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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.5 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 143 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by AllRed on 12/22/2023 & rated 80 points: Our final bottle, popped and poured, and unfortunately not a great example of this wine. Slightly muted, with an odd funk in the bouquet. Better on the palate with lemon curd and orchard fruit carrying through the finish. (317 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 4/7/2023 & rated 93 points: Our penultimate bottle, pours a deep yellow color. Aromas of vanilla, pear, fig, apple and as it warms, something a bit more tropical in nature. Orchard fruit and vanilla on the palate with a long finish. Lovely, and a delightful pairing with the crab-stuffed plaice. (491 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 8/24/2022 & rated 83 points: Popped and poured. Age-appropriate medium golden yellow color. There’s an initial butterscotch quality with a subtle oxidative quality that fades in and out of the background. With time in the glass and a bit of vigorous swirling, the oxidative quality fades completely, leaving bruised apple, vanillin, fig and marshmallow notes. From the start the palate was more enjoyable than the bouquet suggested, with a dominant orchard fruit quality. Medium(-) finish. Decent. To be expected at this age, and our last two will be opened before the year’s end. (762 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 6/4/2021 & rated 93 points: A terrific example of this wine. Marshmallow, apple, citrus and honeycomb. Complex and layered with wonderful fruit and balance. A beautiful mature chardonnay with so much going on. (1448 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 4/16/2021 & rated 90 points: Friday Night Brown Bagger (EBCC): Orchard fruit and vanilla cream notes. Hints of citrus in the finish. Excellent and at peak for my palate. (1600 views) | | | Tasted by blanquito on 10/31/2020: Another brilliant bottle of this, fresh as yesterday, great waves of pitch-perfect acids define the attack with layered and luscious fruit coming in to join the party. A little Cali, but mostly French, this is so good. (1434 views) | | | Tasted by Mascarello59 on 5/17/2020 & rated 92 points: Showed some awkward aromas initially but after about 1 hour the wine seemed to wake up and felt like it was in shape again.
Nice fruit, pear and tropical fruit, vanilla, butter i.e. a reasonably complex nose. Good acidity and medium+ body. Advanced enough to say it has passed its peak probably. Very good. (1486 views) | | | Tasted by askoje on 4/5/2020 & rated 92 points: Butter, summer meadows, ripe pear on the nose. Full bodied, well rounded oak flavors and excellent balance. Still lively and lots of acidity. This held up incredible for a 2010 vintage in 2020. Outstanding wine, still drinking incredible (1399 views) | | | Tasted by blanquito on 12/28/2019 & rated 91 points: This is in a good place, poised nicely between richness and austerity. Loads of Meyer lemon, a bit of white ginger, some honey and vanilla, and a balancing whiff of sea breezes. A big, engaging bouquet. The palate is bright with an attack of big acids and richness too with plenty of vanilla-infused fruit. Intense without being overly heavy, but in the end this isn’t an elegant, minerally white. A hint of bitterness is creeping in here, suggesting these should be enjoyed sooner than later. Won’t make you forget your Chassagne, but a very nice cali chard. Another lovely bottle. (1374 views) | | | Tasted by blanquito on 5/12/2019: Splendid. Burgundian nose, quite refined, floral with minerals. Lemons, a kiss of vanilla, dry but with lovely oily, dry extract. Bright and long. Drinking at pointe. (1730 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 12/12/2018 & rated 92 points: Apple, marshmallow and oak notes on the nose and palate. Full-bodied. Citrus notes emerge with air. Young. I may wait a year or two before popping the cork on another. (1711 views) | | | Tasted by thelostverse on 12/12/2018 & rated 93 points: Opened by Allred at Eagle Brook. I burned through my four bottles by last year, but I should have waited. Oak is still present, but the balance with citrus notes in harmony here was beautiful. No hurry here. (1565 views) | | | Tasted by Pontifax on 6/15/2018 & rated 87 points: On nose : buttered popcorn and oak.
On palate : too much buttered popcorn and oak!
.....hints of apple and pear trying to fight their way through the above....the only positive thing about this 8 year old Cali chard is the minerality and fresh acidity still in evidence .....this may last a few more years ,but age won't likely grant it more balance and complexity.
Disappointing considering this producer's reputation as a fine producer. (1928 views) | | | Tasted by wineismylife on 2/23/2018 & rated 92 points: WIML92
Tasted double blind.
Yellow color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of quince, talc, toasted and mixed yellow fruit. Flavors of lemon curd, vanilla and yellow pear. Light acidity, medium body. Drink now.
My guess was this is a 2005 Chardonnay from Sonoma County, likely Paul Hobbs or perhaps Pine Ridge. (2211 views) | | | Tasted by blanquito on 12/17/2017: Simply excellent. Beautiful bouquet of lemon zest, vanilla, lanolin. Wonderful body with plenty of quince fruit and density, almost oily, but held together by ample brightness and dry extract. Long, long finish. To my mind, this shows the best of Cali and Burgundy Chardonnay. Terrific. (2175 views) | | | Tasted by nzinkgraf on 11/4/2017: an oaky snap to the palate, some circus peanut. Much fresher than I was expecting. Spicy honey on the finish. I’d still keep the drinking window to 2019. But could see this longer than that, say 2022. (1947 views) | | | Tasted by David J Cooper on 11/1/2017 & rated 88 points: Light golden. Slightly ripe and nutty nose. Lemon and pear. Slightly ripe flavours of pear candy and lemon. Dry finish.
This one seems on it's way down. (1948 views) | | | Tasted by timewithwine on 10/14/2017: Unfortunately, this is slightly corked. Underneath the TCA there are glimpses of what could have been: sweet golden delicious apple, coconut, lemon cream and vanilla. Then it’s gone again. 14.2% alc., but the alcohol doesn’t show at all. With pork chops in an apple cider and dijon sauce. With PM, BB and PH as well as DD. Recommended. (533 views) | | | Tasted by Winevestor on 7/9/2017 & rated 92 points: The thing about all of the Ridge wines is that they are so consistent and consistently good. Not flashy, just very well made, showing the varietals it should be. This guy is nearing the end of its drinking window and I would drink up in the next year. Still enjoyable. (2172 views) | | | Tasted by guitarguy on 5/30/2017 & rated 91 points: Creamy, lemony nose with melon on top. Flavors are modern, glass, acid, lemon, oak, sour apple. Very nice and drink any time. Maybe the best of the bottles I've had. (2016 views) | | | Tasted by Markus27 on 1/27/2017 & rated 91 points: Still fantastic, good until at least '18. Sadly the last bottle of the '10.. Worked great (as usual) with creamy burbot soup. I like this style of California chardonnay a lot, there is fruit and depth, but not too rich or creamy (2470 views) | | | Tasted by petermpls on 10/11/2016: Fruit to oak ratio getting out of balance. Drink up. (2646 views) | | | Tasted by Brian Love on 9/7/2016 & rated 91 points: Excellent balance between rich chard and more lean styles. For the price it's a great wine. (2709 views) | | | Tasted by sastewart on 8/8/2016 & rated 90 points: Clearly California Chardonnay. Some clove, spice and oak on the nose. Medium bodied with apple, a touch of citrus and spice. Good balance. 90 points (2240 views) | | | Tasted by Skrutt (Formerly RotHead) on 7/27/2016 & rated 90 points: Mild and elegant but you could also say meek. Intense fruit. Neat, pleasant and luxurious-feeling for our picnic together with sundry delicacies. But I don't think it would have worked as well with a creamy or spicy fish dish, for example. (2174 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, November/December 2012, IWC Issue #165
(Ridge Vineyards Chardonnay Estate Santa Cruz Mountains) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, California's Central Coast: Better than Ever (Aug 2012)
(Ridge Chardonnay Estate Santa Cruz Mountains) Subscribe to see review text. | By Sara d'Amato
WineAlign (6/23/2012)
(Ridge Estate Chardonnay, Monte Bello Estate Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains white) Subscribe to see review text. | By David Lawrason
WineAlign (6/20/2012)
(Ridge Estate Chardonnay, Monte Bello Estate Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains white) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (6/12/2012)
(Ridge Estate Chardonnay, Monte Bello Estate Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains white) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Hemming, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/27/2012)
(Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains White) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and WineAlign and JancisRobinson.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Ridge Producer website | Wikipedia
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 m) on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA near Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County.Ridge Chardonnay Estate‘Ridge produced its first chardonnay in 1962 from fully-mature vines planted in the late 1940s on the Monte Bello estate vineyard. Production never exceeded ten barrels, and Monte Bello chardonnay was sold principally at the winery. Several great vintages, among them the 1973, ‘74, ‘79, and ‘84, showed that our cool climate and fractured limestone sub-soils were well suited to the varietal. By 1985, the old vines were producing less then a half-ton per acre and were taken out. The younger vines, planted in the ‘70s, provide the majority of grapes today. Initially these newer plantings were on the “lower” vineyard—not yet farmed as part of the Monte Bello estate—so the wine was called “Santa Cruz Mountains” and these vines have long since been included. Since 2009 the wine has been designated Ridge Estate Chardonnay. In years when differences among lots are sufficient to warrant a separate bottling, we make a limited amount of Monte Bello Chardonnay as well.’ – Producer’s noteChardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeEstateIn the United States, "Wines with “estate bottled” designations must: a) also designate an appellation of origin or an AVA, and both the vineyards and the winery must be located there; b) the grapes must come from vineyards owned or controlled by the winery; and c) the wine must have been produced, from crush to bottle, in a continuous process without leaving the winery’s premises."
- WINE LABEL FAQS: A QUICK SUMMARY OF LABEL DESIGNATION RULES" by David E. StollUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Santa Cruz Mountains Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia
Once referred to by wine writers as the Chaine d'Or -- or "golden chain" -- the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA sits above Silicon Valley, running along the craggy range next to the Pacific on some of the prettiest parts of Northern California. The area supports more than 75 wineries, despite being limited by geography and high land prices.
In 1981 the Santa Cruz Mountains Viticultural Appellation became federally recognized, one of the first American viticultural areas to be defined by geophysical and climatic factors. The appellation encompasses the Santa Cruz Mountain range, from Half Moon Bay in the north, to Mount Madonna in the south. The east and west boundaries are defined by elevation, extending down to 800 feet in the east and 400 feet in the west. |
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