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Wine Description
The Story
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.
The Monte Bello (originally Monte Bello Cabernet; until 1975, 100% cabernet) is the wine that introduced Ridge to the world, and the world to Ridge. Today it is a blend of bordeaux varietals in which cabernet sauvignon still predominates. Exhaustive tasting of test blends during assemblage determines how much — if any — merlot, petit verdot, or cabernet franc will be included in the finished wine. Almost every vintage (an unbroken chain from '62 on) has something substantive to recommend it. Each decade has its high points, but year after year Monte Bello proves to be a consistently outstanding wine. There's structure, there's complexity, there's balance. And it develops for a long, long time.
The vineyards are grown organically.
Ridge wine is made with an emphasis on quality and naturalness that is rarely attempted. Our grapes are grown in select vineyards (usually identified on the label), where they are left to ripen to peak maturity, often at some loss of quantity. We let the wine settle and age in small barrels, with only rare cellar treatment other than racking. Varieties are not blended unless so indicated on the label. Near Black Mountain on Monte Bello Ridge, our main vineyard is 10 miles south of Palo Alto, 15 miles inland from the ocean, and over 2000 feet in elevation.
Wine Information
BLEND: 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot
ALC: 13.6%
VINTAGE 1978 REPORT: The very warm fall of 1978 did not seriously affect the slow ripening on our cool ridge. The lower vineyards contributed intense character and the upper provided acidity and fruit. The wine went through a natural melolactic and twenty months in small oak cooperage and then late in its second year was lightly fined with fresh egg whites. This excellent vintage is quite tannic for the claret style and will need two or three years to begin to soften and at least six years to approach its prime.
PRESS:
The Wine Advocate (May 2018): 98 Points. “This was a fabulous showing for the 1978 Monte Bello, which is another of the high points of this great decade for Ridge. The wine offers up a rich and kaleidoscopically complex bouquet of black truffles, dark chocolate, black currants, pencil shavings and Egyptian musk. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, layered and complete, with ripe, melting tannins, an ample core of fruit and a long, tangy finish. It gets better and better with air. The 1978 is a touch more savory and a little less lavishly textural than the 1974, but the two are very close in ultimate quality. Connoisseurs will be interested to learn that a portion of the 1978 was rebottled due to an incomplete malolactic fermentation: antique olive bottles indicate the rebottled 1978, whereas the original bottles are in Champagne green. This tasting note refers to a pristine example of the former, but the original bottling is reputed to be even better today.” – William Kelley
The Wine Advocate (October 2016) 94 Points – “The 1978 Monte Bello is a similar blend to the 1985 and is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Merlot. It too is fully mature and has a gorgeous core of sweet fruit, complex notes of spice box, dried herbs, tobacco and black currants, a seamless texture and no shortage of length on the finish. It’s a seriously classy wine that I was thrilled to be able to taste.” – Jeb Dunnuck
