Ridge finally announces expansion plans in association with the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District. 32 more acres of Monte Bello land to be planted over the next two decades. Details on 4488, the official Ridge blog.

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Ridge has been hosting quarterly tastings for wine bloggers for 3 years now. Tasting room manger Christopher Watkins always tries something new each time and for the most recent event he wanted to combine his love of music with his love of wine. So he came up with the novel idea of pairing wine with Jazz classics.

Now I'm no real Jazz aficionado; my dad was into big band stuff and he'd listen to the likes of Satchmo and Bird, but my tastes were more Santana and Budgie. Nevertheless I gave it a try while - more importantly - attempting to identify the four wines poured blind. If you're interested in the jazz aspect of the tasting then check out the Ridge wine blog.

Wine 1 showed lots of ripe red fruit; redcurrant, raspberry and liquorice. Incredibly rich and complex with herbal, minty notes and bags of smooth tannins. From the ripeness, complexity and the abundance of red fruits I assumed that it had to be a Zinfandel blend, but whatever it was I loved it. Eventually I guessed Geyserville; perhaps 2005.

Not even close; 2001 Monte Bello. Possibly the ripest vintage of Monte Bello ever made and recently upgraded to 99 points by Robert Parker. The clues were there in the herbal, minty and liquorice notes however I missed them because of the ripeness. Easily 96+ and insanely drinkable even at this early stage.

Wine 2 was smoky and earthy, with a hint of brett. Much lighter than the first (though not in colour), and dry with brambly black fruit and lots of tannin. Surely a Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet; doesn't seem rich enough to be Monte Bello, so probably the Estate.

Pretty near the mark; the 2000 Monte Bello. A particularly cool vintage, hence the leaner fruit. Overshadowed somewhat by the riper wines on this tasting, but still a 92 point wine that'll give many old-world wines a run for their Euro.

Wine 3 had lots of dark fruit and earth; redcurrant and wild strawberry. I thought possibly Zinfandel but for some reason I convinced myself that it was the Lytton West Syrah.

Right vineyard, wrong grape. 1999 Lytton Springs - 70% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Sirah, 10% Carignane, 3% Mataro and absolutely 0% Syrah. Very, very tasty; 95 points.

Wine 4 had a bright raspberry nose with a floral note; lots of sweet fruit and a distinctly port-like note to it. At first I was sure it was a Zinfandel, but the port note started to nag at me and I wondered if it was Grenache; it has a tendency to oxidise and is often used for port style wines such as Banyuls or Australian 'stickies'.

Should have gone with my first instinct - 1997 Geyserville, and again not a drop of Grenache. That port note is down to a particularly hot year. 74% Zinfandel, 15% Carignan, 10% Petite Sirah, 1% Mourvedre. My least favourite of the four because of that port note, but still a 92.

While Christopher digested our song pairings we moved on to three wines from Ridge's new "classic vineyards" series. These were previewed at the previous bloggers' tasting, which I missed due to being in Europe. However I tried the Cabernet at the Monte Bello components tasting (and purchased all three).

The wines fit into a pretty large market gap between Monte Bello and the rest of the Ridge range. They were created to tie in with Monte Bello's recognition by the Historic Vineyard Society, and are named after some of the early viticultural pioneers who settled the mountain prior to prohibition. They deserve a detailed article of their own, so for now here are some brief notes.

2009 Perrone Cabernet Franc
Herbal, floral nose. Young, sweet red fruit - redcurrant in particular. The most structured of the three; this needs plenty of time. Could be superb in 10+ years. 93+
2009 Klein Cabernet Sauvignon
Sweet bramble, straw nose. Beautiful rich layered black fruit Less tannic than the Perrone, and the most drinkable of the three at present. 94
2009 Torre Ranch Merlot Floral nose, with plum and bramble. Dry cocoa, black fruit, liquorice, anise. Needs time to come together. 92+

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The annual Monte Bello futures tastings are the first glimpse that many of us get at the quality of the most recent vintage. 2011 was a tough year in California; a late, wet spring delayed budbreak; rain during flowering impacted the fruit set resulting in low yields; a cool summer increased the pressure of mildew and botrytis, and also meant that many regions struggled to get fruit to ripen.

The more experienced producers are used to difficult years, and this year they needed to tap that experience. There are lots of techniques that can be used to help the vines such as green harvesting (dropping fruit to allow the rest to ripen) and leaf pulling (removing leaves that aren't wanted). Then there are high-tech solutions such as reflective sheeting to direct sunlight back up at the plants. But even if you do all the work you're still reliant on the weather to do its share, and in 2011 it wasn't exactly cooperating.

On a sunny weekend in March Ridge opened the doors to their Monte Bello Collectors and gave us a taste of 2011. Barrel samples of the four varieties that make up Monte Bello as well as a taste of the first assemblage.


2011 Petit Verdot, Olivos Block. 12.2% Alcohol
I love the nose on Petit Verdot, and I'm always disappointed when it doesn't make the final blend. It opens with bright violet and blueberry notes, but the palate is disappointingly simple; light tannic fruit. This won't be in the blend, but should add some nice aromas to the Estate blend.

2011 Cabernet Franc, North Gate Block. 12.0% Alcohol
The nose shows lots of espresso coffee beans; that comes through on the palate too. It's got a green, leafy note to it and some tart brambly fruit. These young vines won't make it into the final blend, but another parcel will.

2011 Merlot, La Vasseur Block. 12.5% Alcohol
Merlot was hit particularly hard by rain during flowering, and the yieldsa are much lower than usual. There's not much going on on the nose. In the mouth it's rustic and tannic; plenty of acidity but very little fruit. Yet another block that won't be in the Monte Bello.

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, La Vasseur Block. 12.8% Alcohol
Monte Bello has always been a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine, and this year looks like having the highest proportion of Cabernet in a good few years. But as with all the other varietal samples, this one hasn't made the cut, though is still under consideration. The nose is light, with wafer, berry and meat. On the palate it's lightweight, with flavours of blueberry, bramble, tobacco and smoke.


2011 Monte Bello, First Assemblage.
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc.
The nose is rather shy at this stage, with smoke, tobacco and berry emerging with some coaxing. There seems to be a lot less fruit than in a typical Monte Bello at this stage; instead there's lots of coffee, graphite, tannin and cocoa. It's probably going to be a long wait for this to reach its peak. 90-92

The winery was also pouring some new and current releases

2009 Monte Bello
New release. There's an odd, volatile note in the nose and it seems lighter than usual. There's plenty of red fruit and loads of tannin. Sometimes Monte Bello can be approachable on release with some air, but this one seems to need a good rest. 92+

2009 Klein Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
One of three "Classic Vineyard" wines released earlier this year - they were presented at the December bloggers' tasting, which I missed. The other two are a Perrone Vineyard Cabernet Franc and a Torre Ranch Merlot.
Nose is smoky, with plenty of berry fruit. On the palate it explodes with cassis, bramble and blueberry, with a long finish. 93+

2006 Monte Bello
I've had this a few times and it continues to delight. Stuck between two vintages that generally have been more highly regarded, the 2006 stands well. Lots of graphite, smoke and rich, smooth blackberry and blackcurrant fruit it tastes great now and will only get better. 94

2009 Estate Merlot
Ridge don't usually bottle a Merlot on its own; any that doesn't make the Monte Bello tends to end up as a significant proportion of what used to be called the Santa Cruz Mountains blend. In 2009 they had enough fruit to make two Estate wines. The Merlot has a soft, floral nose and soft yet rich fruits - black plum and blueberry. Something to drink now while you're waiting for the others to mature. 91

2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Smoky, berry nose; lovely rustic blackcurrant and bramble fruit. 92


So in conclusion, the 2011 Monte Bello will probably turn out to be a very nice wine in time. However Ridge is such a reliable producer that you can say that about almost everything they make. I may be proven wrong, but I don't see this being one of the greatest vintages; at the moment it's my least favourite since 2004 and possibly since 2000. Right now they have some excellent wines from the 2009 vintage; in addition to the ones above there are also the superb 2009 Geyserville and Lytton Springs to consider. Because of this I passed on the 2011 Monte Bello and instead bought a mixed case of 2009s.

2011 was a tough vintage for growers. It will be an even tougher vintage for sellers. I certainly don't plan on buying anything without tasting it first.

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Last weekend a few of us got together to taste through as many of the local 2007 Cabernets as we could lay our hands on. The event was organised by Paul and Stef Romero of Stefania Wine, who were curious how their wines would stand up against similar wines from the region. The answer? Very well.

The wines were served in groups of three. Most of the people were not trying to take notes, so Wes Barton and myself soon found ourselves behind the rest of the group. As such the notes are somewhat brief, and are in the order the wines were poured. As far as I'm aware none of the wines were decanted or aired prior to pouring.

Our overall impression was that 2007 resulted in some very nice wines indeed. The group favourite was the
the Martin Ranch Dos Rios Vineyard, which was showing particularly well right now. Ridge Monte Bello and Mount Eden Estate did well as you might expect, despite being very young, and the Stefania Santa Cruz Mountains was just outside the top three.

2007 Mount Eden Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nice complex nose - initially cassis, mint and smoke with some mushroom emerging. That mushroom and cassis showed up again on the palate, with drying tannins on the finish. Good depth, and lots of structure.

2007 Cooper Garrod George's Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose was sweeter than #1, with sherbert and bramble.Fruity with bramble and boysenberry, plenty of tannin
eucalyptus coming out time.

2007 Chaine d'Or, Santa Cruz Mountains
Aromas of raw meat and dust.Tight, dry. grippy tannins - clearly needed air. Noticeable green pepper note, with some nice brambly fruit.

2007 Kathryn Kennedy 'Small Lot', Santa Cruz Mountains
Soft nose with nice black and red fruits. Smooth fruit - redcurrant and blackcurrant. I was thinking Saratoga or Santa Clara Valley.

2007 Ridge Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Bright berry nose - blackberry and blackcurrant. Lots of blackcurrant cordial, tannin and - particularly - oak. Way too young.

2007 Martin Ranch Thérèse Vineyards Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Very perfumed nose, sweet smooth fruit, drying tannins. (By this point I was way behind, so my notes started getting terser.)

2007 P•M Staiger, Santa Cruz Mountains
Smoky, brambly nose. Smooth, sweet fruit. While enjoyable, this seemed the least complex of all the wines poured.

2007 La Honda Lonehawk Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Hint of volatile actidity on the nose? Lots of bramble and blackcurrant fruit, and lots of chewy tannin. I was guessing the Kennedy Small Lot.

2007 Stefania, Santa Cruz Mountains
Interesting nose; for some reason it made me think of a toilet puck. Structured berry fruit and lots of mouth-coating tannin. Needs time, but should be great.

2007 Ahlgren Bates Ranch, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose of barnyard and herbs, with the alcohol showing, but on the palate there was sweet redcurrant, turning oaky on the finish.

2007 Stefania Uvas Creek Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Earthy and ripe plum. Lots of sweet peppery blackcurrant fruit, tannin and earth.

2007 Woodside Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose dominated by smoky oak. Rather intense with hints of graphite and spice backed by smooth tannins.

2007 Thomas Fogarty, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose showed smoked sausage. Smooth, sweet cassis; I wouldn't age this, it's good now. I think this was the least expensive wine in the lineup, having been found at Sunnyvale Costco for under $20.

2007 Domaine Eden, Santa Cruz Mountains
Elegant, feminine, light. There's smooth red fruit and bright acidity. I guessed Cooper Garrod, so was only a couple of miles out.

2007 House Family Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose is earthy and smoky. Seemed very tannic; there's some good black fruit there but it needs time.

2007 Ridge Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains
Rich nose showing caramel and eucalyptus. Light with some bright black fruits but decent structure.

2007 Martin Ranch Thérèse Vineyards Dos Rios Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Nose made me think of breakfast cereal. Lots of sweet caramel and black fruit, with nice chewy tannins. Quite the crowd pleaser.

2007 Creekview Vineyards, Santa Clara Valley
Nose of black fruit and eucalyptus; good intensity but very tannic at the moment.

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Summer has finally arrived and last Friday was a gorgeous day for a drive up Black Mountain for another of Ridge's regular wine bloggers' tasting. This event was held in the newly opened Black Mountain Suite - a brand new conference area located above the existing tasting room. The room is accessible via the old winery building, which now boasts fine new reproductions of some old photographs featuring the Ridge founders, a youthful Paul Draper and even Oseo Perrone, who first planted grapes on the mountain top over 100 years ago.

To celebrate the opening of the new suite we were being given the opportunity to taste through the latest library releases of Monte Bello. Ridge maintains a significant stock of older vintages and regularly tastes them to follow their progress. The wines were to be poured blind; our task was simply to put them in chronological order. Sounds easy enough, right?

As we settled down and prepared ourselves we were offered a sample of the as-yet-unreleased 2008 Monte Bello Chardonnay. Nose of green apple, lemon and wet stone; flavours of tart apricot and lemon with fresh grassy notes and some vanilla; the oak was not obtrusive despite it's youth. 92

We then began to taste through 11 vintages of Monte Bello. The wines were labelled A through K and were poured in pairs, which meant that you couldn't go back and compare against a wine from a previous pairing. This made the task harder still. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

A My first impression of this was that the colour suggested a young wine. Unfortunately that can be deceptive with Monte Bello. It seemed lighter than the accompanying wine B. The nose seemed ripe and fruity nose, with lots of black fruit, some mint and eucalyptus; the palate had plenty of tannin and blackcurrant, but overall it seemed a little lean and tart; a bit closed. Overall I think it was my least favourite and I guessed that it was from a 'lesser' vintage, such as 2004, 2000 or even 1998. 91

The colour of B was noticeably darker than A; a deep garnet. The nose was very rich and rustic; a much thicker mouthfeel, with stacks of tannins, less evident fruit and lots of earth, though less acidity. A big and meaty wine. I guessed it to be significantly older than A; probably mid 1990s. 92+

C seemed darker still than B. Plenty of that eucalyptus and mint; rich and balanced. Lots of bramble, blackcurrant and black cherry flavours. The tannins are much smoother. I could drink this all day. It still had plenty of life, but I doubted I'd want to keep it much longer. Mid 1980s? 95

D was the first wine that really showed significant age. The colour was a deep brownish red, and despite having been double-decanted there was still some sediment. It smelled old - lots of leather and cigar box notes. In the mouth there was still some fruit but loads of secondary characteristics. The tannin was mostly gone. It was certainly the oldest so far; I guessed it would probably be the oldest overall. It didn't improve in the glass beyond the first delicious taste; this was a fine example of a mature Monte Bello. Certainly 1970s, maybe even older. 96



E was the first controversial wine. The color was a dark red, with some bricking around the rim. However the nose was odd; almost cheesy - Fred to my right called it soy. Certainly it had some savoury notes; it tasted fine and the odd note blew off somewhat with time. 92

Chris took note of the various comments on the nose and reappeared with a second example of the same vintage. The colour of this bottle seemed slightly redder; the odd note wasn't present and overall it showed significantly more fruit. It was alittle cold to start with and improved as it went on. I began to wonder if this was the much-maligned 1986, though it didn't seem quite that old. Early 90s? 94+

F was another great mature example though it didn't seem as old as D. There was a nice red-brown colour and a fascinating nose of rich leather and dried fruit.
I guessed it was younger than D but not by much. Probably mid 1970s. 96

G was another dark one, again showing plenty of sediment despite the decanting. The nose didn't seem to be giving that much away; some smoke and earth. On the palate there was huge fruit; lots of bramble and blackcurrant. The tannins are chewy, so it's clearly a younger wine that will improve with age. Mid to late 1990s? 95+

H Looked older than G. It was very earthy, both on the nose and the palate. I took a wild stab and guessed early 1990s. 94

I think of all the wines I surprised me the most. There seemed to be some browning on the meniscus; Lots of coffee and chocolate and stacks of delicious fruit. I jokingly suggested the 2005; it seemed a big wine from a ripe year so I guessed 1990. Wes thought it seemed older. 95+

I think everyone instantly recognised J as a barrel sample of the 2010, if only by the bright purple colour. This has got better each time I've tried it; there's huge primary fruit and immense structure - it's likely to be a particularly long lived vintage. Some of the tasters went so far as to declare it their favourite. 95+

Finally K was clearly a very recent release; I couldn't be certain which but the youngest wine poured (after the barrel sample). At this point we were wrapping up and I failed to take detailed notes. 93+

So after much umming and ahhing I finally decided on the ordering J K A G I B H C E F D. Boy was I wrong; the only ones I correctly spotted were the oldest and the newest. The actual ordering was J K B C A E G H I F D. I only managed to put 4 out of 11 in their correct positions. I was only slightly encouraged by the fact that the best score anyone managed was 7 out of 11!


D 1977 ($400) - Perhaps it should have been easier to spot, given that I only tasted it a month ago. In comparison to the rest it seemed even older, though still holding its own.
F 1978 ($475) - I got this too. 1978 was a very good year, so it's unsurprising that it seemed noticeably younger than D
I 1981 ($185) - I was astonished by this. I'd have said it was a decade younger. I don't recall having tasted anything from 1981; the advice I've been given in the past was that 81-83 was a run of three weaker vintages. Excellent value.
H 1985 ($300) - This one fooled me by a decade as well. I had it as early 1990s.
G 1990 ($250) - Getting a bit closer; I had it as late 1990s
E 1994 ($250) - I went for early 1990s. I think that qualifies.
A 1995 ($300) - I was wrong about the lesser vintage, but I'll stand by the 'closed' comment. I think this needs more time.
C 1999 ($225) - Chris was amused by my comment that I could drink this all day, since the genesis of these tastings can perhaps be traced to comments that Wes and I made on the same wine a couple of years ago - see my original post and the notes from the follow up tasting. I think the 1999 is showing rather well right now and would again question whether it's one to hang on to in the long term.
B 2000 ($225) - Slightly younger than I thought. Surprisingly big for what's generally considered a weak vintage.
K 2006 ($150)
J 2010 ($NR)

Huge thanks to Chris and the staff at Ridge for a hugely enjoyable - and somewhat humbling - event.

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Has it really been 3 months since the last Bloggers' event? Once again, Chris Watkins invited a group of wine bloggers to a tasting of current, unreleased and library wines at the Monte Bello tasting rooms. A dozen of us braved torrential rains and hailstones; some of the regulars were joined by Chiara Shannon of K&L Wines, Melanie Friedman and Erin Grant.

Chris likes to have a different theme for each event, and this turned out to be a demonstration of how Ridge wines age over decades.

We began with a couple of the newly releases. Ridge has dropped the "Santa Cruz Mountains" designation in favour of "Estate" for both the Chardonnay and the red blend, which is now a fully fledged Cabernet.

2009 Estate Chardonnay
Nose shows peach, apricot, a touch of of almond and creamy vanilla. On the palate there's sweet white fruit up front, and a salty note. There's some bitterness from the oak and tannin on the finish; it needs a little cellar time. 90+

2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Earthy nose with blackcurrant, mint and herb. Tart fruit flavours of bramble and blackcurrant backed with earth and smoke. Good structure; firm tannins on the finish. Nice now, but will repay cellaring. 92

We moved on to a 10 year comparison of Geyserville - the newly released 2009 vintage and the 1999 from the library.

2009 Geyserville
The 44th vintage is a blend of 74% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane, 6% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet and 1% Mataro.
The colour is a bright red-purple. The nose is tart, with a medicinal note. Flavours of cherry and redcurrant, with bright acidity. 91 It's a nice wine, but it was completely overshadowed by

1999 Geyserville
Blend of 68% Zinfandel, 16% Carignane and 16% Petite Sirah.
A deep brick red colour. Lovely mature nose and great flavours of dark fruit, dried cranberry, leather. There's amazing depth and a long finish. 94

This was followed by three impressive vintages of Monte Bello spanning two decades.

1985 Monte Bello
93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot
Similar deep brick red colour to the Geyserville.
Aromas of leather, dried fruit and hayloft; palate showed earth with some blackcurrant (but not a lot), and savoury, meaty notes. Still a surprising amount of tannin on the finish.
The fruit showed more clearly when tasted alongside food. After the tasting was over I went back and retasted all the Monte Bellos and was surprised by how the fruit showed - here's a 25 year wine that needs air to show its best. 95

1995 Monte Bello
The nose was musty and earthy, with notes of menthol. The palate showed lots of bright acidity and earth, hiding the fruit, and lots of tannin. It seemed shut down tight and I wasn't going to assign a rating, but revisiting after a couple of hours the fruit came out - great, rustic brambly and herbal notes. Clearly many years from its peak. 94+

2005 Monte Bello
This wine has always been a delight; the nose is big and fruity, with mint and earth notes. On the palate there's lots of intense black fruit - blackberry, blueberry and blackcurrant, with graphite, smoke and pepper - the finish just goes on and on. With air it got even better and showed a liquorice note. The best young Monte Bello I've tasted. 97

We then moved to two examples from the ATP programme, which focuses mainly on Rhone varieties.

2004 Lytton Estate Syrah
Cofermented with 10% Viognier, and blended with an additional 8% Grenache.
The nose shows spicy, peppery red fruit which follows through onto the palate. Notes of redcurrant, tobacco and allspice. 91

2006 Lytton Estate Syrah
The 2006 is not yet released. The nose is altogether more assertive than the 2004 and overall there's significantly more going on; lots of red fruit and spice with a long finish. Definitely one to watch out for. 94

Alan Bree then teased us with two blind wines from his extensive personal Ridge cellar. He firmly believes that all of Ridge's wines deserve cellaring and are typically consumed too young. We had no other clues as to what was being offered.

Both wines had a similar brick red colour to the 1999 Geyserville and 1985 Monte Bello, so my guess was that the wines were 10-15 years old.

The first had a light nose that suggested cigarette smoke. Nicely mature, with notes of sweet raspberry fruit and some good tannins. The raspberry and tannin made me guess a Zinfandel blended with Petite Sirah. (Dead wrong)

The second showed a slightly redder colour, suggesting that it was the younger of the two. There was a sour note on the nose that I didn't care for, but the flavour was surprisingly sweet. Again a raspberry note made me think it was a Zinfandel, but the tannins were much softer.

The wines turned out to be 1997 and 1998 Sangiovese, from Dry Creek Valley. The 1997 was blended with 17% Merlot, while the 1998 was 100% Sangiovese. I would never have guessed this as I was unaware that Ridge had ever made a Sangiovese. (Apparently they took over the vineyard in 1997 and replanted it in 1999.) Two fascinating wines, probably slightly past their peak despite the tannins on the 1997, but still interesting and tasty. I didn't score them at the time, but in retrospect I'd probably say 89 each.

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The annual barrel tasting at Monte Bello is an opportunity to get an early glimpse at the most recent vintage. 2010 was a particularly cool year punctuated by occasional heat spike; from what I've heard it was not an easy year for the local growers. The Monte Bello tasting showcases four distinct varieties, as well as the first assemblage of the Monte Bello blend.

We began with the 2007 Monte Bello Chardonnay, with its enticing nose of lemon, lime and honeysuckle. The oak is prominent, as is typical on the new releases; there's creamy lime and mineral flavours, but the oak takes over on the long finish. 93

The barrel sample of Merlot was somewhat unyielding. There was a nice nose of red fruits and floral notes, but on the palate it was structured and herbal, with taut acidity.

The sample of Cabernet Franc was the first harvest from recently planted vines, and will not be a part of the Monte Bello assemblage. The nose showed ash or fireplace, with notes of brambles and coffee beans. On the palate there was lots of tannin and some earth, but very little fruit.

Cabernet Sauvignon makes up the bulk of Monte Bello. This sample showed smoke, brambles and blackcurrant. On the palate there was smooth black fruit backed by earth, light tannins and a touch of dried herbs.

The final component of Monte Bello is Petite Verdot. It's a late ripening grape and thus does not always get ripe enough to be included in the blend, but when it does it adds spice and a violet note. Since 2010 was a cool year it was doubtful whether the fruit would ripen fully; the winery went to the trouble of laying reflective film between the rows to help the process; it worked. The sample had a great nose, with floral violet notes. On the palate there was rich, black fruit and good acidity with a smoky finish and good tannins that were not too pronounced.

So on to the first assemblage of 2010 Monte Bello. The initial breakdown is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merot, 5% Petite Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The volet notes of the Petite Verdot were evident on nose; there were notes of fireplace and black fruit. At first tasting it seemed taut and tannic; there was some black fruit, meaty and mineral notes. It seemed particularly difficult to judge at this early stage; I got the impression that it's going to take longer than average to show itself fully. On second tasting, which saw much more air, the fruit became more evident. It does give the impression of being a long-lived vintage.

For comparison we then tasted a 1992 Monte Bello poured from 375ml bottles. This turned out to be an interesting example of how bottle variation is amplified with age; one sample showed cedar, leather, black fruit and herbal notes, with a rich, layered, earthy finish. In contrast a second sample from a different bottle was somewhat earthy; the nose showed barnyard and herbs, with black fruit, earth and leather flavours. Both were of excellent quality. 94

Down in the main tasting room they were pouring the newly released 2008 Monte Bello. It's come together nicely since the barrel tasting two years ago; the nose has violet, mint, meat and brambles. It's young and structured, with rich fruit and mint but overall seems slightly thinner than recent vintages. It will be interesting to retaste in a year or two. 92

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For the third edition of Ridge's quarterly bloggers' tasting we were invited up to the Lytton Springs facility in Healdsburg. This was a first time for me; though I've visited the Dry Creek area several times and think it's arguably the best AVA overall for Zinfandel, I've never been to Ridge's other tasting room.

The ultra-modern facility was built around 10 years ago and combines numerous environmentally friendly features. (You can read about it here.) It's constructed from recycled lumber and bales of rice straw, covered with adobe made from the local clay. The shining roof is covered with solar cells which produce up to 65kW. The crushpad is shaded from the sun by a large overhang - this last feature was of particular importance, since it was an unusually hot weekend for September and that was where we would be tasting.

The focus of the event was on Ridge's Lytton Springs bottling. This is a field blend of mainly Zinfandel, with some Petite Sirah and Carignane. Though the blend typically contains more than 75% Zinfandel the varietal designation was dropped after 1992.

We were to taste 10 vintages spanning 20 years. Now as a general rule I don't age Zinfandels beyond around 5-8 years, usually much less. I find that when bottled as a pure varietal the fresh raspberry notes are so pleasant in the early years that it's hard to justify keeping them. In addition the current trend - particularly in hotter regions such as Amador, Lodi or Paso Robles - seems to be for wines that are high in alcohol and low in tannin and acidity, wines that aren't intended to be kept around. But as always Ridge is an exception; many of their Zinfandels will age gracefully for a decade or more.

All the wines were opened around 2-4 hours earlier and double decanted.

First flight

We began with the older vintages, starting with the oldest first.

1987 Lytton Springs Zinfandel
Red/brown brick in colour. An interesting meaty, musty nose, with hints of mint or wintergreen.
Plenty of dark fruit and nice weight, though there's not much tannin left. I wouldn't have guessed that it was 20+ years old. Drink now. 93

1992 Lytton Springs Zinfandel
Very similar in colour to the 1987, though slightly darker. More herbal than the 1987, less musty but possessing similar fruit and mint notes. On the palate it's really intense; strong flavours of black cherry and raspberry which go on and on. One of the best old Zinfandels I've tasted. Drink now. 94.

1993 Lytton Springs
A lighter brick red than the previous two. Nose shows smoky, gamey meat, hawthorn, and that minty note again that seems to be a signature of Lytton Springs. Lighter bodied, but nicely balanced. Flavours of raspberry and pomegranate, light tannins and a nice finish. Drink now. 93

1996 Lytton Springs
A darker, deeper, more opaque reddish colour.
There's a definite consistency of those herbal, meaty flavours between vintages. The minty note is less pronounced, but still detectable. On the palate there's plenty of rich dark berry fruit and for the first time the tannins are pronounced. This one still has plenty of potential, so hold on to it. 92+

1999 Lytton Springs
Deep red in colour, very little fading in the meniscus. Got some initial heat on the nose; aromas of white pepper, black plum and raspberry. In the mouth it's very spicy/peppery. There's lots of primary raspberry fruit, and it's definitely the sweetest so far. Seems to possess less structure than the 1996, so I'd drink it sooner rather than later. 92

Second Flight

After a short break we resumed with the newer vintages. This time we tasted the younger wines first.

2007 Lytton Springs
A deep, inky purple colour. The nose shows liquorice and berry. There is some of that herbal and mint character but it's very much in the background at this stage. In the mouth the intense fruit hits you. There's loads of raspberry, with a touch of cocoa. Some ripe sweetness again, as with the 1999. Obviously it's very young. 92+

2005 Lytton Springs
The most floral nose of all the wines tasted, and possibly the highest acidity (though that's one of the few details Ridge omit from their notes.) Tart golden raspberries, with citrus and herbal notes. The dark fruit and tannin from the Petite Sirah shows well. This should be a very long lived wine; apparently it's one of Paul Draper's favourites too. 94

2003 Lytton Springs
While similar to the other young vintages the nose was noticeably lighter. Overall it seemed tighter than others; the fruit more restrained. There was an interesting brine and baking soda note particularly on the finish. 91+

2002 Lytton Springs
This had a particularly ripe fruity nose, with blackcurrant and eucalyptus. Immensely rich, layered currant fruit, with some bitter chocolate and a great finish. Reminiscent of a cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon. Just lovely. 95

2001 Lytton Springs
The nose on this was very different to many of the others; notes of autumn leaves and dried fruit. Flavours of dried berry, with savoury notes but there was a rather harsh note; perhaps because it seemed to be a little warmer than the rest. The tannins also appeared more harsh. Showed the least well of all the wines; probably needs more time. 90+

Third Flight

For a final flight Chris had brought three older vintages of Monte Bello in 375s. This is a flight that's going to be available in the Monte Bello tasting room in October. The wines were opened and tasted individually to check for variation, then two bottles combined in a decanter.

1991 Monte Bello
Really herbal nose. Light fruit. Some eucalyptus notes.
Lots of fruit on the palate; Blackcurrant, bramble jelly, some leather. There's a fresh earth note on the finish. Thoroughly delicious. 95

1992 Monte Bello
Amazingly rich red colour in comparison to the similarly aged Lyttons.
Similar herbal notes to the 1991;
If anything it seems more mature.
But on the palate it's another story - very fresh fruit, bright acidity. Tannins are soft but still present, less earthy. Hint of menthol on the finish. 94

1994 Monte Bello
Interesting smoky note on the nose, in addition to the herbal and cassis notes.
Lithe acidity, good fruit. Still plenty of acid and tannin; despite being from a 375 it will still stand cellaring for several more years. 93

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I got together with some friends recently for a pot-luck dinner and tasting around a dozen vintages of Ridge Monte Bello spanning a few decades.

Most of the older wines were in great shape, though as you can see the cork on the 1973 was in a terrible state and it came as no real surprise to find the wine hopelessly oxidised.

We began with a 1999 Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay - Light mineral nose, lemon thyme and light oak. Initially showed some sulphur, but that soon dissipated. Flavours of peaches, cream, and some mineral notes. Plenty of oak on the finish. Still very youthful. 93

First Flight

1973 Ridge Monte Bello
The fill level seemed a little low and we soon found out why; the cork had totally failed and wine was bubbling up around it. DOA.

1983 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet
The 1983 Monte Bello was declassified and all the fruit went into the Santa Cruz Mountains bottling. On the nose there's some nice black fruit, a little herbal, perhaps vegetal. There's perhaps rather too much acid for the remaining fruit; it's simple but pleasant, and not bad for a 25 year old wine from a weak vintage. 87

1984 Ridge Monte Bello
There's a lot going on here; earthy, brambly fruit and some smoky notes. On the palate it's big with loads of smooth black fruit. The tannins are almost fully resolved, and there's nice acidity. This got better with air over the next 15 minutes. 93

1986 Ridge Monte Bello
A brighter nose than the 1984, with lots of pencil box and brambles. Again there's nice rich black fruit and a bit more tannin than the 1984. However where the 1984 seemed to improve with air the 1986 seemed to decline. Perhaps tasting the 1984 after the 1983 gave it an advantage, but to me the 1986 didn't seem quite as strong. Though we didn't tally scores the group seemed to be pretty evenly split between the two. 92

Second Flight

1992 Ridge Monte Bello, served from 375s
Meaty nose, with blackcurrant and brambles. Rich smooth fruit, nicely balanced, very drinkable. Coming from a half bottle certainly helped, though there was some definite variation between the two. I was lucky and got the better of the two. 94

1996 Ridge Monte Bello
There was initially a little heat on the nose, which soon passed leaving dark berry, plum and blackcurrant notes. Stacks of rich black fruit, with a hint of mint.
There is still plenty of tannin as you'd expect, and it continued to improve in the glass. More elegant than the 97, and still evolving. 95

1997 Ridge Monte Bello
1997 was a riper year, and this shows on the palate. It's a more fruit-forward wine than the 1996 (though still very restrained by Californian standards) - layers of rich sweet fruit and a hint of smoke, with a longer finish than the 1996. For now I gave it the edge, though I think in the long term the 96 might be a better bet. 95+

1998 Ridge Monte Bello
Not declassified, but perhaps it should have been. Apparently Ridge pulled out all the stops to help the grapes ripen in this terribly wet El Nino vintage. A much lighter weight wine than any other in the flight, with cranberry and plum notes, and some green tannins. Seemed simple compared to the others, but reasonable. 88

Third Flight

Each of these had been double-decanted that morning.
2001 Ridge Monte Bello
Rather bright on the nose - cranberry, black cherry and blackcurrant on the nose and palate. I also got liquorice root. Plenty of chewy tannins backed with loads of acidity. Keep it locked away for at least a decade. 94+

2006 Ridge Monte Bello
I felt this was a slightly weaker showing than the last few times I've tasted it up at Ridge - perhaps they had it open much longer. Loads of structure, with a dark chocolate note that I didn't notice previously. I took the last quarter home and finished it a couple of days later; it didn't seem to have faded in the slightest, which bodes well for a long future. 93+

2007 Ridge Monte Bello
I didn't really take notes on the 2007; I've had it several times recently and I think it's delicious. There was some discussion as to whether it's got the same ageing potential as other vintages, but I remain confident that it's a 20+ year wine. 94+

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Another trip up Monte Bello Road on a beautiful spring Sunday morning, albeit unseasonably chilly thanks to some cold Alaskan air that has been visiting us recently. The vines are flowering, as are the California poppies, and the air was clear giving great views all across the valley.

But we didn't just come here to admire the views. Last weekend was the final assemblage tasting for the 2009 Monte Bello, as well as an opportunity to taste a few older vintages.

2008 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Citrus, vanilla, mineral and some fig on the nose. Nice rounded mouthfeel; creamy lemon and wet stone with a toasty finish. I still say this needs 3-5 years. 91+

1990 Monte Bello
Poured from a 375ml bottle. The colour was brick red; the nose was much more mature than I'd have expected from such a strong vintage - mushrooms, leather and a little dried fruit. On the palate it had tart berry flavours, earthy leather and a hint of dill pickle. I'd consider it past its peak. 88

1992 Monte Bello
Also poured from a 375ml bottle. Quite a contrast to the 1990; the nose had plenty of smooth red berry fruit and fresh earth. On the palate everything was integrated; still some good tannins, plenty of fruit, with leather, tart cranberry and herbal notes. Drinking well, but will continue to develop. 92

1995 Monte Bello
This was poured from a 750ml bottle. Lots of black fruit and some eucalyptus on the nose. In the mouth there's loads of rich fruit and bags of tannin; it's still very youthful. Pleasant now, but some way from its zenith. 93

2009 Monte Bello, barrel sample
The final blend is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot.
The colour is a deep red/black. The Petit Verdot seems to dominate the nose with its floral, violet notes, and some fresh bread. Stacks of rich sweet fruit; bramble, currant, graphite, with a dry herbal finish. Lots of potential; another clear winner. 94-96

Down in the tasting room they were pouring the current releases:

2007 Santa Cruz Mountains
The nose has a nice balance of herbal and fruit notes. Good fruit - tart black cherry, brambles and blackcurrant with a herbal finish. Good value. 92+

2006 Monte Bello
I've had this a few times recently; it never disappoints. The nose is enticing with lots of smoky black fruit; on the palate it's rich and rather concentrated, with loads of blackcurrant and brambly fruit, and a good long finish. 94

We then had a picnic and opened some interesting older bottles:

1987 Geyserville
Mature nose, leather and musty. Still has good fruit; raspberry, cranberry, lots of leather. 91

1994 Lytton Estate
Tart berry and light leather notes. Rich sweet raspberry candy, tobacco and wood. 91

1986 Monte Bello
Mature vegetal, rather stinky nose. But on the palate there's sweet fruit and plenty of it, along with earth and leather. 92

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Chris Watkins, tasting room manager at Monte Bello and Ridge's blogger-in-chief, recently invited a few local bloggers up the mountain for what is hopefully the first in a regular series of events. As you probably know, the influential critic Robert Parker Jr recently reviewed some recent vintages of Monte Bello for the first time in several years. Chris thought it might be interesting to get the opinions of some of us wine blobbers as Mr Parker disparagingly calls us, and see how our opinions equated to those of His Bobness.

Never ones to decline an opportunity to drive up the beautiful mountain, my friend Wes Barton and I headed up on a glorious spring morning. Also in attendance were Thea "The Wine Brat" Dwelle, Amy Cleary, Gary "Iron" Chevsky and Liren Baker

I've added Mr Parker's scores where available. For the record I was pretty sure I could quote his scores for the Monte Bellos but couldn't remember what he'd scored the others beyond the fact that I thought they were all 90+



We began with a couple of whites. Jimsomare is the lower of the Monte Bello vineyards, lying below the fog line. The 500 acre ranch has supplied fruit for over 40 years and is currently under a 30 year lease. In the past Ridge have made both Cabernet and Zinfandel from the vineyard, but this is the first Jimsomare designated Chardonnay.
In 2008 the Chardonnay yields were quite good. During the selection for the Monte Bello and Santa Cruz Mountain Chardonnays it became evident that a few lots showed a particular character that didn't fit the profile. In all around 8 barrels were identified, and as a result this one-time blend was created. As yet unreleased, it will probably be priced below the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the mid $30s.

2008 Jimsomare Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
14.8% alcohol. Typical pale straw colour that Ridge Chardonnays usually have.
Nose shows tropical fruit, lemon and fig. There's some minerality, but less than usual. On the palate it's creamy and smooth, with lemon and sweet green apple. Nice longish finish, with a hint of caramel. Showing well for a young Ridge Chardonnay - one to drink young. 91

2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
Nose shows lemon, pear and toasty oak. There's significantly more acidity than the Jimsomare, and more minerality, with less immediate richness and a crisp, lemony finish. This needs a year or two. 91+

Now on to some flights of Zinfandel. The East Bench comes from a vineyard in Dry Creek Valley that is newly replanted with cuttings taken from Lytton Springs. The first vintage was in 2006.

2008 Zinfandel, East Bench, Dry Creek Valley
Not yet released.
Light, herbal nose with raspberry and cherry notes. Lots of tannin, flavours of "red vines" and liquorice; there's some good bright acidity but a fairly short finish. 87 (RP90-92)

We were supposed to be tasting the 2007 East Bench too, but it was unavailable so the 2006 was substituted. Just out of interest, here's my note on the 2007 from a tasting in January:
2007 Zinfandel, East Bench, Dry Creek Valley
Ripe nose, with raspberry and date. Big, rich brambly fruit with a herbal note. Good structure, tannin shows on the finish. 90 (RP90+)

2006 Zinfandel, East Bench, Dry Creek Valley
A more expressive nose than the 2008, with spicy oak and sweet berry aromas. In the mouth it's rich and smooth, with lovely raspberry and spice flavours. 89

Geyserville and Lytton Springs are the pinnacle of the Ridge Zinfandels. Two very different wines, each is a field blend which often contain less than 75% Zinfandel and thus are no longer explicitly designated as such. Both have an enviable track record for ageability; typically I find the Lytton Springs to be more approachable when young.

2008 Geyserville, Sonoma County
20% Carignan 6% Petite Sirah, 2% Mataro
Smoky nose, with dark, brambly fruit. Full bodied and a good mouthfeel and nicely balanced. Complex flavours of raspberry and black fruits. Dry, astringent finish. Drink some time after 2012 92 (RP90-92)

2007 Geyserville, Sonoma County
22% Carignan, 18% Petite Sirah, 2% Mataro
There are toffee, cedar and floral notes on the nose. A dark and brooding wine, with the additional Petite Sirah really showing. Lots of chewy tannin partially masks the black fruit; here's a wine that needs 3-5 years to show and will last 20+ years. Tough to rate; right now for me it's a 91+ but in time will most likely rate 2-3 point higher. (RP91)

2008 Lytton Springs, Dry Creek Valley
21% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignan
This had a lovely brambly, raspberry, spicy nose. Very fruit forward, with concentrated raspberry, black cherry and allspice. Showing well now but posessing enough structure to merit ageing. 92 (RP91-93)

2007 Lytton Springs, Dry Creek Valley
The nose is more integrated nose than the 2008, with dark brambly fruit and smoky oak. Good concentrated fruit and a fairly long, tannic finish.. More structured than the 2008, this needs 2-3 years. 92+ (RP92)

Then we switched to the local juice. Starting in the late 1970s Ridge began producing a second Cabernet Sauvignon called the Santa Cruz Mountains Estate. Lots that were considered too fruit-forward, less structured went into this second label.
Starting with the 2000 vintage the wine developed a specific identity, becoming a blend that typically contains around 40% Merlot and under 60% Cabernet. Consequently the Santa Cruz Mountains is no longer designated as a Cabernet Sauvignon.

2007 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate
58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot.
Big nose of blackcurrant, menthol and coffee. Lots of plum and blackcurrant backed by nice herbal notes. Great fruit without being too fruit-forward; nice structure - lot of tannin on the finish. A great food wine; approachable now with air but will repay cellaring. 93 (RP88)

2006 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate
56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot 2% Petite Verdot
Nice bright nose - lots of blackcurrant. The small amount of Petite Verdot contributes some floral violet notes. Initially very tannic, though there's good fruit in the background. Nice notes of grilled meat and dried herbs. Needs time. 91 (RP91)

2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate
58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot.
Elegant nose; meaty, brambly and smoky, with a touch of mint. This is now nicely integrated; the tannins are much smoother than the younger examples. Tart brambly, blackcurrant fruit and a good, longish finish. Everything is in the right place. 93+ (RP92)

And finally a wonderful vertical of young Monte Bellos. We began with a barrel sample of the 2008 and ended with an interesting older example.

2008 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains Barrel sample
A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot. None of the Petite Verdot or Cabernet Franc made the final selection.
Savoury nose; ash, brambles, red currant and meat. On the palate there are soft, silky tannins and smooth black fruit. Unsurprisingly it's still very primary. 91-94 (RP94-96)

2007 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
This was only opened that morning and on the initial showing I can see why Parker didn't rate it as highly as I did.
The nose showed smoked meat, black fruit, mint, pencil shavings. In the mouth there is concentrated black fruit but it's very tight and not showing anything like as well as it did the last time I tried it.
So having tasted though the rest of the line-up I came back to it. By then it had opened up quite a lot and was showing far more fruit and less of the tannin. Still very primary, but good delineation, nice black fruit and a long finish. I'm right, Parker is wrong. 95+ (RP92)

2006 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose is floral, with violets and black fruit. Silky tannins, great black fruit and nice herbal notes with a longish finish. 93+ (RP94)

2005 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
What a great nose this wine has. Intense and smoky, with rich black fruit. On the palate it's very concentrated and chewy. Wes had warned that the last bottle he had was closing down, but there was no sign of that here. Full bodied, rich and smooth, elegantly structured with great black fruit and a long lingering finish. Amazingly drinkable right now for a young Monte Bello, but try to keep your hands off it. A true classic. 96+¹ (RP97+)

2004 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Interesting grassy, straw nose with some blackcurrant fruit. In the mouth it's tannic, herbal and earthy, with some bell pepper notes and a dry, medium length finish. This is the only release I've passed on since 2001; it will be interesting to see what happens in 10 years. 91 (RP91)

2003 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
The nose had an unusual 'grain silo' note, along with the typical black fruit and violets. Smooth rich fruit - blackcurrant blackberry, coffee and camphor. Tannins are pronounced on the finish. 94 (RP95+)

1996 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Deep brick red colour. The nose has signs of brett, with earthy, barnyard and leather notes. There are layers of rich fruit; black berry, pomegranite, cherry. The hint of brett also provides interesting secondary flavours of leather and cigar box. Smooth, fine tannins. Long finish.
Still very youthful; hopefully the brett won't continue to develop and end up overpowering the wine. Worth keeping an eye on. 94

I'd like to thank Chris and Darren for hosting us and opening such an array of great wines. Here's hoping that this turns out to be a regular event.

¹ Just as an aside, since I adopted the 100 point scale 96+ is the highest score I've awarded.

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The Ridge Monte Bello component tasting is always a fun event, even on a cold, foggy and windy March morning. For many of us it's the first chance to get personal experience of the most recent vintage as well as to try the most recent Monte Bello release.

As usual the tasting was held in the barn just up the hill from the tasting room. Paul Draper and Eric Baugher were in attendance to pour the first assemblage and talk about the vintage, but due to the lack of a babysitter I wasn't able to spend any time chatting.

We began with the newly released Chardonnay:

2007 Ridge Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
This had a lovely nose of fig, oak, stone and lemon. On the palate it's rather light and creamy, with some lemon and lots of briney mineral notes. Definitely not your typical California Chardonnay. Right now the palate doesn't really seem to live up to the richness of the nose, although it was rather cold. I suspect others will rate this much more highly than I did, and with time I might well agree. 89+

2009 Cabernet Franc, barrel sample.
Nice aromas of fresh blackberry, liquorice root and green pepper. But on the palate there was lots of tart acidity and harsh, green tannin, which was masking what little redcurrant fruit there was. I'd be very surprised if this makes the final blend.

2009 Merlot, barrel sample.
Rather good nose; some oak is showing already. Nice plum and herb notes.
Good balance; flavours of mint or wintergreen, with nice black plum/cherry fruit. Plenty of tannin on the finish. Impressive.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, barrel sample.
Nose is floral with plenty of blackcurrant fruit. Great mouthfeel; rich and full bodied, with plenty of good fruit and a dry, astringent finish.

2009 Petite Verdot, barrel sample.
One day a region is going to take on Petite Verdot and allow it to show in its own right. It is an interesting grape that seems to add a lot to the Monte Bello blend, particularly aromatically.
This sample - darkest of all the barrel samples - had a powerful nose of violets, backed with black fruit. On the palate there was soft black fruit with fresh earth notes and good structure.

2009 Monte Bello, First assemblage.
67% Cabernet Sauvignon 25% Merlot 8% Petite Verdot
I didn't get chance to talk to Eric or Paul about this, but I did hear Eric confirm that they are particularly pleased with the way that the Merlot turned out this year. All the Petit Verdot is in the blend and as I expected no Cabernet Franc. There are some lots of Cabernet Sauvignon still in consideration so the final composition could be higher.
Beautiful nose of violets, blackberry, blackcurrant, smoke and pencil shavings. There is lovely rich fruit ans plenty of structure. At present the finish seemed somewhat lean, but that's something which will develop. Certainly seems to be another winner. 94-96

2007 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Fresh black fruit and spicy oak on the nose. Rich flavours of mint, herb and blackcurrant with plenty tannin. Really needs at least 3-5 years and probably much longer. 92

2007 Ridge Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Good powerful yet elegant nose of violets, cassis liqueur, graphite and cedar.
Wow. Hugely rich and concentrated by Monte Bello standards. Oak is a little harsh right now, but to my mind this is significantly better than the 2006. 95+

Wes brought some great examples of older Ridge bottlings which we opened with lunch. I took brief notes of a couple of them:

1975 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
From the days when it was officially billed as a Cabernet, this includes just 4% Merlot
Nose is earthy, almost stinky, with redcurrant notes. For a 35 year old wine it still had loads of sweet fruit and some nice leather. Amazingly youthful, with a long finish showing mint and herbs 93

1998 Petite Sirah, "Paddock Block", York Creek
Rather mature for a Petite Sirah, but this was from the very wet 1998 vintage. Nice earthy, black fruit. Very smooth with herbal and leather notes. 88

Some great notes as usual by Richard Jennings on CellarTracker

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Ridge was officially founded 50 years ago this week. In recognition of this achievement here are a couple of excellent articles by Eric Asimov in the New York Times and Jon Bonné of the San Francisco Chronicle.

In addition, the latest edition of the Wine Advocate has come out with some very nice scores for recent vintages of Monte Bello, including a 97+ for the stunning 2005 and a 94-96 for the 2008. Congratulations, guys.

The winery is celebrating by organising a grand retrospective tasting and inviting several major wine writers. Sadly, my invitation seems to have been mislaid, however I'll be heading up the mountain this weekend for the annual Monte Bello Futures Tasting.

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The almost universally accepted rule is that larger format bottles age slowly, smaller format bottles age more quickly. The science behind this isn't entirely understood, but it seems to involve a long, slow oxidation process. Larger bottles have a far greater ratio of the volume inside to the size of the opening, so the ageing process takes longer. So the good people at Ridge thought it might be fun to open some older vintages from half bottles for a change, to see how they were doing.

First off though, the current releases:

2006 Monte Bello Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
On this occasion the nose was showing lemon thyme, nuts and a hint of smoke. Flavours of crisp, flinty lemon. As with most Ridge whites the oak is present without being unobtrusive, and there's a long, mouthwatering finish. 91+

2006 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Deep red colour. Nose is herbal, with violets and blueberry. Bright blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, chewy tannins, medium finish. 91+

2006 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Unusually tight and more tannic than the last time I tasted. Smoke, blueberry and graphite on the nose. Some fruit but very closed, unyielding; didn't seem to want to give much away.

Now onto the main event: 1987, 1988 and 1993 vintages from 375ml bottles. I didn't make a note of the composition, but it's on the Ridge website for the curious.

1987 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Russet in colour, the meniscus is very pale, almost clear. Very mature nose - leather, cigar box, hint of Brett? Palate is earthy. Still some tannin left and shy blackcurrant fruit, hint of mint. Nice finish. A good example of a wine that's showing its age; should probably have been drunk by now. I bet the 750s of this are in fine form right now. 89

1988 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Brick red colour, menuscus less faded than the 1987.
Lovely nose - cedar, pencil shavings and smoke. It tasted a decade younger than the vintage; there was bright brambly fruit and a finish that was a little soft. 93

1993 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Also a decade younger than the vintage would suggest. Deep red-purple colour, almost opaque, partially due to a large amount of sediment. (The wines had all been decanted; I must have got the last pour.)
Some bricking evident on the meniscus, but youthful and fruity on the nose. Concentrated blackcurrant, mint and eucalyptus. Lots of acid and tannin. 94

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Photo by Richard Jennings
Local wine collector Ross Bott organises a wine tasting group that meets twice a week. Last Thursday's theme was a retrospective of Cabernet Sauvignons from 1984. Now my experience of older wines is limited, and that's putting it mildly, so I was very interested to try them; particularly when I saw the wines in the line-up.

Each taster brings 8 glasses. The wines are opened then bagged, and are poured using a measuring cup and minimal agitation. You are asked to rank them in order of preference, 1-8. This turned out to be much more difficult than I imagined.

The first thing that struck me was that the colours were all very consistent; wine #7 was slightly darker (although I got some sediment in that glass), but the others seemed identical; lovely warm brick red colours.

Another thing that became apparent was the way the wines continually evolved in the glass. One that appeared tight at first opened up after 30 minutes in the glass. The nose changed on each pass, and new flavours emerged. All the wines were very good and sound, without flaws or oxidation. I'd be pleased to have any of them in my cellar.

1984 Ridge "York Creek Vineyard", Napa Valley (12.9%)
Nose had a hint of volatile acidity, but that blew off. I decided to taste it last just in case. When I came back to it the VA seemed less obvious and was showing vanilla and rose petals.
The palate was surprising smooth, with light acid. The VA wasn't as evident as I feared, and was showing rose hips and currant. 90

1984 Rodney Strong "Alexander's Crown", Alexander Valley (13.8%)
The initial nose showed cedar and leather, with some brambly fruit. A later pass showed more of a meaty character.
This showed the most fruit of all the wines, there was a rich, concentrated blackcurrant note, backed by meaty (I wrote "oxo cube") and mushroom notes. 92

1984 Chateau Pichon Lalande, Pauillac (12.3%)
Nose showed a distinct bretty, underbrush character, with red cherry, smoke and caramel.
Seemed lightweight by comparison to the others. Some black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, with leather on the finish. I guessed this as the Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains. 88

1984 Joseph Swan "Estate", Northern Sonoma (12.5%)
This had a earthy yet perfumed nose with some brambly fruit.
It had good balance and bright acidity, with plenty of blackcurrant fruit. Cranberry showed later. A nice herbal, medium length finish. Really opened up during the tasting. 93

1984 Girard "Reserve", Napa Valley (12.5%)
Tart cranberry nose with musty notes.
Lots of acidity. Raspberry, brambly notes with some mushroom and a nice finish. 92

1984 Ridge, Santa Cruz Mountains (12.0%)
Funky nose (brett?) with dried herbs and leaves.
Palate showed lots of leather and cedar, but no fruit to speak of. I later tried it again after eating some bread and cheese and noticed some black fruit in the background. Earthy, herbal finish. I guessed that this was the Bordeaux. 87

1984 Mount Eden "Estate", Santa Cruz Mountains (12.8%)
This had the darkest colour of all the wines.
The nose had lively fruit with notes of pencil shavings.
Good acidity, nice tart blackcurrant and graphite, and an interesting finish. 89

1984 Ridge "Montebello", Santa Cruz Mountains (12.9%)
An earthy, smoky nose. This was the first wine I tasted; it seemed rather closed. The palate was tart and savoury but there wasn't much in the way of fruit. With time the raspberry, brambly fruit started to come out. Had the most tannin of all the wines. I marked it down because it wasn't as open as the rest; perhaps that should have been my clue. Several of the more experienced tasters quickly recognised this as the Monte Bello. Clearly still has plenty of life. 91

Wes Barton's notes are http://bartonorchard.blogspot.com/2010/02/84-cabernet-blind-tasting-2410.html>here.
Richard Jennings' notes are here.

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Ridge have published their report on the 2009 harvest on their 4488 wine blog. The good news is that Monte Bello was harvested before the storms hit and the quality is looking very good. We'll find out in March at the first assemblage tasting. I'll be there, will you?

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Ridge held a special event yesterday promoting their wine clubs. They have three different programs that you can participate in: ATP, Z List and Monte Bello Collector. I've been a member of the Monte Bello Collector scheme since it started, and was purchasing Monte Bello under their futures scheme prior to that, but I've never joined the other clubs.

Ridge's Monte Bello is widely considered to be one of the top wines (some would say the top wine) in California. While drinkable young, it has the potential to age that rivals top Bordeaux; it typically reaches its peak 15-20 years after vintage. The Monte Bello Collector program lets you taste the wine very early, when the individual components are still being blended, and to purchase futures at a significant discount (around 35%). Minimum purchase is just 2 bottles (or 1 magnum, or 4 halves)

Z List members receive two shipments a year, each shipment containing two (or more) bottles of three different Zinfandels.

The ATP (Advance Tasting Program) includes nine shipments a year of limited production single-vineyard wines. The shipments include Zinfandels as well as Rhone varietals and blends. Production of these wines is often so small that they are only made available to list members.

Participants in any of the programs get a 10% discount on all other purchases of current releases (15% on cases) as well as free tasting and admission to events like this.

My view is that if you live locally the Monte Bello Collector club makes the most sense. The commitment is as large or as small as you want it to be, you get a significant discount on the wines as well as the opportunity to taste at both the assemblage tastings (two of my favourite events of the year) and discounts on the other wines. Plus you can mix and match formats and even arrange to pick up rather than have the wine shipped. If you don't live locally then the Collector club still makes sense, but the Z List and ATP get you wines you wouldn't have access to otherwise. For details see the Ridge web site

Here are some tasting notes from the event.

2007 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Lovely nose showing peach, fig, mandarin orange and some oak. On the palate it's rich and complex, with vanilla and citrus on the finish. If this is the second wine then the 2007 Monte Bello Chardonnay ought to be spectacular. 92 $40

2007 Zinfandel, East Bench, Dry Creek Valley
Includes 8% Petite Sirah. The vineyard was replanted a few years ago with cuttings taken from Lytton Springs. This is only the second vintage from these vines.
Ripe nose, with raspberry and date. Big, rich brambly fruit with a herbal note. Good structure, tannin shows on the finish. 90 $30

2007 Zinfandel, Pagani Ranch, Sonoma Valley
Includes 5% Alicante Bouschet, 3% Petite Sirah.
Earthy, lighter nose than the East Bench. A cocktail of bright fruit with some liquorice root. There's less tannin but good acidity. Tasted by themselves I preferred the East Bench, but when paired with some delicious fennel salami from The Fatted Calf the fruit really stood out, whereas the East Bench seemed a little overwhelmed. 90

2007 Carignane, Buchignani Carignane, Sonoma County
Black fruits and mushrooms on the nose. Savoury, with some "red vines" fruit and good structure. 89 $28

2004 Grenache, Lytton Estate, Dry Creek Valley
Includes 16% Petite Sirah, 9% Zinfandel
Nose shows cream soda, redcurrant and earth. There's lots of tannin, good red fruit and nice acidity. A good food wine. 89 $25

2006 Monte Bello
68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Lovely nose of blackberry, blackcurrant and sage. As you'd expect it's really tight and young, but there's still loads going on; good fruit and great balance. The finish is dry and on the short side at this stage. Shouldn't be touched for at least 10 years. 93+

1992 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
An interesting demonstration of how well Ridge wines age. Bear in mind that this is the second wine, the lots that didn't make it into the Monte Bello Chardonnay, and isn't intended to be aged.
The colour was a nice bright yellow; I'd have expected a darker colour from an 18 year old wine. On the nose it was pure caramel; there was caramel and nuts on the palate. Showing a little oxidation and a light 'fino sherry' finish. A very interesting wine. I rarely get the chance to try whites this old and they typically disappoint, but this did not. 90

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Generosa is Italian for generous; it's also the maiden name of winemaker Chris Gemignani's grandmother, and the name of the winery that Chris founded. He built a lovely property on Summit Road, with winery, tasting room and a guest house named Villa Generosa. Sadly Chris died in 2007.

Following his death the family were left with a significant stock of wines, both bottled and in barrel, and attempted to sell the winery as a going concern. However the poor economic situation meant a buyer could not be found, so earlier this year the family engaged the services of local wine writer and marketer Laura Ness to help complete the necessary legal paperwork and sell off the remaining stocks.

The tasting room and guest house has now been sold and since the new owners have no interest in wine this is the last chance to purchase these wines. The property will be open at weekends from Noon-5PM from now until Christmas for tasting, and after that any remaining stocks will be sold off to a wholesaler. All the wines are $30, with discounts available for half and mixed cases.

2005 Pinot Noir, Veranda Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
There's some 'Pinot funk' on the nose along with wild strawberry. On the palate it's fairly typical of the Veranda Vineyard; lean and earthy with light body and bright acidity. 87

2005 Sangiovese, Alegria Vineyard, Napa Valley
There are notes of oxidation and maturity on the nose. It has good acidity with some pleasant cherry notes and a fairly nice rounded finish where the oxidation shows again. 81

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Dorcich Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Great nose showing liquorice, ash and hints of eucalyptus. It's got plenty of smooth blackcurrant fruit with some herbal notes. Medium weight with a good finish. 90

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Ridge, Santa Cruz Mountains
Late picked; allegedly from Ridge's Monte Bello vineyard. It shows lots of sweet raisin fruit, both on the nose and the palate. Lacks acidity and the finish tails away somewhat. Should perhaps have been blended with the Sangiovese. 83

2003 'Tuscan Wedding', Central Coast
Given Chris's Tuscan hertitage, it's not surprisingly that his signature wine was a "Super Tuscan" blend of French and Italian grapes. This example includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese and Petit Verdot.
Earthy nose, showing a little barnyard at first. A rich blend, with the Syrah showing well. Notes of white pepper and redcurrant. 89

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Cast your mind back to last May, and the final assemblage tasting at Ridge. This is one of my favourite events of the year, as it's a great opportunity to try some older vintages of Monte Bello.

This year they poured three vintages; the 1995, 1997 and 1999. The latter vintage in particular did not show at all as expected, as I wrote at the time. Following some discussion with Ridge's Tasting Room Manager Christopher Watkins, Wes Barton and I were invited back to reassess the 1999.

Ridge isn't open on weekdays except by appointment and for certain special events. One of these events, for wine club members, takes place on the first Friday of every month, so we arranged to turn up early and combine the two events. We were joined by Richard Jennings, a fellow local wine enthusiast whose palate Wes and I greatly respect.

We were fortunate that there had been a trade visitor earlier in the day, so we got to start with a couple of wines that had been opened for them.

2006 Monte Bello Chardonnay
This will be released on September 1st. List price is $60, but it will be available for $50 on the first weekend.
Nose of white flowers, lemon zest, vanilla and wet stone. Lovely flavours of creamy vanilla, lemon, white peach and a little chalk. The oak was showing a little harshly on the long finish. Definitely needs some cellar time to truly shine. 93

2006 Monte Bello
A powerful nose of smoke, blackberry, mint and slate jumps out of the glass. There is plenty of sweet brambly fruit, hints of smoke and mint and a very long, dry mineral finish. Wes had brought some of his home-made Elderberry jam because he's been noticing elderberry notes on recent vintages of Monte Bello; he was right, there was definitely some elder notes. As you'd expect it has great structure and will cellar well, though it would be good with steak tonight. With time it opened up further. Should be a classic Monte Bello. $140 94+

1999 Monte Bello
Okay, down to the reason we are here. Right from the start it was clear that this was very different from the wine we tasted last May. The nose shows similar characteristics to the 2006 - lots of brambles, mint and smoke - and more maturity as you would expect, but nothing like last time, no sign of oxidation at all.
Good brambly fruit, smoked meat and coriander seed, with lots of structure. The finish was not as long as the 2006 Monte Bello. Still got plenty of life. 92

We then joined the Jimsomare tasting, and switched back to a white

2005 Home Ranch Chardonnay
Home Ranch is a designation that Ridge uses when it has lots that didn't make the cut for the Monte Bello but they don't want to blend it into the Santa Cruz. As a result, Home Ranch wines aren't made every year.
There was more evident oak influence than on the 2006 Monte Bello. Lots of lemon & vanilla and some walnut. I'd have pegged this for a Varner. Very fruity; nice balance, just a hint of sherry on the finish. A few bottles are still available at $45. 90

Jimsomare Ranch is a 500 acre property lower down on Monte Bello Road. Ridge has been sourcing fruit there for around 40 years and manages the estate. It has 5 acres of Zinfandel vines that are over 100 years old, and an additional block planted in 1996. The climate in the Santa Cruz Mountains is cool for Zinfandel, so you don't get the over-ripe jammy characteristics that (for me at least) mar many Zinfandels.

2007 Jimsomare Zinfandel, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose was fruity but seemed atypical for a Zinfandel. Layers of deep, heavy fruit; blackberry, smoke and "Red Vines", with a longish finish. It triggered a memory of whinberry pie (a small English bilberry). $32 93

1997 Jimsomare Zinfandel, Santa Cruz Mountains
Showing a more traditional Zin profile; a tart raspberry/cranberry nose, lots of smooth raspberry fruit and a good, long and balanced finish. Hard to believe that it's 12 years old, it seems so lively. Delicious. 94

1988 Jimsomare Zinfandel, Late Picked, Santa Cruz Mountains
Ridge uses the 'late picked' designation to indicate that the sugar levels were higher than usual at harvest. There may be a little residual sugar, but it's not a 'dessert' wine.
This had a really strange nose; very hard to describe, there's PlayDoh, grass and cigarettes. It's surprisingly tart, dry and tannic despite the touch (0.11%) of residual sugar, but there's not much fruit remaining. An interesting experience nonetheless.

Update: Richard has posted his notes on CellarTracker.

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This weekend was the final - or more accurately latest - assemblage of the 2008 Monte Bello. Right now the individual components are still in barrel; the staff have been evaluating each lot to see whether it should be included in the blend, if it adds or detracts from the whole. It's a difficult job, involving lots of blind tastings and group decisions. Having tasted some of the components in March we now get to see how things are progressing. But before we get to that...

2007 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
A decidedly mineral quality to the nose, with candied lemon and vanilla. First sample was too warm and just showed alcohol, the problem with pouring outdoors on a hot day. It's got a nice, rounded mouthfeel and flavours of lemon, melon, guava and wet stone. Quite an oaky finish. Recommended

2008 Monte Bello Barrel Sample
The current blend is 71%Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot. Neither the Cabernet Franc nor the Petite Verdot have made the cut, though in the case of the latter there has been much debate. The winemakers will continue to monitor its evolution and it may yet come around; if it doesn't then this will be the first Monte Bello since 1985 that the blend has only contained two grapes. Not a lot of change since the first assemblage; some additional parcels of Cabernet and Merlot have been added, but the decision was tough.

Nose of violets, plums and blackberries. Flavours of blackberry, plum and tart blackcurrant backed by smoke, meat and pencil shavings, with a hint of mint, eucalyptus and liquorice/anise on the long finish. Good acidity; tannin is evident but not overpowering or puckering. Surprisingly drinkable even now, but has the backbone to be a particularly long-lived vintage. Recommended

Now onto some older vintages. These wines were all decanted and then returned to their bottles prior to pouring.

1999 Monte Bello
72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petite Verdot. 13% ABV
The nose on this seems much older than you might expect; it shows a distinct note of Dijon mustard and a hint of what seemed like oxidation. On the palate it's rounded and quite concentrated, showing brambles, mint, eucalyptus and meat. Though it has good structure it seemed to be significantly more advanced in development of the three; if you hold any of these it would be a good idea to open one to make sure that you're happy with the direction that it's heading.

Note: See my notes on the retasting at Ridge

1997 Monte Bello
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petite Verdot. 12.9% ABV
The low percentage of Merlot is explained by the fact that in 1997 Ridge bottled a Santa Cruz Mountains Merlot.
Nose of smoked meats and cassis. Rich, smooth and balanced with good acidity. Flavours of blackberry, blackcurrant and cedar leading into a long finish. A lovely wine that's yet to peak. Recommended

1995 Monte Bello
69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petite Verdot.
Lovely rich nose of roast meat, brambles, graphite and notes of blackcurrant and violets. A second sample from a different bottle showed more cedar. Great balance; smooth with a long finish. Far more youthful than the 1999. Recommended

2005 Monte Bello
Rich, spicy berry and slighly floral nose. Great blackberry and blackcurrant flavours backed by smoky, meaty notes and a good long finish. Unsurprisingly it's still very primary, showing the most tannins of all, but still very tasty. Recommended

Then onto some of the other Ridge wines:

2007 East Bench Zinfandel, Dry Creek
8% Petite Sirah. 15.4% ABV.
Nose of raspberries and fresh white mushrooms. On the palate there's lots of raspberry, white pepper and toast. Good, medium length finish. $30

2005 Nervo Zinfandel
4% Petite Sirah, 3% Carignane
A lighter berry nose than the East Bench. Concentrated and meaty with sweet black fruits. A really good Zinfandel. Recommended $33

2005 Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache
Nose shows earth, bell pepper and black olive. Smooth on the palate, with black fruit, cardamom and orange peel and a savoury finish. $33

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