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Tasting notes
A blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 100% destemmed but not crushed. Fermented with ambient yeasts. Spent 17 months in 97% American oak and 3% French oak (94% of which was new). Filtered before bottling. Aromas of wet earth, green herbs and a touch of coconut and liquorice. Flavours of cherry and green herbs are wrapped in a gauzy haze of fine-grained tannins and shot through with notes of dried flowers, a touch of gunsmoke and whisky barrel. The oak seems much better integrated in this vintage than in recent new releases, at least to my memory. Excellent acidity and gorgeous freshness make this quite appealing to drink even now, though we all know it will be so much better in a decade or more. (AY)
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
The Wine Advocate
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)
The 2015 Monte Bello is still a well-protected fortress of a wine. A more red-fruited and tobacco-laden Monte Bello, it’s mouthwateringly juicy and stubbornly tightly wound, giving rise to the question of whether it will ever let its guard down. Even so, the stuffing is undeniably there, so you might as well just keep waiting. Of course, the risk is that this wine may outlast all of us before it ever truly gives up the goods. Check on it again in five years.
Smoky black, plummy fruits, graphite, violets, and that classic Monte Bello oak profile all shine in the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello, and it's concentrated, full-bodied, and structured on the palate, with a beautiful core of fruit yet rock-solid aacidity and ripe tannins. While it's a touch foursquare and gangly at present, it's nevertheless a gorgeous effort that's 5-7 years away from the early stages of its prime drinking window. It will have 40+ years of overall longevity and is an utter classic from this estate.
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