Second Sunday Group: Ridge Monte Bello 2005-2012

Jeff's
Tasted Sunday, May 13, 2018 by AllRed with 597 views

Introduction

The 2nd Sunday group gathered for our regular double blind tasting. For this group, we are presented a couple of double blind warm ups before the main flight. The warm ups are discussed & unveiled before moving on to the themed main flight. We spent forty five minutes or so tasting and evaluation the eight wines for the main flight before ranking the wines and then making guesses as to what we were tasting. Wines are ranked 1-8, one point for each place, and then unveiled from last place to first place. After the tasting, dinner is served with the additional wines brought by the group, nonblind. For this tasting we had thirteen tasters and the cost was $60.

Flight 1 - Warm ups (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - Main flight (8 Notes)

These were, for the most part, very consistent across the lineup. As a group, we struggled with these and took a while to identify them. In the end, most settled on California cabernet (sadly, I was not among them, and again very, very wrong). Our host decanted the wines only an hour before the flight was poured, and as a result of that, these didn't have a chance...clearly these needed a much more significant decant. None are truly ready and need plenty of time in the cellar to reveal their full potential. That said, I am always thankful for a taste of Monte Bello, and I am glad to have almost all of these in my cellar (missing the '05 & '06).

  • 2009 Ridge Monte Bello 88 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Double blind. Opens with a slightly stewy note; roasted. Ripe, peppery dark fruit on the palate. Coming back to this, it remains tannic and ripe, with dark jammy ripe fruit.

    My #7, Domino's #6
    Group #8, 64 pts

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2012 Ridge Monte Bello 90 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Double blind. Very pretty. Perfumed and floral, with ripe dark plum fruit underneath. Tannic and firm, with plum and dark fruit on the palate. Spice notes on the finish. Picks up a touch of earth in the bouquet. Jammy; nice structure. Improved a great deal over the course of the tasting.

    My #2, Domino's #1
    Group #1, 41 pts

    Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2006 Ridge Monte Bello 89 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Double blind. Perfumed, plummy and ripe, not overly so; pretty. Bright red fruit on the palate, with medium tannins and good underlying acidity. Adds a nice pine forest note as it opens. Finishes with nice length and balance.

    My #3, Domino's #2
    Group #2, 45 pts

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2007 Ridge Monte Bello 90 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Double blind. Plummy dark fruit, red berry, pepper, perfume and violet aromas. Elegant and pretty- I really like the bouquet here. Very well-balanced, with good structure and acidity and abundant red fruit on the palate. A bit of spice comes in on the lengthy finish. 90+ pts.

    My #1, Domino's #4
    Group #5, 56 pts

    Not surprised that this was my favorite, as it drank well at release for a good bit before going into a phase. I enjoyed quite a few of these very early on.

    Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2005 Ridge Monte Bello 88 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Double blind. Quite generic, nondescript. Dark fruit and spice qualities with firm tannins. One is eventually able to coax some ripe jammy fruit out of the glass, and it develops a nice peppery note on the palate but remains quite reserved and unapproachable in comparison to the others in the flight.

    My #6, Domino's #5
    Group #3, 48 pts

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2008 Ridge Monte Bello 89 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Double blind. Red fruit and clay aromas; nice earthy quality. Cherry, raspberry and bright acidity on the palate. Red and dark fruit with a peppery spice on the finish. Nice structure. Balanced.

    My #4, Domino's #8
    Group #4, 53 pts.

    Read 2 Comments / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2011 Ridge Monte Bello 87 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Double blind. Notes of dark ripe fruit. Tannins are very firm; lots of peppery dark fruit. Doesn't change very much during the tasting, remaining dark, spicy and tannic.

    My #8, Domino's #3
    Group #6, 61 pts.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2010 Ridge Monte Bello 88 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Double blind. Ripe dark fruit, pepper, spice and pine forest notes. Has a briny quality on the palate, very unique in this lineup. Ripe dark fruit and briny notes. Lingering finish. 88-89 pts.

    My #5, Domino's #7
    Group #7, 64 pts.

    Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 3 - Dinner wines (9 Notes)

Nonblind, with grilled chicken and fresh pasta.

×
×