Ridge Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Dark purple hues with black cherry, dark plum, black olive, soy, dried jerky, lilac, dried rose petals, cedar, juniper berry, and wintergreen mint. Fresh entry with building tannins that coat the entire palate. Gravelly, dusty, and mineral notes give way to layers of red and black fruits. Integrated oak with youthful tannins and acidity. Will prove to be very age-worthy." Trester Goetting - Ridge Winemaker (December 2023)

In 1886, the first blocks of the Monte Bello Vineyard were planted and construction on the winery began. The first vintage was the 1892. In the early 1940s, the last of the old vineyard was abandoned; in the late forties a few blocks were replanted. Those cabernet vines-now over sixty-five years old-produced the first Ridge Monte Bello (1962) and subsequent vintages until 1974. By then other abandoned blocks had been replanted and their fruit considered for use in the Monte Bello. A number of those consistently produced a more accessible wine that developed its full complexity earlier and these were combined as the "Santa Cruz Mountains." With the 2008 vintage the name of this stylistically distinct wine became the Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, stressing the principal varietal and the Monte Bello Estate vineyard as its source.

(Commenting on the 2019 vintage) "The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate comes from the estate Monte Bello Vineyard on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains... its deep ruby/purple color is followed by a brilliant perfume of blue fruits, scorched earth, tobacco leaf, and lead pencil. Beautifully balanced and medium to full-bodied, with building tannins, it's a seamless Cabernet Sauvignon that has some up-front appeal given its balance and elegance yet will benefit from 2-5 years of bottle age and, I suspect, have 20+ years of overall longevity."
94+ Points, Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, (August 2022)

"Graphite, tobacco, grilled plums, black olives and black cherries are held firmly by velvety tannins on a medium body at 13.3% alcohol. Tense, concentrated, linear and acid-driven while deep in black fruit and subtle oak accents. Grapes grown on Ridge’s Monte Bello property at lower elevations on the slopes. Best after 2029."
94 points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (May 2024)