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2005 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello
- Santa Cruz Mountains, USA
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- Avg Price (ex-tax)
- $ 461 / 750ml
- Red - Bold and Structured
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- from 7 Critic Reviews
- Organic Sustainable
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Critic tasting note: "From a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, this Bordeaux styled expression of California Cabernet Sauvignon is another winner from perhaps one of the most consistent producers in the Golden State. Deep in color, with a nose packed with licorice, coffee, cassis, earth, smoke and spice, it's powerful, full bodied, tannic, concentrated and harmonious. Ridge Monte Bello is a contender for the California Cabernet Sauvignon that demands the most aging before it matures. I'd leave it for at least another 10-15 years if you want to enjoy its display of secondary aromas and textures that accompany old Monte Bello. 95 Points" - 95/100, Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
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Highlights
- From Santa Cruz Mountains, USA
- Avg. Price (ex-tax) $ 461 / 750ml
- Red Wine – Bold and Structured
- Bordeaux Blend Red
- Pairs well with Beef and Venison
- Organic · Sustainable
Winery
Ridge Vineyards is a famed Californian wine producer founded in 1962, and based in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but with vineyards in several parts of the state. Its flagship wine, Monte Bello, is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated Bo...
Details
- Region or Appellation
- Producer Notes
- In 1886, high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the first Monte Bello vineyards were planted, and winery construction begun. A first vintage from the young vines followed in 1892. During Prohibition (1920-1933), the vineyard was not fully maintained; some vines survived into the late 30s, but by the 1940s they were effectively abandoned. Eight acres of cabernet sauvignon were replanted in 1949. These were the source of the first Ridge Monte Bello (1962) and subsequent vintages until 1974 when younger blocks replanted in the 1960s were considered for inclusion. Since then, the historic vineyards on the ridge have gradually been replanted.
- Drinking Window
- 2018-2040
- Alcohol ABV
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13.4%
- Sweetness
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Dry
- Blend
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70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot & 2% Cabernet Franc
- Maturation
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Oaked
- Oak Type
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American, French
- Harvest date
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4 October - 1 November
- Closure Type
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Cork
- Vintage Notes
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107 tons from 108 acres. Our estate vineyards high on Monte Bello Ridge are exposed to the Pacific Ocean, fifteen miles to the west. This gives us a climate as cool as Bordeaux, but also subjects us to the ocean’s vicissitudes. In 2005, late rains and cold winds cut yields to a ton an acre, the lowest in ten years. Warm summer days and atypically warm nights brought ripening back on schedule, and a warm October fully ripened each of the thirty-six parcels between October 4 and November 1. Clusters and berries were small, color and tannin abundant. Pressed at eight days on average, forty percent of the wine went through natural malolactic in barrel, the rest in small fermentors. Assemblage began in February. After several weeks of blind tasting, we made a barrel each of three different blends. By March, it was easier to determine the finest. Petit verdot and cabernet franc were added immediately, another merlot and three cabernets in May, some rich first-press wine in December.
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- Harvest Notes
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Selection: Twenty-three Monte Bello parcels. Hand-harvested; estate grown Monte Bello Vineyard grapes, organically farmed, destemmed and sorted.
- Winemaking
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Grapes destemmed, 100% whole berry fermentation. 15% automated berry sorting. Fermented on the native yeasts. Pressed at eight days. Natural malolactic.
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- Ageing
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100% new air-dried oak barrels (90% American, 7% French, 3% Ozark). Aging: Seventeen months in barrel.
- Producer Tasting Notes
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Nose: Clove, vanilla, all spice, tobacco, toasty oak, blackberry. Palate: Big, structured wine, sizeable tannins but well coated, minerally black fruit, cassis, firm, balanced acidity, long clean finish.
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About the Wine
Suggested Dishes to Pair With This Wine
- Pigeon pastilla Starter Course
- Contains: pistachio, cinnamon
- Moroccan
- Neau pad king Main Course
- Thai beef with ginger
- Thai
- Pork shredded Main Course
- With aubergine
- Contains: ginger
- Chinese
- Beefburger Main Course
- Contains: beef burger
- American
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User Ratings
(10)Compare vintages
Vintage quality: Excellent
Current condition: Ready to drink
The 2005 vintage for California was overall excellent.
The growing season began with a soggy wet winter and damp spring.However, despite the damp, both budburst and flowering were mostly early across the state and vine growth was abundant promoting higher yields tha...
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