Tried this last night after big fail on DeLoach:
1. LyttonSprings Zin SonomaCnty (14.9%; 80 yr old vines) 1992: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; slightly reduced strong blackberry/Zin/rather spicy/boysenberry some dusty/OV light toasty/oak fairly complex/youthful nose; soft strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy light toasty/vanilla/oak slight tangy/metallic complex flavor w/ light bit bitey tannins; very long some blackberry/boysenberry/spicy/Zin bit reduced/pungent light vanilla/toasty/oak bit earthy/dusty/OV finish w/ light bit tight/drying tannins; still very much alive but the metallic character suggests it drying up a bit on the palate; nice trip down memory lane. $15.00 (CostPlus)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The first LyttonSprings Zin by owner DickSherwin came out in 1976. The early wines were always a bit funky, often somewhat reduced, sometimes a bit bretty. But packed w/ that LS blackberry fruit. It had this really ugly black label. The early ones were very stinky/reductive...but they always eventually came out of it.
Ridge purchased the vnyd & wnry from Sherwin in 1991. Because DickSherwin's LS Zin had such a following, Paul continued to make a LyttonSprings (the so-called Lytton-Lytton) in Sherwin's style for several yrs afterwards. Exactly how it was different from the Ridge LS was never very clear to me. But they eventually pulled the plug in Lytton-Lytton.
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2. WineGeek question: DickSherwin owned a magazine publishing business in LA before buying LS. What was the name of his famous wine magazin he published there? For bonus points, what was the name of his hot-chick editor?
Tom