| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | U.S.A. > California |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
The limestone soils, and the short distance to the Pacific Ocean as well as the seriously high elevation, (ranging from 1600-2700ft) means that the Santa Cruz Mountains, produce a very different Cabernet than much of California. The 2022, drought vintage, a third straight year, meant tannic, tiny fruit on the Montebello estate. The wine was fully destemmed and only pumped over half as often as a typical vintage for Montebello. Its a tightly wound iteration in its youth with 100% new American oak for 20 months. Expressive on the nose, with taut black fruits, fresh pine needles and mineral notes of wet clay and roasted herbs. The palate is fresh and medium weight, (13.8%abv) with so much lively freshness in its youthful exuberance. Salty ocean notes open the palate chasing taut eary season blackberries and plum skins. The palate opens overtime revealing dried mint, and alpine meadow herbs that buoy the fruit expression and carry this masterfully made wine toward its zenith, but... don't touch it for another 10 years for the best result. (Drink between 2025-2040)
The 2022 Monte Bello is a rich and distinctly firm iteration of this classic cuvée, evoking a hypothetical blend between the textural power of the 2017 and the bracing structure of the 2015. The nose displays a classically deep and resonant bouquet of red and black fruits, vanilla pod, dark chocolate, cigar wrapper and dried herbs, with balsamic overtones and admirable oak integration. The palate combines lush generosity with an eminently sturdy core, concluding with a stern, bracing finish of firm tannins, pleasantly complemented by gentle succulence. It will take time to view the full potential here, but it certainly delivers the tried-and-true profile long-time fans will expect. This vintage is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.
Aged in 100% new oak, the 2022 Monte Bello blends 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, selected from 18 of 21 lots by blind tasting. After assemblage, the wine spent 21 more months in barrel. The vineyard starts at 1,600 feet and goes up to 2,700 feet at top, and is spread out across 4 different ranches, Klein, Rousten, Torre and Perrone, the wines getting more tightknit and ageable as the vines move up the mountain. By the end of harvest, Monte Bello is split into 55 different blocks, which are then picked and fermented separately. Year after year, this is a “wow” wine, herbal, lightly spiced in oak, with a lovely creamy, velvety texture and a backbone of well-resolved tannin supporting a medium-bodied, balanced spirit of mountain garrigue. These wines typically age 20-25 years or more.Set in the Santa Cruz Mountains with a second winery and vineyard acreage in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley called Lytton Springs, Ridge made its first Monte Bello in 1962 (the Monte Bello Vineyard dates back to 1885) and is devoted to single-vineyard winemaking, what it calls “pre-industrial winemaking,” organic and sustainable farming, and full transparency; it is one of the few wineries to list ingredients on its back labels. Winemaker Paul Draper joined in 1969. The winemaking team today consists of head winemaker John Olney, who has been on the team since 1996, Lytton Springs winemaker Shauna Rosenblum, and assistant winemaker Michael Bairdsmith. It remains one of the great names in California wine, celebrated for making ageable wines. (Drink between 2025-2050)
