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  • Country ranking ?

    276
  • Producer ranking ?

    8
  • Decanting time

    1h
  • When to drink

    Now
  • Food Pairing

    Roasted venison, grilled rib-eye & salty cheeses

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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 (...

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Wine Information

BLEND: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot

ALC: 13.1%

VINTAGE 1991 REPORT: Welcome spring rains set back the growing season by several weeks, but replenished the water in our soils. The crop was abundant, and a long, warm October fully ripened all the fruit. We made a rigorous fiftypercent selection, producing a complex, elegant wine with deep color and round tannins. Though approachable now, five years of bottle age will...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

A lovely bottle chosen to go with a small leg of lamb during lockdown to celebrate Nick's birthday. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot. Centenary bottling celebrates 100 years since the first vintage from this distinctive mountain site, and 30 years since the current regime made their first vintage of this wine. Spring rains delayed flowering and a warm October saw the fruit through to full ripeness. 50% selection! 
Rich with the scent of Cabernet and beautiful structure with some extremely subtle cassis. Very long, fleshy initially with spice and then an appetising dry finish. In 1993 Paul Draper in his note on the back label counsels 15 to 20 years in bottle. But this wine is at its apogee at nearly 30 years old.

  • 95p

Bright, dark, fresh red with virtually no amber. Musky raspberry, redcurrant and spice aromas are lifted by a floral element. Extraordinarily silky and intense on entry, conveying outstanding spicy lift and definition to its redcurrant, spice, dried herb and underbrushy soil flavors. At once fully mature and distinctly firm in the middle palate, this impressively dense and clearly delineated wine gives no impression of undue weight. Wonderfully concentrated but not outsized or thick, this beauty stands out for its finesse, complexity and uncanny energy. Its endless finish features fully resolved tannins but still plenty of structural support. This has been one of my favorite California Cabernet-based bottlings since it was released and even today it's hard to scrape it off the palate! (13.1% alcohol)

  • 96p

This wine is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot.  Alcohol 13.3%.  This garnet wine is still fairly opaque in the middle.  The nose is a bit meaty.  In the mouth this wine packs in the flavor with a plum hint at first, mineral middle, then a younger, fresh eucalyptus finish.  There is sophistication to the purple and black fruits There is still a very fine tannic structure and acidity throughout. Impeccably balanced and impressive. ****(*) Now – 2027.

  • 93p
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Information

Origin

Cupertino, Santa Cruz

Drinking temperature

17-18C

Other wines from this producer

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Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard

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Lytton Springs Zinfandel

Monte Bello Merlot

Pagani Ranch Zinfandel

Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Ridge Geyserville

Ridge Mataro Bridgehead

Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon

Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay

Ridge York Creek Zinfandel

Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon

Syrah Lytton Estate

Zinfandel Ponzo Vineyard

Inside Information

CRITIC SCORES:

97 Points – Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate
96 Points – Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media
96 Points – James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

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