2020 Ridge Monte Bello
Community Tasting Note
pkouchu wrote:
flawed
Thursday, April 18, 2024 - For those still doubtful of smoke taint, wine advocate just published their review, they sent the wine to a lab and it came back 4x over the threshold. It’s smoke tainted to hell.
Post a Comment / View pkouchu's profile7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (2,201 views)
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7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (2,201 views)
7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (2,201 views)
Comment posted by North Willis:
4/18/2024 8:15:00 PM - Did you try the wine?
Comment posted by pkouchu:
4/18/2024 8:24:00 PM - Yes, if you scroll down further my first review should be there, it was no good. I returned it to ridge for a full refund.
Comment posted by MJP Hou TX:
4/19/2024 4:37:00 AM - Smoke taint is very obvious for those that can sense it and evidently not everyone can is what I'm told. I'm very sensitive to smoke and one of my favorites left me feeling like I had smoked a cigarette. Good for you sending it back...
Comment posted by North Willis:
4/19/2024 2:20:00 PM - It seems clear that reasonable minds can disagree on the extent this wine shows smoke taint. While the lab report seems clear, how smoke taint presents itself to individual tasters varies. Reports of ashtray, cigar smoke aftertaste, and the like just didn't show up in the bottle I experienced.
Comment posted by pkouchu:
4/19/2024 3:08:00 PM - That’s fair, but ridge double downed and said there was no smoke taint from their extensive analysis. Pretty bad PR for them now considering they were caught in a lie
Comment posted by Agunner23:
4/20/2024 7:57:00 AM - Interesting comments. I am a pretty big fan of Ridge and being a trio wine club member, and for some reason, 2020 is the only vintage I did not get out of the past decade of being a club member. I acquired a vertical for 2013-2020 at an auction. I will taste it in a couple of months when it comes in. Did Ridge give you a refund? It makes me kind of scared of the 2020s because I just bought a 2020 Screaming Eagle, and I hope to you know that it is not smoke-tainted.
Comment posted by pkouchu:
4/20/2024 10:07:00 AM - they gave me a full refund, even for the bottle that was drank. I had bought a 3 pack and they refunded me full and i only had to return 2 of them--which was nice. I hope your SE isnt smoke tainted either, but i wouldn't sit around for years to find out, probably find a nice time to pop it earlier. the longer you wait the more smoke taint becomes apparent. Or--if youre lucky, you might not have the enzyme to detect smoke on your palate, apparently 25% of people cant (according to a winemaker friend)
Comment posted by Agunner23:
4/20/2024 10:11:00 AM - That was nice of them. I will try it as soon as I get it and see.
Comment posted by North Willis:
4/20/2024 11:01:00 AM - I think Ridge has handled this well. They stand by their decision to release the 2020, but have graciously refunded purchases, even for bottles drank to assess smoke taint. I drank a bottle, decided it was good, and Ridge then sent me a replacement bottle, gratis.
Comment posted by pkouchu:
4/20/2024 11:19:00 AM - I think standing by your decision to make a wine is fine, but telling your customers and distribution partners there’s no smoke taint is unacceptable in my opinion. They should have been transparent in saying the wine may be tainted but it’s our decision to release a wine and put out our best effort. Or at least release an apology now that the data is out. They’re also only refunding members, everyone else is shit out of luck.
Comment posted by North Willis:
4/20/2024 3:47:00 PM - I see your point about members only. But I understand why they wouldn't have been transparent about the issue. You can't be a little pregnant. Once they made the business decision, they need to tow the line, particulary given that some people can't/don't pick up smoke taint on these wines.