Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. 100% destemmed but not crushed. Fermented with ambient yeasts. Spends 16 months in 98% American oak, 2% French oak, all of it 100% new. Filtered before bottling. Very dark garnet. Smells of crushed nuts, coconut and whisky barrel. Beautifully billowy tannins provide a bed for gorgeous flavours of cherry, cedar and earth, overshadowed at first by the strong coconut and whisky-barrel flavours of American oak, which lessen with some air in the glass, revealing the sweet, gorgeous fruit and earth. The wine is tremendous, but will improve for the next ten years of cellaring, especially as the American oak melds into the wine. The harmony and balance of fruit, earth and acidity is undeniably fine and mouth-watering in its current state. (AY)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Monte Bello is a masterful expression of this lauded site in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s powerful, broad and infinitely layered, but it also possesses an incredibly finessed tannin structure that speaks clearly and forcefully but yields dutifully. Saturated blueberry, gravel, eucalyptus, charcoal, cedar and India ink build gradually and steadily through the long and sizzling finish. Just beginning to soften and develop beyond the primary stage, it wouldn’t be a crime to open a bottle now, but this has many, many lives left to live and should be even better (if you can fathom) in a few more years. This is what Monte Bello is all about. (BN)
Having recently passed its 10th birthday, the 2015 Monte Bello has lived up to the promise of its early days. It contains 11% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc and offers earth-forward aromas of dried mahogany, dark chocolate, brick dust and dried herbs. Supple and elegantly generous on the palate, its structure has started to soften, but fine-grained tannins are still apparent on the saturated, chewy finish. Squarely in the first phase of a proper drinking window, it is ready to be checked in on but clearly has a long life ahead. (ML)
Incredibly youthful for its age and also extremely expressive. Still some delicate, floral notes at 9 years of age, but also a spectacular array of fruit aromas from redcurrant to pomegranate. Enormous concentration is married to stunning silkiness and almost supernatural energy that drives the extremely long and precise finish. A cuvee of 80% cabernet sauvignon, 8% petit verdot, 7% cabernet franc and 5% merlot. Tasted at the Thomas Kammeier Monte Bello vertical. Decades of aging potential.
About the producer
Best known for its iconic Monte Bello, Ridge Vineyards makes some of California’s finest wines – particularly Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. Long a pioneer of sustainable farming and minimal-intervention winemaking, Ridge makes an extensive range from Sonoma County and the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Product details
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc
Red
Dry