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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.1 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 204 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by scotty_b on 3/24/2024 & rated 93 points: Currant, cassis, cocoa, vanilla, spice and florals. Mouthfeel was delicate and slightly acidic. Good wine, but didn't blow me away given the high price tag. (1129 views) | | | Tasted by skurtz on 2/5/2024 & rated 94 points: This is noticeably better than my previous bottle from a couple months ago. Gorgeous fragrant nose of fruit compote, tobacco, and vanilla. Red fruit, oak, and well balanced acidity. Overall very lively and youthful. Tannins almost entirely resolved. Enjoyed with filet at Ruth Chris in Long Beach. My last bottle. (1808 views) | | | Tasted by finediningnyc on 1/5/2024 & rated 95 points: Decanted 2 hours in advance, 05 Monte Bello is absolutely rocking tonight, intensely aromatic wafting layers of currant, cedar, dark chocolate, baking spices and classy, integrated vanillin oak. It’s both structured and detailed and the palate shows both richness and focus with an elegant texture and fine grained tannins. It’s in an amazing spot but definitely has a long life ahead. (1695 views) | | | Tasted by skurtz on 12/24/2023 & rated 92 points: Lots of oak and hints of tobacco on the nose and palate, even after decanting 4h. The fruit is muted blackberries, tart cherries, there is some tobacco, campfire, and (surprisingly) residual, cheeky tannins too in the acidic finish. Best enjoyed with food, today paired with grilled venison tenderloin. Overall, not much has changed since my last note six years ago. This wine is not really improving with cellaring, if you have more, time to drink up! (1559 views) | | | Tasted by Cow Town on 12/15/2023 & rated 96 points: Might be the best Monte Bello I have had, and much better than the last two I have had from this vintage. Everything was firing - youthful nose, good color with no bricking, well balanced (nothing out of whack on the nose or finish), and a long, luxurious finish. Everything I am looking for in a wine. (1667 views) | | | Tasted by Kevin Mak on 12/9/2023 & rated 92 points: Deep Purple Colour
Medium (+) Acidity
Medium Tannin
High Alcohol
Full Bodied
Long Finish
Medium (+) Intensity
- Black Cherry, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cassis, Liquorice, Vanilla, Mocha, Graphite
Black fruits and sweet spices, coffee and chocolate, not much tertiary flavours, still young may be, well integrated tannins, balanced acidity, ripe and concentrated fruits. A little bit underwhelming at first, showing much more depth and complexity after an hour as it opened up, but still not that "Wow! Holy Shit" kind of wine, not that it's bad at all, it's actually very good and enjoyable, however when you look at the US$300 price tag, there are so many better choices. Drink or hold. (1563 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 12/3/2023: Direct, large-scale, black-fruited, quite oaky... we'll see. (1836 views) | | | Tasted by Satoshi Nakamoto on 9/8/2023 & rated 95 points: The Arbour with Your Highness: Wow. Ridge Monte Bello continues to be my favorite domestic red and this bottle reinforced why. Deep, detailed, and defined with lush red fruit, tobacco, slate, and spices. So many layers of concentrated goodness. Old school charm in a new world. (2047 views) | | | Tasted by Lipsman on 8/26/2023 & rated 94 points: A strong showing for the 2005. Much more approachable than previous tastings. Full of mocha and chocolate flavors with a fresh, tart backing, edging into licorice and earthy notes on the finish. Well crafted, balanced, tannins fully submerged. Decanting helped, but this was rewarding right out of the bottle. This Monte Bello has a long life ahead of it, and while very good now, it's still a few years from mature complexity. Try again in 2028. (1750 views) | | | Tasted by sid_loves_wine on 7/12/2023 & rated 94 points: My first experience with this beautiful wine. I only got about a glass and a half, as it was shared by a generous friend from a 375ml, but I think I got enough out of it to write some comments. Feels like it has a long way to go yet if you want to sit on it, but doesn't feel like it NEEDS more aging, especially if you're not afraid of a little structure.
Very expressive right out of the gate, charging from the glass with about a 50-50 combo of rich (but surprisingly fresh) purple and black fruit, and a powerful, sweet American oak tone with cedar, vanilla, coconut, etc. Because of this strong American oak note and the still very dense/structured tannins, this almost resembled a great gran reserva Rioja - except with very different fruit, lots of blackberry cobbler and plum reduction, things like that, rather than the dried, sometimes sour fruit of older Rioja. At times the tannins were genuinely challenging, but in the end there was more than enough fruit to stand up to the immense textures.
This was a little more obviously new-world than I expected, in a good way- not at all the kind of classic cab that relies on tart, green, early-picked fruit to achieve a sense of balance, but a beautifully rich profile that's been super dialed-in through extremely mindful work in the vineyard and cellar (I love how it's detailed on the back label!)
Obviously this is pretty expensive and I can't fully comment on the QPR, as it's one of only a handful of wines I've tasted in the general price range. If I had one criticism, it's that I wouldn't call it very...complex, especially with that clear American oak note being so prominent, and not so different than pretty much any other quality wine which uses the stuff. But the amazing fruit itself combined with the use of said oak (each giving the other plenty of room) felt pretty unique, and incredibly engaging. In terms of classic, high-end US cabs I've had slightly better experiences with Dunn Howell Mtn and a Paul Hobbs Las Piedras, although this was right at their heels. (2350 views) | | | Tasted by peterk on 5/13/2023: Lovely - dense purple, rich fruit, nice tannins, well-integrated. A long way to go yet (2511 views) | | | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 9/21/2022: Well someone showed up to kick some first growth ass. (4427 views) | | | Tasted by PTerzis on 9/18/2022 & rated 90 points: Good, but not as smooth as 2007 Silver Oak, Alexander Valley (3150 views) | | | Tasted by deadwax on 8/28/2022 & rated 96 points: Decanted for about 90 minutes and consumed over 2-3 hours. 96 points based on comments of friend visiting. Some initial funk on the nose that blew off. Classic Monte Bello flavors. Still an easy 10 years left. (3236 views) | | | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 3/16/2022: Beautiful savory perfume. Lean and long. Lots of presence here. Quiet, seren and very long. (4485 views) | | | Tasted by ricard on 2/23/2022 & rated 95 points: A much more satisfying experience than the horror of last time. A little bit closed, but clean and clear on the nose. Tobacco, wet earth. Smoky, grippy tannins. Still young. Chewy and intense, and astonishing balance and precision. Slate and graphite. Remarkable. Needs 15-20 years, quite frankly. Seems eternal. (4182 views) | | | Tasted by MC on 12/17/2021: Pretty tight out of the bottle, this needed 2-3 hours to really open up. Dark, ripe fuit, great concentration, long finish with tannins still there for a long life ahead. Nice balance although I think the fruit would give this away as a new world cab in a blind tasting. In a flight with '05 Dominus (which I might have picked as a Bordeax blind) and Montelena, I think in the end this was my favorite (although the Montelena showed better earlier as this one took longer to open up - and in the end the Montelena was still a very strong contender vs. the Monte Bello in my view). Great wine with a long life ahead. A (3316 views) | | | Tasted by unc0rked on 11/13/2021 & rated 94 points: First time drinking a Ridge MB. Decanted it more than 3 hours. Harmonious. smooth, velvety, with a long sweet finish. Very Bordeaux like. I have heard that MB is a bit different and then I realized why. It is the plum overtones that set this cab blend apart. It is very well done though. I think this wine is at its peak with a very slow downward curve for many years to come. Definitely not a baby unless stored in a larger format bottle. I have another one left! (3525 views) | | | Tasted by S1 on 11/7/2021: Chas Offlineorama VI, Another embarrassment of riches; 11/3/2021-11/7/2021 (Various locations): Noticeable oak. Forest undergrowth. Plum. Lots of cassis and dark cherry. WAY young. Big tannins/almost silty (3657 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 11/7/2021: Charleston VI; 11/3/2021-11/7/2021 (Charleston, SC (various locations)): Straight up too young so now we're more judging potential than performance. More tannin. Younger. Berries and spices. It starts to open up in the glass and gets better with time. Has a long life ahead. (3130 views) | | | Tasted by napasoutherner on 10/15/2021 & rated 94 points: Wonderful Ridge MB. Took at least 3-4 hours to open and really needed more time to open. Wonderful old Bordeaux notes of wooded forest and mild dark fruit. Nose of vanilla and cedar box/pencil shavings. Nice long silky finish. (2907 views) | | | Tasted by jamesabdavis on 7/18/2021: Such a baby! Still oaky on the nose, although it’s perfectly integrated. Very fragrant and extremely complex. A polished fruit bomb but at the same time so fresh and elegant. I need to stop opening these and forget them for a decade. (3103 views) | | | Tasted by unrelenting on 7/16/2021 & rated 91 points: End of life. Drink 2 years ago (2841 views) | | | Tasted by moxielady on 7/14/2021 & rated 94 points: Excellent but still quite young. Recommend decanting. (2634 views) | | | Tasted by Jack on 6/17/2021 & rated 97 points: Had 2 of these in the last month and will have a hard time keeping my hands off the rest. Drinking well now but no hurry. (2802 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (12/30/2022)
(Ridge Vineyards Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello, United States) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Brook
Decanter, Ridge Monte Bello retrospective (10/25/2022)
(Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello, Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Brook
Decanter, Ridge Monte Bello retrospective (10/25/2022)
(Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello, Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/25/2022)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Elaine Chukan Brown
JancisRobinson.com (10/21/2018)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Ridge Monte Bello Revisited: 1968 – 2012 (Jul 2016) (7/1/2016)
(Ridge Monte Bello Central Coast) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Vintage Retrospective: 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (May 2016) (5/1/2016)
(Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/11/2013)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Campbell Mattinson
The WINEFRONT (5/5/2011)
(Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Estate) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/2/2010)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/11/2009)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Hemming, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/13/2008)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, November/December 2007, IWC Issue #135
(Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountain) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, November 2006
(Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (5/21/2011)
(Ridge Monte Bello) Dark ruby color; cassis, toasty oak nose; tight, tannic, cedar, tart cassis palate; needs 8-10 years, very shut down from when I first tried it a few years back; medium-plus finish 91+ points (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc) 91 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (3/9/2008)
(Ridge Monte Bello) Nice big berry, plum cassis nose; very tasty berry, boysenberry, chocolate palate with good cedar edges and sage, good acidity; medium-plus finish (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc; 94% new American oak, 6% new French oak) 95 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JamesSuckling.com and Decanter and JancisRobinson.com and Vinous and The WINEFRONT and Winedoctor and RJonWine.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.2005 Ridge Monte Bello 70% Cabernet Sauvignon
22% Merlot
6% Petit Verdot
2% Cabernet FrancRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.Monte Bello On weinlagen-infoUSAAmerican 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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