Community Tasting Notes 47

• Collector1855 wrote: 95 points

  February 14, 2019 - During a Calif CabSav tasting. Confirmed my impression from a recent tasting. 13.5% Alc. the lowest in the evening. More elegant, cooler than the others, lots of cassis in the nose. I think the balance is good here but I would not open before this has 10 years of bottle age, ie 2026.

  5 people found this helpful Comment

• srh Likes this wine:

  January 19, 2019 - Winebar [4 Whites, 8 Reds, & 4 *shared* bottles] from 01/18/19 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): José, as I'd never tried a Monte Bello, doble gracias for looking out for us today! :)
  
  75% C.S., 18% Merlot, 5% C.F., & 2% Petit Verdot from their driest vintage in 52 yrs of making this! Harvested 9/2–24/14 @ 25.2˚ ave Brix; "Grapes destemmed, 100% whole berries. Automated berry sorting followed by hand sorting. Fermented on the native yeasts. Pressed at ten days. Natural malolactic." Aged 17 mos in "100% new air-dried oak (97% AM, 2% FR, & 1% Hungarian);"
  
  N: *Fragrantly* INTENSE, packed with aromas, but... unparsable :(
  
  P: LM body; LOVELY, ALMOST swtish frt met by an astringent pucker which stays within the context of the frt as it evolves into a very LONG, *impeccably* BALANCED finish with SUCH an enticing tangy/swtness to the dusty tannins that makes it hard to resist NOW, though it surely DESERVES through '21 (min), then making its 15th... easily. Would seem to have it A-L-L ! 13.5% ABV; My Exceptional! In addition to Ridge's site (with numerous + reviews): On 10/10/17 91pts Decanter's PANEL, 95 RJonWine, & 18/20 (cask) Jancis Robinson

  3 people found this helpful Comment

• JayDubz Likes this wine: 94 points

  January 13, 2019 - I'll start off by saying we had this under almost the same conditions as last year's 2013 and it isn't as good. 2013 was a transcendental experience and so good I'm still not sure its classifiable as wine - this is really excellent but is demoted to being wine.
  
  It sits perfectly in the glass. Pitch black and strong, opaque and mature. Vibrant in its blackness. Everything about it screams quality.
  
  On the nose, I would agree that it is quite young but more than drinkable. Smells of oak and violet (perfume violets rather than Parma Violets). The petit verdot comes through extraordinarily strong considering its the smallest percentage of the blend. Touch of eucalyptus but I reckon that might actually be best described as more of a herbal sage or maybe under ripe blackberries.
  There is a rich juiciness there too which is deceptive due to the dominance of the oaken violets.
  
  Initially quite standard on first taste - tons of chewy tannins with a chalkiness, the oak not too dominant as it is on the nose.
  
  Mid palate is quite sherberty.
  
  Finish is a great sour black cherry, really long lasting herby and fruity.
  
  Don't serve it too cold.
  
  Its true that it isn't complex yet. It could become a bit of a leathery beast but I'm also sure that there doesn't need to be a lot of theatrics if you open this a little early. Drink and enjoy because it isn't a 2013, that much is abundantly clear.

  3 people found this helpful Comments (1)

• wineotim wrote: 93 points

  November 20, 2018 - Tasted at a local event. Shows a lot of eucalyptus like lift and energy, big acid and black cherry fruit. Very fresh feel.

  3 people found this helpful Comment

• Vinomnivore Likes this wine:

  November 9, 2018 - Far too young... a mistake to open this, but it is showing great potential.

  3 people found this helpful Comment

Pro Reviews 11

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2014
• Type Red
• Producer Ridge
• Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard Monte Bello
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion San Francisco Bay
• Appellation Santa Cruz Mountains
• UPC Codes 000004375616, 086891077437, 4714127538976, 744442301003

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 259 (4%)
• In Cellars 5,711 (92%)
• Consumed 259 (4%)

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