1996 Ridge Monte Bello

Community Tasting Notes (209) Avg Score: 93.7 points

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  4/6/2024 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Part of a trio of aged American Cab and Cab blends night with my wine group. It was opened and decanted for 90 minutes before pouring. Lots of fruit left, but the structure is beginning to weaken. I'm not sure how many years this has left. But this bottle was drinking great! Long finish, beautiful nose. The other 2 wines were a 2002 Quilceda Creek Cabernet and a 1996 1996 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard. As all 3 wines were drinking great, it was hard to pick a favorite.

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  3/30/2024 - jbaron wrote: 94 Points

  Quite nice.

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  3/12/2024 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points

  This was singing tonight and showing great maturity with just fabulous spicy dark berry fruits with and a wonderful lick of eucalyptus and superb floral lift. Layered with a gorgeously opulent texture and so giving now with superb concentration and complexity on the finish. Just a flourishing wine that's exciting to drink and yet so balanced and light on its feet. Certainly another decade of development here but I love where it is now. It was paired against the '96 Lafite and at least today, I slightly preferred the Montebello which is saying something.

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  2/10/2024 - Robert R. Likes this wine:

  A very fine wine. Decanted an hour (should have been more patient). Great nose. Full, smooth, well integrated, complex flavor profile. About as good as it gets in my experience from CA Bordeaux styled wines. Just a real pleasure. High marks.

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  1/27/2024 - roddey3 Likes this wine: 98 Points

  Magnum bottle: decanted night before & left overnight back in uncorked bottle; initially quite closed up. Re-decanted next morning 5 hrs before serving at lunch with gougeres and veal shanks (M. Battali recipe): fully open and stunningly complete wine that matches flavor profiles of previous reviews. Terrific nose, body, structure, mouthfeel, v. long finish. Comparable to 1984 Ridge Montebello and 1967 Heinz Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Jancis Robinson was on the mark.

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