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Wine Information
2009 Vintage
Monte Bello Vineyard
77% cabernet sauvignon, 23% merlot
13.8% alcohol by volume
History
In 1886 the Monte Bello vineyard was first planted and construction on the winery begun. The first vintage was in 1892. In the early 1940s, the last of the old vineyard was abandoned; in the late forties a few blocks were replanted. Those cabernet vines—now sixty years old—produced the first Ridge Monte Bello (1962) and subsequent vintages until the mid-seventies. By then, abandoned blocks replanted during the sixties were maturing, and their fruit considered for use in the Monte Bello. A number of those consistently produced a more accessible wine that developed its full complexity earlier and these were combined as the “Santa Cruz Mountains.” With the 2008 vintage the name of this stylistically distinct wine becomes Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, stressing the varietal and the Monte Bello vineyard as its source.
Vintage
Harvest Dates: 25 September - 12 October Grapes: Average Brix 24.2°
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed, 60% full crush, 40% whole berries. Fermented on the native yeasts. Pressed at nine days. Natural malolactic (half in barrel, half in tank).
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels; (15% new, 35% one year, and 50% two years old).
Aging: Nineteen months in barrel
Growing Season
Rainfall: 28 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Early June
Weather: Cool spring; warm summer and fall, short growing season.
Winemaking
All estate-grown grapes, hand harvested. Destemmed and sorted. Fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria. 16/100 of one percent rehydration (added to one particularly ripe fermentor of cabernet) during fermentation; minimum effective sulfur (35 ppm at crush, 135 ppm over the course of aging); fresh egg white fining to moderate tannins. Pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.
Winemaker Tasting Notes
Deep garnet. Pungent aroma. Blackberry, currant, wild fennel, cola, black olive. Full-bodied, medium chalky-tannin structure, black tea. Great depth of flavor, firm acid, lengthy finish. -Eric Baugher (2/12))
