Ridge Blind Tasting

Blind tasting of the 5 main reds from Ridge. The entry level Three Valleys, the Lytton Springs, the Geyserville, the Estate Cab and the legendary Monte Bello! I knew what I brought but I had everyone including me drink the wines blind and in no particular order. The order that ended up coming out was:
1:Geyserville
2:Monte Bello
3:Estate Cab
4:Three Valleys
5:Lytton Springs.

All these wines were decanted in advance for a couple hours. the Monte Bello having an extra hour as well as a double decant to be able to enjoy it at its best during its young age.

• 2021 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rotlack Kabinett 91 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  (9/10/2023)

  Really gaining a fondness for German Riesling. Nose was zesty and a touch of Petrol. On the palate it was very fruity with a decent amount of sweetness. Apples, peaches, citrus (grapefruit and clementine).

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• 2021 Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Verzé

  (9/9/2023)

  Had with scallops and octopus in a butter sauce. Very fresh and citrusy. Cut through the fat very easily. Lemon Zest, Green Apple.

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• 2020 Ridge Geyserville 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  (9/10/2023)

  Ridge blind tasting!
  
  So I set up a blind tasting of the 5 main reds from Ridge. The entry level Three Valleys, the Lytton Springs, the Geyserville, the Estate Cab and the legendary Monte Bello! I knew what I brought but I had everyone including me drink the wines blind and in no particular order. The order that ended up coming out was:
  1:Geyserville
  2:Monte Bello
  3:Estate Cab
  4:Three Valleys
  5:Lytton Springs.
  
  Here are the notes for the Geyserville: a tad dark so no visual notes. The nose has some oak, vanilla, slight smoke, red fruits. Palate isnt heavy, easy to drink, again, oak and red fruits. Expecting this to be the Cab. Raspberries and cranberries. Very good but came in at 4th for me.

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• 2019 Ridge Monte Bello 95 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  (9/10/2023)

  Ridge blind tasting!
  
  So I set up a blind tasting of the 5 main reds from Ridge. The entry level Three Valleys, the Lytton Springs, the Geyserville, the Estate Cab and the legendary Monte Bello! I knew what I brought but I had everyone including me drink the wines blind and in no particular order. The order that ended up coming out was:
  1:Geyserville
  2:Monte Bello
  3:Estate Cab
  4:Three Valleys
  5:Lytton Springs.
  
  Here are the notes for the Monte Bello: the strongest oak on the nose out of the 5, gives me a Rioja vibe at first with a lot of vanilla, cloves, chocolate and rich red berries. On the palate this thing is amazing. First time experiencing a Monte Bello but I knew this was the big one out of the 5. It does show that it need more bottle age, quite a bit actually but it still gives off one hell of a show. Strawberry and Blueberry on the palate. Some bread as well. This is gonna be an extraordinary wine some day, masterfully done! (My favorite of the tasting)

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• 2019 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 92 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  (9/10/2023)

  Ridge blind tasting!
  
  So I set up a blind tasting of the 5 main reds from Ridge. The entry level Three Valleys, the Lytton Springs, the Geyserville, the Estate Cab and the legendary Monte Bello! I knew what I brought but I had everyone including me drink the wines blind and in no particular order. The order that ended up coming out was:
  1:Geyserville
  2:Monte Bello
  3:Estate Cab
  4:Three Valleys
  5:Lytton Springs.
  
  Here are the notes for the Estate Cab: the nose is very light, slight oak, slight fruit, nothing very expressive here. On the palate it is very delicate, again red fruits but not very obvious. Nothing amazing, extreme or crazy with this wine but nothing bad either. Maybe some age would help it out but I'd prefer using the cellar space for the Monte Bello to be honest. This was my 3rd favorite.

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• 2020 Ridge Three Valleys 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  (9/10/2023)

  Ridge blind tasting!
  
  So I set up a blind tasting of the 5 main reds from Ridge. The entry level Three Valleys, the Lytton Springs, the Geyserville, the Estate Cab and the legendary Monte Bello! I knew what I brought but I had everyone including me drink the wines blind and in no particular order. The order that ended up coming out was:
  1:Geyserville
  2:Monte Bello
  3:Estate Cab
  4:Three Valleys
  5:Lytton Springs.
  
  Here are the notes for the Three Valleys: on the nose this was instantly blueberry pie, really fun to smell and everyone enjoyed this a lot. On the palate, blue fruits, blackberry, some leather and herbs. I thought this was gonna be the Geyserville because of how high quality it was. I was really impressed when it revealed to be the 3valleys! My 2nd favorite after the Monte Bello 92+

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• 2020 Ridge Lytton Springs 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley

  (9/10/2023)

  Ridge blind tasting!
  
  So I set up a blind tasting of the 5 main reds from Ridge. The entry level Three Valleys, the Lytton Springs, the Geyserville, the Estate Cab and the legendary Monte Bello! I knew what I brought but I had everyone including me drink the wines blind and in no particular order. The order that ended up coming out was:
  1:Geyserville
  2:Monte Bello
  3:Estate Cab
  4:Three Valleys
  5:Lytton Springs.
  
  Here are the notes for the Lytton Springs: so on the nose I thought this was too jammy, too sweet and I felt like I wasn't gonna like this one. Kinda instantly thought this was the entry level wine. On the palate it didn't get better. Jammy, sweet, I did enjoy a rhubarb strawberry pie note but other than that, this was my least favorite. Others at the table did enjoy it tho. So this is more of a matter of preference I guess

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So overall the winner was the Monte Bello, with 5/8 people having it as their favorite. The surprising second was the Three Valleys! The least favorite overall was the Estate Cab with 4 people having it as their least favorite.
2 people also had the Lytton as their favorite. The Geyser was 3rd for the most amount of people. Very fun tasting! Cant wait to do another!