Ridge Monte Bello
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Region: Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot / Petit Verdot / Cabernet Franc
Ridge Monte Bello is one of the defining wines of California — a Cabernet-led blend from the limestone ridges above Cupertino, farmed since 1885 and made in the same understated, European-leaning style Paul Draper established from 1969. Alcohols rarely stray above 14%. The wine is built on site rather than intervention: natural fermentations, American oak, low yields and a long slow ageing curve that measures in decades, not years.
The Monte Bello vineyard sits between 400 and 800 metres on cool Pacific-facing slopes, its limestone sub-soils and marine climate producing wines of structure, mineral depth and remarkable longevity. Widely regarded as one of the finest Cabernets outside Bordeaux — famously first placed in the 1971 Judgement of Paris and again in the 2006 reprise.
Vintage Note — 2009: A Merlot-leaning year in a wine usually dominated by Cabernet — 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot at 13.5% ABV. A cold, wet spring gave a late cycle with fully preserved yields and concentration. Dense blackcurrant and cassis lifted by graphite, cedar, sweet pipe tobacco and floral top notes; layered, precise and built for the long haul. Drinking now with an hour's decant, cellaring well through 2035.
Tasting: Blackcurrant / Cassis / Graphite / Cedar / Sweet pipe tobacco / Violet / Firm chalky tannins
Pairing: Cote de Boeuf / Wagyu Tomahawk / Beef Wellington / Black Truffle Risotto / Aged Comté
ABV: 13.5%
Vol: 75cl
Allergens: Contains sulphites
