A strapping, muscular Cabernet, with mouthwatering notes of licorice snap, rye and apple wood framing the burly core of red and black currant paste flavors. A long, grippy cast iron accent drives the finish along, with echoes of sweet bay leaf and tobacco. This is distinctive and built to last. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2028 through 2040. 2,600 cases made.
James Suckling (100)
#49 in James Suckling's top 100 of 2024
Tightly wound at this stage, the wine is massively concentrated, taut, yet trim and medium-bodied. Aged in 100% new oak, predominantly American, it offers espresso, blackberry, black cherry and vanilla bean flavors with a linear intensity and drive. Known to age and improve for several decades, this is one of California’s most collectible cabs and from a classic, age-worthy vintage. Best from 2031.
Jancis Robinson (18)
Full bottle 1,312 g. 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot (no Cabernet Franc thanks to red blotch). 63 tons of fruit from 51 acres. Again, as with the Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Cabernet, the chief worry was the tannins which were extracted very fast from tiny berries. Press wine decision was therefore difficult; they omitted wine from the last press cycle. Bottled June 2023. Normally they would double decant this wine before serving it but this wasn't. Official notes: ‘Warm weather in August, especially at the higher elevations, expedited ripeness. For the first time, we harvested from the top vineyard at Perrone to the bottom at Klein. The drought reduced yields by more than a third, resulting in small berries with exceptional tannin and colour concentration. This year, instead of all parcels finishing malolactic in barrel as in the past, 60% finished in tank. This classic Monte Bello will develop over the next twenty to twenty-five years. Hand-harvested 1 – 24 September with average Brix 24.4˚° TA 6.90 g/l, pH 3.46. Grapes destemmed, 100% whole-berry fermentation. Fermented on the native yeasts. Natural malolactic. Twenty-two Monte Bello parcels. 100% new oak barrels: 92% American oak, 8% French oak and 19 months in barrel. Estate-grown Monte Bello vineyard grapes, destemmed and sorted; fermented on the native yeasts; full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur 35 ppm at crush, 108 ppm during aging; depth filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions’.
Very deep, dark crimson. Great purity on the lovely complex balsam nose and a certain velvetiness of texture. The fruit is so charming and deep-flavoured that the tannins are slightly less obvious than in the Estate Cab, and in a way seem more savoury and bordeaux-like. Though they come out on the very end with fine acidity, too. Lifted and fresh. Bone dry.
Wine Enthusiast (97)
This ageworthy classic is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot this vintage. The nose offers focused aromas of blackberry, toasted herb and light caramel with a hint of cocoa dust. The firm, leathery palate feels like it will last forever, as waves of berry, herb, pepper, clove and pencil shavings flow on. Drink now-2045.
Robert Parker (96)
2021 marks the start of a new era at Ridge, now under the stewardship of Trester Goetting and longtime Ridge veteran John Olney following the departure of veteran winemaker Eric Baugher. The 2021 Monte Bello is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot due to drought-induced low yields, particularly in Cabernet Sauvignon. It is already assertive and polished on the nose, with aromas of cassis, dried tobacco, green peppercorn, mint and figs springing from the glass. The palate is suave and refined with electrifying energy and persistence, leading to a sophisticated finish of ripe black fruits and drying, layered stately tannins. Even in this embryonic stage, the perpetual pedigree of Monte Bello is here in spades; cellar for a decade and enjoy over the following two and beyond.
Decanter (98)
“It’s a journey. This wine offers high mountain pine bough, petrichor, and floral predominance of violet, high mountain lavender, and scrub. The palate is crisp and taut, with bright berries, blood orange and savoury mint. A true mountain wine with alpine herbs and wildflowers that lift deep fruit tones of blackberries, figs and muddled mint leaves. Leather, crushed stone and smoked cedar plank come together in America’s most singular and iconic Cabernet Sauvignon.”
