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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 307 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Barolo Raymond on 2/17/2024 & rated 93 points: TN written upon opening. Medium(+)-deep carmine, tainted rim, purple hue, vibrant. Austere nose of red cherry, lather , cedar, dried herbs. Dry, medium(+) acidity, medium(+)-high slightly chalky tannins, medium alcohol (@13.1% abv) and full body. Palate of blueberry, blackberry jam, milk chocolate/cocoa, kirsch. Fruit driven, firm structure, complex, dense material. Very long bright and slight bittersweet finish.
Has at least a decade of additional cellaring potential.
Impressive.
Purchased at Le Clos, DXB in 2012. 79% Cabernet Sauvignin, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. (2207 views) | | | Tasted by M.Batard on 1/13/2024 & rated 91 points: Dark fruit, black licorice, tannins still quite prominent. Paired with roast lamb shoulder. Long finish. Couldn’t compete with the 2007 Valbuena no.5 tasted alongside, which was far more balanced and complex. (2817 views) | | | Tasted by hoservin on 1/1/2024 & rated 94 points: Decanted for one hour. Aromas of blackberry, currant, anise, cedar, graphite and dried herbs. Ripe black fruit, cedar, graphite, tobacco, anise and fine tannins on the palate. Very long, dry finish. Medium to full bodied. Served with prime rib and horseradish cream sauce. (2933 views) | | | Tasted by Dino1971 on 12/25/2023 & rated 98 points: Wow !!! (2462 views) | | | Tasted by Norcal5 on 12/23/2023: Auction (2429 views) | | | Tasted by pob1408 on 9/17/2023: Decanted for 2 hours. Slightly sour taste but lots of dark fruit on rhe nose and palate. Given the MB pedigree, this bottle was underwhelming (3615 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 9/15/2023 & rated 96 points: Friday Night Uptown Brown Bagger (R&D's): Blind. I am immediately smitten and this is instantly my favorite in this flight. Aromas of black currant, dried herbs, lavender and sweet pipe tobacco. Full-bodied, with medium tannin. Impeccably balanced. Flavors of black and red fruits, tobacco and sage with a long, subtly sweet finish. Drinking nicely despite its youth; this vintage has never really shut down.
This was opened three hours before the flight was poured; decanted for perhaps half an hour. (3277 views) | | | Tasted by t_moderne on 6/25/2023 & rated 96 points: Opened, poured out a glass, and let sit for an hour before serving.
Enjoyed with food (grilled vegetables, mushrooms and chicken, in case you were wondering).
Purple color with only the slightest shade of garnet around the edges.
Beautiful nose of plums and cherries with a floral note and hint of mint.
Wonderful depth of flavor; tannins nicely integrated. Good fruit with sufficient acidity to carry the ripe fruit. A touch of tobacco adds and accent. The floral note (violets) floats through here and there as you sip. Sweet mint notes on the finish.
Wonderful wine.
Long cork came out cleanly.
Lots of sediment on the side of the bottle. This bottle had been standing for about a month before opening. (3844 views) | | | Tasted by jhw425 on 6/24/2023 & rated 94 points: This was a great bottle of wine. Fragrant, elegant and all the words you would associate with burgundy not Cali Cab. This was especially good when enjoyed with grilled filet. Would buy again. Still a little american oak but I like thsy (3306 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 6/18/2023: This is still more potential than pleasure or peak drinking. Loads of rich Cab fruit with plenty of American Oak notes that still need time to integrate. Okay to drink now with a juicy steak but better days ahead as the wood integrates and the wine develops some more subtlety. (3574 views) | | | Tasted by oldwines on 6/17/2023 flawed bottle: In my cellar in OWC since release. Opened 2 bottles, the first clearly corked with TCA. Second was not quite as bad but also clearly not right and quite less expressive than the bottle 3 months ago that was pristine and gorgeous. The second has a decent nose and somewhat thin and muted palate. It died out after a few hours in the decanter. Highly disappointing. (3278 views) | | | Tasted by chadslater on 6/9/2023 & rated 85 points: Another tasting note had “old school” - which summed it up. Drank in KV against the Catena Cab Malbec. Secondaries coming thru - but of eucalyptus and cigar rather than earthy. Very pretty wine. (2915 views) | | | Tasted by guitarguy on 4/9/2023 & rated 90 points: Very much into the green olive, tobacco and cherry fruit profile, slightly sour with pretty strong tannib. Okay, maybe time to start drinking in earnest. Still shows some pedigree but not quite up to MB standards at this point. (3391 views) | | | Tasted by mimik on 3/31/2023: Smooth. Excellent drinking (3388 views) | | | Tasted by oldwines on 3/18/2023 & rated 96 points: In my cellar since release. 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, 2% Cab Franc. 13-1% ABV. Decanted at 6pm and tasted over several hours. This is beautifully old school with bright red and black fruit and tons of complexity and elegance. Bright acidity and terrific length. Secondary flavors include layers of florals like hibiscus, violets and eucalyptus as well as anise and menthol. Very judicious new oak leaves just hints of cedar and tobacco. Cherry, plum and cassis dominate the fruit notes. Tannins very soft and supple. Very pretty wine. Great with steaks.
Still glorious on day 2 with perhaps a touch more richness but still bright, fresh and elegant. (3636 views) | | | Tasted by mchern02 on 3/16/2023 & rated 94 points: 1 hour decant out of 375. Drank next to the 2010.
Bright red fruit on the nose complimented with dark blue and black fruit, menthol, flowers, cedar and black licorice. Rich and powerful, certainly more dark and deep than its 2010 counterpart. Nice acidity and youthful tannins with great length. Even out of a 375, it was still young and would recommend a few more years to mellow. Bigger and broader than the 2010 and would be the preferred wine if you were focused on power.. Great and improved further with air. 93/94 plus (3551 views) | | | Tasted by dbermanmd on 2/10/2023 & rated 92 points: Had this along side an '04 La Mission Haut Brion.
Beautiful pairing.
You need to decant this for at least one hour (ditto its partner) and then the world becomes an amazing place.
Really good wine.
Wishes for a great day to all,
David/ (3835 views) | | | Tasted by guitarguy on 12/2/2022 & rated 94 points: This was prime window it seems, caressing, integrated, large but not too large and holding its own against both food and as a lone quaff. Drink any time. Really nice. (3724 views) | | | Tasted by BCFrench1527 on 11/16/2022 & rated 95 points: **What is it:** A Bordeaux blend from the Santa Cruz Mountains. 79/10/9/2% Cab Sauvignon/Merlot/Petit Verdot/Cabernet Franc. Aged in American oak to show what the purest expression of American cabernet can be. It's my birthday, so I'm once more dipping into the pipeline to have a 15 year old bottle.
**Nose:** Blueberry/blackberry, graphite, hot metal, tobacco, a vanilla + plum thing that's making me think of baked goods, baking spices. It smells a lot more extracted than the 2006 I had last year, but that makes sense given the vintages.
**Palate:** Strongly blueberry, black rasberry, and red currant forward, higher acidity, but in the old wine way where it's very well integrated. bramble, herbal underbrush, dill/spring herbs, slate, plum skin, and something I get from a lot of ridge wines which is that Wild Turkey old library + baking spice thing (I get it in some Rioja, so I'm 75% sure it's an American oak.
**Takeaway:** Very different than the 2006 Monte Bello, but no less good. This feels more like a Super Tuscan or a very delicate Bordeaux like La Lagune rather than the more boxy and powerful 2006. I'm never going to turn down Ridge, and for $300 this punches far above its weight in the leagues with Haut Brion and Margaux. 5/5 (3783 views) | | | Tasted by MC on 11/12/2022: Splash decanted 1 hour. Perfect cork and fill. This was tight at open, and needed closer to 2 hours to really open up, but was enjoyable after an hour in the glass. Dark fruit, great concentration but at the same time so balanced, as the Monte Bellos are. Great combination of old and new world claret. This is still developing but enjoyable now with enough air. A (3369 views) | | | Tasted by Kayentacellars on 8/20/2022 & rated 96 points: Maturing well (4486 views) | | | Tasted by peterchoy on 6/2/2022 & rated 95 points: Appearance: Bright and clear, the wine is of deep ruby colour, with fading rims and legs.
Nose: Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of blackberry and cassis, floral notes of violet, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of coffee, sweet spice of clove, pungent spice of liquorice, maturity notes of savoury. The wine is developing.
Palate: Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and silky texture, medium in alcohol and medium body, with medium (+) intensity flavours of black fruit of blackberry and cassis, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of cacao, sweet spice of clove. The wine has a long finish.
Conclusion: Very good quality California Bordeaux blend, with an intense nose showing great complexity, with plenty of black fruit, French oak, supplemented with coffee, spice and savoury development. On the palate the wine is juicy, well-balanced with elegant and finesse. The flavours are very concentrated, especially with a beautiful violet flavour, having a very long finish. It is ready to drink now and can maintain for another 5-7 years. (4929 views) | | | Tasted by MarkRichards on 5/18/2022 & rated 92 points: Lovely, but not the Ridge I remembered from my tasting years ago. The powerful beauty it was has aged into a fine older wine. Balanced, all the flavors intact but muted now. Clearly clearly past its prime. I hope the 2007 magnum is better preserved! (4578 views) | | | Tasted by Michael Hung on 5/8/2022 & rated 92 points: [Decanted for 1.5 hours, drank over 3 hours, pristine bottle and cork] Deep ruby. Med+ intensity nose (med+/pronounced palette): black fruits, black cherry, blackberry, black plum, red plum, red currant, olive, licorice, violet, tomato leaf, black currant leaf, fennel, dill, baking spices, vanilla, cedar
Med/med+ acid, med+ tannin, med alcohol, med+ body, dry. Reminiscent of a good Spottswoode. Great balance and still having the stereotypically California Cabernet traits. Not too much oak, and the oak is integrated well. Drinking this after the Margaux may have been a little unfair, but it still held its own and was enjoyable in its own right. Overall, a great wine but just not very memorable. 92 pts (3899 views) | | | Tasted by Backdoctor on 2/27/2022 & rated 94 points: Super wine, glad to have a second one. Full bodied big red wine (5148 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| 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 Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Santa Cruz Mountains – The Gorgeous 2016s (Aug 2018) (8/1/2018)
(Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Central Coast Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Vintage Retrospective: The 2007 Napa Valley Cabernets (May 2017) (5/17/2017)
(Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Central Coast Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/15/2011)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, May/Jun 2011, Issue #33, Recently Tasted California Wines The Search for Traditionalists Turns Up A Crowd
(Cabernet Sauvignon “Monte Bello”- Ridge Vineyards) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Linda Murphy
JancisRobinson.com (12/8/2010)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, November/December 2010, IWC Issue #153
(Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains) 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 Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (5/21/2011)
(Ridge Monte Bello) Very dark red violet color; elegant, plum, cedar nose; tasty, poised, tart plum, cassis, cedar palate with structure and elegance; needs 8-plus years; long finish (79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc) 95 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (6/20/2010)
(Ridge Monte Bello) Very dark red violet color; tart blackberry, black plum, black fruit, charcoal nose; tart black fruit, tart blackberry, black plum, herbs palate, balanced and structured; medium-plus finish 95+ pts. (decanted for 4 hours; 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc) 95 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (3/7/2010)
(Ridge Monte Bello) Very dark red violet color; gorgeous blackberry, cassis, berry, black plum nose; tight but gorgeous, elegant, black fruit, berry, cassis, mineral, tart plum palate, balanced and well structured; long finish 94+ pts. 94 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (3/9/2008)
(Ridge Monte Bello) Barrel sample - nice cassis, plum and cedar nose; very nice berry, boysenberry, cassis palate with mint and sage, fruit forward; medium-plus finish 92-95 pts. (assemblage 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot) 92 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Decanter and JancisRobinson.com and Vinous and View From the Cellar 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.Red 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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