Tasted at the winery. Pale yellow color. Nice nose of ripe green apple and creamy lemon. The palate is all acid and oak right now, with some buttery lemon fruit that comes through on the finish. Decent but a bit oaky for me at the moment. Maybe this needs time to settle?
Tasted at the winery. Deep purple color. Expressive blackberry and cassis on the nose, with notes of coconut and dill. Loads of rich, sweet, brambly black fruit, with a creamy texture and plenty of oak and structure. With air the acid shows more and a certain brightness/tartness to the fruit comes out, with a slightly more reddish character, and the tannin becomes more noticeable. There's just a touch of heat on the back end, and a long, fruit finish. This is a big, dense, wine and while it's really good (I liked it better than the 07 I've had before), I'd bet it will be better in 10 years.
Tasted at the winery. Reddish purple color. Aromas of chocolate-covered black cherries with a nice purity to the fruit, and a woodsy/herbal character. Quite ripe and showing the alcohol a bit, but with delicious fruit that takes on a more raspberry-ish flavor. Tasty but not quite on the level of the other Ridge reds. Not nearly as good as the 04 version of this wine, which had quite a bit more depth and weight -- maybe because the 04 had more PS blended in?
Tasted at the winery. Dark purple color. Plenty of pure cassis and lots of oak, with some red fruit poking out as well as a menthol note. This is an usually high acid cab blend (75 CS/20M this year, way more cab than the 07), and while there's good depth and the fruit gets sweeter with air, this is a bit taut/tight at the moment. I think it needs a little time to come together. I like the 07 of this wine better.
Tasted at the winery. This was decanted, don't know how long. There's a lovely sweet black fruit perfume, accented with touches of vanilla, herbs and dill (from the American oak) and a hint of chocolate in the background. Classy, deep, and layered, with gobs of sweet black fruit and a touch of glycerin but on an agile frame that is not at all heavily thick or viscous. There's some herbal notes and a dusty, earthy flavor in the background. The structure is there with some slightly drying tannin on the back end but mostly it's hiding in the background and this is surprisingly accessible for a young Monte Bello (way more open than iirc the 05 and 06 I tasted recently). Just excellent and I would love to try this in 2033 or so.
2009 Ridge Chardonnay Jimsomare Ranch 87 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Tasted at the winery. Pale yellow color. Nice nose of ripe green apple and creamy lemon. The palate is all acid and oak right now, with some buttery lemon fruit that comes through on the finish. Decent but a bit oaky for me at the moment. Maybe this needs time to settle?
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2008 Ridge Lytton Springs 91 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Tasted at the winery. Deep purple color. Expressive blackberry and cassis on the nose, with notes of coconut and dill. Loads of rich, sweet, brambly black fruit, with a creamy texture and plenty of oak and structure. With air the acid shows more and a certain brightness/tartness to the fruit comes out, with a slightly more reddish character, and the tannin becomes more noticeable. There's just a touch of heat on the back end, and a long, fruit finish. This is a big, dense, wine and while it's really good (I liked it better than the 07 I've had before), I'd bet it will be better in 10 years.
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2005 Ridge Grenache Lytton Estate 88 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Tasted at the winery. Reddish purple color. Aromas of chocolate-covered black cherries with a nice purity to the fruit, and a woodsy/herbal character. Quite ripe and showing the alcohol a bit, but with delicious fruit that takes on a more raspberry-ish flavor. Tasty but not quite on the level of the other Ridge reds. Not nearly as good as the 04 version of this wine, which had quite a bit more depth and weight -- maybe because the 04 had more PS blended in?
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2008 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 89 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Tasted at the winery. Dark purple color. Plenty of pure cassis and lots of oak, with some red fruit poking out as well as a menthol note. This is an usually high acid cab blend (75 CS/20M this year, way more cab than the 07), and while there's good depth and the fruit gets sweeter with air, this is a bit taut/tight at the moment. I think it needs a little time to come together. I like the 07 of this wine better.
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2007 Ridge Monte Bello 93 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Tasted at the winery. This was decanted, don't know how long. There's a lovely sweet black fruit perfume, accented with touches of vanilla, herbs and dill (from the American oak) and a hint of chocolate in the background. Classy, deep, and layered, with gobs of sweet black fruit and a touch of glycerin but on an agile frame that is not at all heavily thick or viscous. There's some herbal notes and a dusty, earthy flavor in the background. The structure is there with some slightly drying tannin on the back end but mostly it's hiding in the background and this is surprisingly accessible for a young Monte Bello (way more open than iirc the 05 and 06 I tasted recently). Just excellent and I would love to try this in 2033 or so.
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