Ridge Monte Bello Vertical 72-03
Ken's house, northbrook IL
Tasted October 6, 2009 by KeithAkers with 1,407 views
Introduction
12 of us gathered at Ken's to have a good look at what Ridge Monte Bello is about and to get a real feel for the wine. Ken was also gracious in opening up the blind welcome whites
We divided the wines into two 7 wine flights with the first flight being focused on older wines and the second flight being focused on the younger wines
Flight 1 - Opening Whites (2 notes)
Ken provided these to us Blind. We were told that they were from the same vintage and same vineyard, but nothing more then that
taste: full bodied with a creamy and rich feel and well defined tones of creams, tropical citrus', oranges, buttered toast and a touch of marmalade. Really good depth to go with the big and creamy feel that is big and is a bit of a heavyweight boxer
overall: this was the first of two blind whites from the same vintage and vineyard. It had a nice and rich golden color and came across as in its full drinking window. Big and rich, I was thinking kistler when I smelled and tasted it as it just had that feel that kistler brings to their chards
taste: really good medium feel with crisp medium acidity along with tones of white fruits, white florals, honeysuckle, and a good bit of fresh picked lemons. Good definition on the palate and comes off almost as having a burgundian sense to it
overall: a real nice reveal for this. Seems like it can age further and add some extra complexity. It certainly presented a very different take from the Kistler and I really enjoyed the style that this went about as its very food friendly and can be drunk on its own at the same time
Flight 2 - Flight 1- older vintages (7 notes)
This flight was a whole lot of fun. It was unfortunate that the 74 was corked. What made it extremely frustrating as there was some good fruit that was underneath the corked smell, but, it was hard to get over that and it just wouldn't blow off.
Outside of the 74, I thought everything showed very well and was generally impressed by the wines. I didn't really have any expectations as I just wanted to let the wines come to me. These wines were all about expressing the terroir and vintages, which made them a real treat
taste: great classy and polished medium feel. Tannins are fully resolved with great medium acidity along with tones of sour cranberries, bits of cedar, menthol, dark red cherries and some real tasty tones of black currants
overall: the color on this was absolutely stunning. There wasn't too much bricking and it had a lovely garnet hue in the glass. This has more then kept itself together over the ensuing decades and comes off as having plenty of legs left. A very elegant wine that also brought about a great finish. (my 2, the group's 5)
taste: the nose was holding back a bit, and had a nuanced style to it, but this was where it seemed to come alive. Seamless medium feel with plush and silky tones of bell pepper, cedar, some menthol tones, along with dark and sour berries
overall: Good tannins still support this wine, which was almost like night and day from the 72 and 74 where the tannins were fully resolved. Very elegant with a nuanced style to it, this was a real joy on the palate. It didn't necessarily explode on the palate, but instead really seemed to wake up and caress the palate. (my 3, group 4)
taste: very well balanced with a almost delicate feminine medium feel and good medium acidity with tones of cedar, tobacco, red currants, red cherries and a good amount of mixed berries
overall: my no5, the group's 6. I found this to be a real lovely monte bello. Certainly won't blow you away and it wasn't as deep as the 72, but the perfumed quality of this one was very attractive and almost sensual. This had a refined sense to it that I enjoyed and would love to try again
taste: lush medium/full feel with really good tannins along with deep tones of dark red cherries, red currants, tobacco, cedar, and some hints of minty tones. Hi-toned and rich at teh same time, this just flows well across the palate, but seems to hold back a slight bit right now
overall: my no4, the group's no3. Comes off as just starting to enter maturity, there seems to be a real serious wine that can emerge with a bit more time as some nuances need to emerge with time that are just hiding in there. This certainly has a long distance runner written all over it
taste: silky with a lot of polish and very well layered medium/full tones of black and red currants, bits of dill and menthol, a bucketful of dark red cherries, cedar and lots of berry tones. Silky tannins accompany this and aid to the great purity on the palate too
overall: my no1, the group's no1. This wine was a thing of real beauty and is very sumptuous. Well layered that is extremely pure at the same time. This wine seems a bit more resolved and drinking better then the 90, but there is also no reason to think that this won't stay at this level for a while as the tannins support the wine extremely well along with some good acidity
taste: classy medium/full feel with good tannins. Lovely tones of cedar, menthol, tobacco, black cherries and bits of dark berries blend well together. Comes off as understated on the palate with really good depth and medium+ acidity
overall: my no6, group's no2. To me this just didn't seem fully ready for primetime, or at least it wasn't giving me its all in the glass. Following up the 91 was a hard act to follow and this was rather taught for me in both the glass and on the palate. It needs a real good decant or more time sideways as the color on it wasn't really showing much age to it, and there was certainly no way to guess that this was about to turn 17 years old if the vintage wasn't known
Flight 3 - Flight 2- Newer Vintages (7 notes)
This flight continued the run of straight vintages that we had from 88-94 and then having the 96 right after that. This flight showed itself to come across as fairly modern, but there was a sense that these wines may be too young in a sense. The 94 was an absolute stunner for me and its a marathon runner of a wine that will provide lots of enjoyment for a wide variety of wine drinkers
The wines were more similar in a way during this flight, but some of that may also be due to the youth of the wines
taste: lovely and elegant medium/full feel with good medium acidity along with tones of menthol, dark red cherries, currants, bits of dark berries, a touch of bell peppers, and bits of fresh picked herbs that sneak in on the back end. Good supporting tannins give this a real nice base right now
overall: my no5, the group's no5. a quality monte bello. While it may sound very vegetal, it wasn't as pronounced as the notes may sound. Well balanced and pretty, this had a freshness to it while also coming off as fully drinking at this time, but can certainly go longer
taste: extremely polished and silky medium/full feel with good tannins and medium acidity. Delicious tones of red fruits, menthol, red cherries, mixed red berries, red currants and a touch of cedar with some hints of tobacco
overall: my no1, group's no1 and my wotn overall. This comes off as still working itself out, but, is a real show stopper of a wine right now. It has the tannins for aging, and shows a bit of ripeness to it, but has the backbone to age like the wines from the first flight. Will be interesting to drink in about 5 years to really see if there's been a change of style, if its the vintage, or just how we caught it as it certainly presented a different take on MB then had been tasted previous
taste: lovely and well balanced medium/full feel that comes off rather nuanced in a way with pretty tones of cedar, dark red cherries, menthol tones, bits of spice and some tones of berries. Excellent depth with really fresh medium+ acidity to it
overall: my no3, group4. this comes off as needing a good bit more time as there is a nuanced aspect to it that will need good aging to let it fully emerge. This doesn't come off as a Monte Bello that will blow you away with great layering and purity like the 91 or 94, but instead it has a searching aspect to it that demands attention and a small group with it as it has a story to tell
taste: silky and rich tannins show off the youth of the wine with an elegant medium/full feel and medium+ acidity. Well balanced tones of dark berries, cedar, herbs, dark red cherries and a touch of chocolate all meld well together with a real classy sense
overall: my no4, the group's no3. I really like where this is at its young age. A slight bit more plush then the older wines, but that could be due to the age of the older wines. Still comes off as needing a good bit more time as there is a real elegance to the wine that aging will really bring out
taste: very good medium feel that comes off as fairly well evolved with tones of herbs, dill, dark red cherries and a good amount of menthol. Has nice weight on the palate, but the finish is rather clipped and doesn't really have the depth and expression that other MBs have brought in the vertical
overall: my no7, group's no 7. This just falls short for me. Its almost a mini-monte bello if you will. It just doesn't have the expression that the others have had to make up for not having the screaming depth that some of the better ones have had, and is very shot on the finish. THe nose almost came off as too evolved for a wine of this age, even considering the vintage as two of the older monte bellos were from difficult vintages. Sometimes mother nature doesn't give the best to work with, and that came off a bit here
taste: showing off its youth on the palate with great rich full bodied tones of black currant jam, mint, dark red cherries, and a bushel full of fresh picked berries. THe tones come off as plush and round with medium acidity to it
overall: my no2, the group's no2. Overall for the group, this was a hair behind the 94 in this flight. For me this didn't have the full layering of the 94.........yet. It seems like a caterpillar that is just waiting in its cocoon and has a ton of class to it and is just so silky and classy that its hard not to like it. This has the ability to turn into a real beauty. Its hard to say what its aging curve will be as this possessed the highest merlot content of any of the wines, but it is an extremely attractive wine that will certainly be worth waiting a bit longer for
taste: full bodied with some hard tannins and tones of black currants, dark red cherries, sour cranberries, and liqueur tones with a bit of new oak on the back end
overall: my no6, the group's no6. A bit hard and taught right now that is a bit unforgiving. Full bodied and a bit stewed on both the nose and palate, this shows off the vintage, but also comes across very youthful and can certainly use another 6-8 years to round out some of the hard parts of it and may then bloom into a more exotic monte bello
Flight 4 - Desert Flight (2 notes)
There was a semillon in this flight that I will have to add later
this was a fun capper as all three wines were served blind and it certainly made the flight more interesting. This was also my first experience with a Banyuls of this age and it was a real beautiful wine that I wish I could've spent more time with
taste: big and powerful with a touch of heat letting your know its fortified. Bold and rich tones of dark chocolate, black cherries and a whole lot of bold black fruit tones fill out very well
overall: a real delicious wine. Rich and bold this really shows itself off with a really good and long finish
taste: excellent medium feel with good depth and well defined tones of brown sugar, dark red cherries, hot caramel, and berry tones. Good medium acidity still exists
overall: this one threw me for a loop as it was blind. It had the look of a tawny port in the glass, but didn't smell like it at all. Outstanding tones on both the nose and palate with real good depth and a real good sense of itself
Closing
A really great night. On the whole, the monte bellos showed really well. The 72 was a real revelation and all of the older wines could've easily fooled someone in a blind tasting regarding their age as they all had great coloring and one wouldn't be blamed for thinking that many of them were 5-10 years younger then they were.
There was some wondering if there was a change in style as we got more into the wines of the 90s, or if it was more due to the wines being younger in the second flight. There was certainly more of a "riper" style that seemed to emerge, but the majority of the vintages were from warmer vintages in the second flight
More then anything it provided a great learning experience and its not everyday that one gets a chance to try one of these iconic California wines in a Vertical like this that has an age range of 31 years. Needless to say, it was a real special experience and I'm extremely glad that I had the chance to take part in it