2020 Ridge Monte Bello

Community Tasting Notes (25) Avg Score: 92.4 points

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  4/30/2024 - zimmy07 wrote:

  I will not rate this. The wine is young, I decanted 8 hours, it opened up nice. No doubt lacking the massive perfume of a MB, the taste, still domianated by the oak was a bit muted but I was bracing for the worst. Now, my wife who has an incredible palate and knew nothing of the fires or even why I was tasting the wine said" it smells like a campfire and although not a bad wine, does not soar like a MB". I will take her note over mine all day long. To the okay palate I think very little to detect, to the better palates no doubt some issue with the wine. I most likely will take my credits towards future purchases

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  4/28/2024 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points

  Following the encounter with two smoke-tainted half bottles (see comment from April 21), a tasting session involving a 750ml bottle revealed no perceptible smoky undertones among the seven participants, whether tested blind or otherwise. Maybe the half bottles offer a glimpse into the future for the regular bottle. This wine appears unsuitable for aging.
  
  TN: This wine presents a luxurious structure marked by elegance and vivacity. It boasts a wide aromatic range anchored by a vibrant fruit core, enriched by subtle earthy mineral and woody/herbal notes of cedar and pine. While the wine delivers a balanced and delightful experience, it concludes with a relatively brief finish.

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  4/26/2024 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Very nice and well balanced. I didn't really get the smoke that some others have reported but it also is a softer styled wine that I would drink in the next few years.

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  4/24/2024 - Montesquieu wrote: 92 Points

  As a Monte Bello collector since 2001, I normally don't open bottles until they're mature - 15+ years in good vintages, 10+ in an off one. I made an exception in this case to assess the smoke presence and whether these should be consumed younger as a result. My palate isn't the most sensitive, but I do believe I detected smoke, which challenged the otherwise good MB core. The wine was still a good wine, though not for the price, for the first 60 minutes. After that, the smoke became more prominent relative to other notes. Consequently, I'll plan to consume these younger than normal and without long decants.

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  4/21/2024 - Cailles wrote: 88 Points

  From two half bottles. To talk about the elephant in the room first: yes, there are smoky/ashy notes noticeable in the wine. No doubt for me, in both bottles. Yet, with all the youthful exuberance, all the fruit as a counterbalance, the notes can be perceived as just another layer, as minerality, even as a feature (depending on your sensitivity and whether you like ashy/smoky notes), but I fear that as the wine ages, these notes will take over and wreck the wine. I liked the hints of smoke on the nose but didn‘t like those on the palate and in the finish (and it stays in your mouth long after the sip). Today, it‘s still a decently drinking wine, but with this „ticking time bomb“ in the wine, certainly not worthy to have been released as Monte Bello. Drink up - not one to lay down.
  
  TN: Intense, expressive bouquet with perfectly ripe dark berries, spices, some vegetal aromas and minerality which extends into a clear ashy note, which adds to the nose rather than negatively dominating it. Quite particular but luxurious and inviting. On the palate the same perfectly ripe and fresh dark and dark blue fruit, cedar notes, minerality, some spices. Quite beautiful, complex and precise. Towards the mid-palate and especially in the finish, the ashy and smoky notes come forward and they stick in your mouth. Not very pleasant, especially in the second bottle it was quite penetrating. The longer the wine is open the stronger the notes are on the palate. The strucutre is impeccable: Fine tannins, light and airy feel, good freshness, silky texture and good overall balance.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted. Open from the go. Do not decant, the more air, the stronger the smoke note.

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