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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.9 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 36 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by grub94 on 2/24/2024 & rated 92 points: Wow! Hardly showing its age with just a tiny bit of bricking on the rim. Full nose of herbs, black fruit, some leather and hints of eucalyptus. Tannins are fully resolved. Not quite the depth and complexity of many Montebello's but wonderful. (284 views) | | | Tasted by mats13 on 11/13/2021 & rated 97 points: Spectacular in every way. (1983 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 11/2/2021: Ridge Monte Bello Retrospective (Porter House): First note is crushed pepper, some mint, some more backyard herbs, it's a really nice wine although lacking some of the vibrancy that some of the others have (again, this is splitting hairs). Perhaps it's just a bit less intense in style. (2200 views) | | | Tasted by nywine68 on 9/18/2021 & rated 95 points: Brick colored. Big intense nose of smoke and leather that overflows the glass. Followed on the palate by mature dark berries with secondary and tertiary development. The fruit is nicely balanced by acidity and does not feel tired at all at the ripe old age of 34 years. Tannins have fully melted away leaving a smooth medium-bodied mouthfeel. Beautiful fully mature Monte Bello. Drink now. (2002 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 9/10/2021 & rated 92 points: Acker's COVID-Vaccinated BYO Dinner and Auction Simulcast (Craft - New York NY): Small glass, brief note. Black plum, nicely powerful, surprisingly bright and fresh. Nicely supported by spice, menthol and eucalyptus notes. Good+ balance, good length. Not a great vintage of Monte Bello, but certainly very good. (2765 views) | | | Tasted by nywine68 on 12/4/2020 & rated 93 points: Beautiful wine. Not one of the biggest 1987s but very pretty and delicate. Bricking color but still wonderfully fresh and alive like most 87 Cali cabs. This has a distinctly "feminine" profile with more red fruit notes such as raspberries and strawberries. Great underlying acidity to give it perfect balance. The red fruit is followed by nice secondary notes of earth and mushrooms. While it does not have the same depth as some other 87 Cali cabs, the flavors linger nicely on the long finish. (2559 views) | | | Tasted by NoTrollingerPlease on 12/20/2019 & rated 93 points: X-Mas Tasting (Freiheit Vinothek, Ulm, Germany): Glass: Gabriel Gold
Tasted blind. Decanted. Nose with some brett, fine tobacco, leather, deep and complex. On the palate again some brett, fine, dark fruit, fine acidity, a bit rustic, but with a silky texture. Long, lingering finish. I guessed new world. 93-94 (2524 views) | | | Tasted by aagrawal on 5/11/2019 & rated 95 points: Ridge Monte Bello Tasting (Ridge Monte Bello, Cupertino): From Jeroboam. Balanced, Bordeaux-like fruit, complex, tobacco; palate is full bodied, balanced, elegant medium-plus acidity, low alcohol (11.7%). This reminds me of a 1999 Mouton. Truly top tier and lovely. 95 (2980 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 3/25/2018 flawed bottle: Courtesy of M/M TLV. Sadly, this had some cork taint. There were some floral qualities and red fruit poking through though. What a shame. (3357 views) | | | Tasted by thelostverse on 3/25/2018 flawed bottle: Opened at Anvil with Allred and our wives. Sadly, this was corked. (3661 views) | | | Tasted by jgh123 on 11/16/2016 & rated 98 points: There must have been some confusion in my last tasting note for this wine 9/97. I indicated that the alcohol content was 14.5% and that the wine was near the end of life. I almost wonder if that was a different wine. This wine is 11.7% alcohol and stunning. Complex, rich and lingering; everything a Monte Bello should be. Perfect maturity but drink over the next 5 years. (4487 views) | | | Tasted by jgh123 on 9/26/2016 & rated 91 points: Absolutely terrific nose after decanting. Lovely texture and nuance but beginning to fade. 14.5% EtOH. (4002 views) | | | Tasted by The Vines That Bind on 4/2/2016 & rated 92 points: Old Heitz Martha's v. Old Ridge Monte Bello (NoMad): Amazing bouquet. Lots of brett here, farmy, barny, animalistic and unusually rustic. Fascinating aromatic complexity, very wild and alive. Fresh grass notes as well. Good balance of red berry fruit, earth, and minerals on the palate. Great acid and finish. Really interesting. The best of the Ridge Monte Bellos this afternoon for sure, possibly the wine of the event... (5121 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 4/28/2014 flawed bottle: Lightly corked. Dammit. (5654 views) | | | Tasted by amateurwino on 4/28/2014 & rated 87 points: A touch green - not my favorite Monte Bello. Tasted double blind, I guessed Cali cab of the Montelena, Dominus, Togni ilk. Some at the table thought this might be corked but I did not get TCA at all, just varietally correct leafy green, but would be interested to try another bottle of this someday. (5414 views) | | | Tasted by Frinkcorkz on 7/21/2013 & rated 98 points: Opened the 1985 and 1987 for a side by side tasting last weekend. The 1985 was a bit dull, possibly peaked. The 1987 was phenomenal. Complex and tasty. The clear winner. (4980 views) | | | Tasted by reichken on 5/28/2013 & rated 92 points: Cali Night @ Air St- best nose so far, sweet red fruits. Medium weight taste, a hint of eucalyptus and tobacco, medium weight. This wine tries hard to make you love. Good bootle (4749 views) | | | Tasted by Leoville_2012 on 3/1/2013 & rated 95 points: Ahhh, what a wine! Gorgeous perfume. Very much like a classical Bordeaux. Extremely intense. Mouthfeel is very different, at only 11.7% alcohol this wine is very light on its feet. Goes extremely well with food. Really enjoyed this bottle. (4348 views) | | | Tasted by Wine_lvr on 9/29/2012 flawed bottle: Ridge Monte Bello Vertical Tasting 1974 - 2008 (Switzerland): Text book cork ;-(
Tasted a few years ago and it was a realy beauty that can age for a few more years. Tasted in 2008 with a score of 95 (5316 views) | | | Tasted by smcg on 11/25/2011 & rated 87 points: Past prime, drink up. (3848 views) | | | Tasted by smcg on 7/23/2011 & rated 87 points: Simple, not much going on. No reason to age; drink up. (3496 views) | | | Tasted by yhn on 4/10/2011 & rated 90 points: Was a little disappointed, as this bottle seemed a little past its prime, less vibrant than previous bottles. Chalk it up to provenance or bottle variation. Still a favorite at the table, showing some signature notes. (3748 views) | | | Tasted by Hodby on 6/17/2010 & rated 88 points: Light ruby-garnet. Bordeaux-like aromas of celery seed, tobacco, lead pencil and cherry. Light in the mouth and short finish, but a good match for a cool June night with pork tenderloin( with red peppercorn spiced Monte Bello reduction sauce) and potato-apple-onion-sage tarts. Bottle #2 of two. Price sticker from the LA Wine House ($18.99 on close-out, long long ago). Those were the days for cheap closeouts ! (3820 views) | | | Tasted by JAKurek on 2/8/2010 & rated 93 points: Green tea and mint dominated the nose, very cool to drink. (4247 views) | | | Tasted by yhn on 2/5/2010 & rated 92 points: (Includes 5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. 11.7% alc.)
Nose - warm spicy cigar box and rich dark fruit, lovely peppery tobacco.
Lighter body with intense tobacco and black currant, smoky, good minerality, dusty tannin, blackberry. (3476 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Ridge Producer website | Wikipedia
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 m) on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA near Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.Monte Bello On weinlagen-infoUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Santa Cruz Mountains Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia
Once referred to by wine writers as the Chaine d'Or -- or "golden chain" -- the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA sits above Silicon Valley, running along the craggy range next to the Pacific on some of the prettiest parts of Northern California. The area supports more than 75 wineries, despite being limited by geography and high land prices.
In 1981 the Santa Cruz Mountains Viticultural Appellation became federally recognized, one of the first American viticultural areas to be defined by geophysical and climatic factors. The appellation encompasses the Santa Cruz Mountain range, from Half Moon Bay in the north, to Mount Madonna in the south. The east and west boundaries are defined by elevation, extending down to 800 feet in the east and 400 feet in the west. |
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