keywords
Oak	2089	vanilla 597 · oak 572 · chocolate 278 · tobacco 147 · cedar 88
Black fruit	1881	blackberry 522 · plum 267 · black fruit 221 · blueberry 183 · black cherry 159
Red fruit	939	cherry 337 · raspberry 248 · red fruit 124 · strawberry 96 · cranberry 44
Spice	725	pepper 312 · licorice 128 · cinnamon 83 · mint 50 · anise 28
Earth	665	leather 238 · earthy 104 · smoke 100 · cocoa 51 · tar 19
Dried fruit	157	prune 50 · raisin 50 · dried fruit 27 · fig 27
Floral	78	violet 35 · lavender 14 · perfume 12 · rose petal 6 · potpourri 3

Structure: Acidity 2.7/5 · Intensity 4.8/5 · Tannin 3.0/5 · Sweetness 2.2/5

Average by vintage (all vintages: 21698 ratings, average 4.2)

Vintage	Average	Ratings
1994	4.2	33
1995	4.3	37
1996	4.2	39
1997	4.2	68
1998	4.0	32
1999	4.3	59
2000	4.1	39
2001	4.2	75
2002	4.0	57
2003	4.2	58
2004	4.2	98
2005	4.2	148
2006	4.2	230
2007	4.2	343
2008	4.1	302
2009	4.1	482
2010	4.2	670
2011	4.1	1419
2012	4.1	1565
2013	4.1	1553
2014	4.2	1901
2015	4.1	1519
2016	4.2	2388
2017	4.2	1373
2018	4.3	1712
2019	4.3	1755
2020	4.2	974
2021	4.2	621
2022	4.3	552
2023	4.3	377

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Frequently asked questions

What kind of wine is Ridge Lytton Springs 2016?

A field blend from an old-vine site in Dry Creek Valley, California — 69% Zinfandel, 23% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane and 2% Mataro, co-harvested and co-fermented. Vivino: 2,388 ratings averaging 4.2; listed critic scores are 92+ and 91. Recommended drinking window: 2021–2031.

How much does it cost?

World average price: US$65 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026) (Wine-Searcher, to be confirmed).

What food pairs well with it?

Vivino users suggest beef, lamb and poultry. With intensity at 4.8/5, it pairs especially well with grilled red meat.

What does Lytton Springs have to do with the Judgment of Paris?

No direct connection — it was the 1971 Monte Bello, made by the same Paul Draper, that beat top French houses at the 1976 Judgment of Paris. But the two wines are linked through one career: the winemaker behind Monte Bello discovered the Lytton Springs vineyard in 1972 and bought it outright in 1991.

Links & sources

View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher

Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs 2016

At a glance

In one line

Father's note — Daniel Min

What this wine is

What the world says

How I drank it

Where this wine shows up

Vivino community data

2016 vintage rating distribution (2388 ratings, average 4.2)

Most-mentioned aromas

Average by vintage (all vintages: 21698 ratings, average 4.2)

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