2016 Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Estate Rose, Dry Creek Valley.
The Ridge Rose is a blend of Grenache and Mataro (Mourvedre) and feels like a fresh and lighter style Bandol Rose with refreshing acidity, mineral/steely character and dry/crisp fruit. This vintage is the most refined and vivid I’ve tried, and the first with this much Mourvedre in the blend as well as having slightly lower alcohol at 12+% that adds to the refreshing nature of this well crafted pink and makes it oh so easy to quaff! Only available through their wine club and by begging at their tasting room, this rare treat is one to go out of your way to get and I always feel lucky to get any. This Lytton Estate Rose and Ridge’s 50th Anniversary Geyserville 2015 Zin were just released, which gives you an extra excuse to get up to Ridge’s Lytton Springs winery and tasting room, though I’m sure there are some bottles hiding at Monte Bello too, both are worth the trip on their own, but Ridge’s 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains and their Lytton Estate Grenache/Mataro are two of the best wines for the money in California and should not be missed, absolutely world class stuff, and I always grab their Carignane when I can as well. The Lytton Estate Rose offers a nice depth of fruit and citrusy brightness with a faint earthy/stony elements and layers of tart cherry, watermelon, grapefruit, flower water and wild fennel. More subtle than would be expected this lovely wine should be bottled in magnums, one 750ml just doesn’t seem quite enough, it certainly is a compelling pink and was especially good as a revitalizer on a recent warm afternoon on a visit to beautiful Santa Barbara, a perfect travel companion!
($28 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

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