WTN: Ridge Primitivo LyttonEstate '14..(short/boring)

Shared this ystrday w/ John:
1. Ridge Primitivo LyttonEstate/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (95% Primitivo/5% Carignan; 14.6%; 43 brls; bttld 12/2015;
Drk: 10/15-10/20-10/21: JO) 2014: Very dark color; strong blackberry/Zin/earthy/dusty some licorice/pungent very light vanilla/oak somewhat different nose; rather tart/tannic/tangy/rough/bit coarse rather blackberry/licorice/pungent/Zin very light vanilla/oak bit rough/coarse structured flavor w/ modest rough/hard tannins; fairly long tart/tangy/rough rather blackberry/licorice/Zin light vanilla/oak structured finish w/ some rough/hard tannins; some like a Pagani Zin but clearly different from most Ridge Zins; more of a licorice/pungent character and not the high-toned character of most Ridge Zins; a bit on the rough/coarse/raspy side for a Ridge Zin. $34.00 (ATP)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Primitivo, by DNA, has been shown to be identical to Zinfandel and Tribidrag. Yet the two instances when I've seen Zin & Primitivo planted side-by-side, they look, to my untrained eye, distinctly different. The growers with whom I've talked, seem to prefer Primitivo because the bunches ripen much more evenly than Zin. I suspect the reason that we don't see more Primitivo wines is because that is not a lot of new Zin planting going on in Calif.
Ridge planted Primitivo in LyttonWest some yrs ago when material brought in from Apulia became available from FPS. In the past, the Ridge Primitivos have not showm much, if any, difference from the standard Ridge Zins. This '14 version, though, seems quite a bit different from the standard Ridge Zin fare. Maybe the best Ridge Primitivo yet, though not hardly a profound wine.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

I honestly do not see the point of Ridge planting Primitivo...

[Robin Garr]

I honestly do not see the point of Ridge planting Primitivo...

Research and a spirit of inquiry, given that they've been doing Zin since the very start? I'd guess there's more of that than any powerful commercial motive.

I honestly do not see the point of Ridge planting Primitivo...

Well, David.....for exactly the same reason that all those Pinot producers planted the
Dijon clones when they came into the US when they had perfectly good Wente or Swan clone vnyds...
to see if they'd make a better wine.

To tell the truth...I've yet to see a Primitivo that offered up a compelling reason to plant that clone.
They've all been pretty much dead-ringers for Zin. This Ridge is the first example I've seen that had more than a nickle's
worth of difference. And Ridge's Primitivo planting is one of the oldest in Calif.
Tom