Community Tasting Note

IvanLi wrote:

Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - WSET note, followed by a descriptive note as per usual.

Clear, deep-ruby. Moderate legs/tears.
Clean, pronounced nose, showing primary, secondary and tertiary flavors.
Primary: black and red fruits, including red currants, strawberry, fresh figs, red plums, cassis and bitter red cherries.
Secondary: elegant oaky notes of vanilla, chocolate, nutmeg and other baking spices, sandal wood.
Tertiary: some beef blood, herbs, rosemary, bay leaf, balsamic
On the palate: dry, high acidity, medium+ tannin, medium alcohol, medium+ body. The tannins are really mouth-coating and ripe, definitely fine-grained.
Layers of red fruit (red plums and cranberries), some black fruit (cassis), blackberries, balsamic, bay leaf, spices, beef blood, charcuterie, smoke. Very complex, indeed.
Pronounced flavors, long finish.
Can drink now, but will improve with age. Outstanding wine, with great complexity, intensity, depth of flavor, varietal definition.
If a blind tasting, I would be hard pressed to say California.

Descriptive note.
A very classy wine, that feels like a cross between a great Bordeaux and Napa. In fact, this bottling represents what I believe can be called "in a class of it's own". Very stylish effort indeed. The acidity is really high, almost feels too high, the fruit has some bitter-sweet character to it (resembling cranberries), lots of non-fruity stuff going on at just 5 years of age. Balsamic as in Burgundy Pinot Noir (could this be high volatile acidity levels?!), so much spices and not gradual at all. That is, you taste fruit, the next moment it is all spices and then balsamic and herbs, and after that the fruits coming back again.
In fact this wine is as close as California can get to Bordeaux, but only analytically, because it doesn't feel, nor does it taste like a classic claret. Based on my limited experiences with the Monte Bello vintages it never ages the way Bordeaux does, developing a completely different array of aromas and flavors.
Half-way between the old and the new world stylistically, the Ridge Monte Bello might very well be a completely different species, - self sufficient and enigmatic yet so seductive in it's atypicality.

94 points for being so acidic and having so much tertiary at this young stage. I am afraid it will be completely developed by the time all these acids are harmonized.

Post a Comment / View IvanLi's profile
10 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (8,922 views)