Lot 457
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2010 (1) WA 96
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2011 (1)
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2012 (1) WA 96
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2014 (1)
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2015 (2) WA 95+
Lot 457 Details
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2010 (1)
Santa Cruz Mountains.
u. bn. stained & wrinkled label. recessed cork.
The ensuing 2010 Monte Bello is very classic in profile, offering up aromas of crushed cassis, plums, cigar tobacco, rich loamy soil, black tea and dark chocolate. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with a deep and concentrated core of vibrantly crunchy fruit framed by velvety tannins, concluding with a long, tangy finish that's still youthfully chewy. Though the two vintages are very close in quality, the 2010 is very different in profile from the somewhat larger scaled 2012: it's less expansive, but built around a brighter vertical line. I'd recommend cellaring it for an additional three or four years and don't expect it to truly hit its stride until after 2025. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, and it attained 13.2% natural alcohol. May 2018 Drink: 2022-2045 WA 96
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2011 (1)
Central Coast, California.
u. bn. scraped & wrinkled label.
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2012 (1)
Santa Cruz Mountains, California.
u. bn. scraped & marked label.
The 2012 Monte Bello is a beauty, wafting from the glass with complex aromas of plums, blackberries, bitter chocolate, black truffles, cigar tobacco and hints of crème de cassis. Its new oak is already well integrated. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, richly tannic and very deep, with a layered, concentrated core of fruit framed by chalky, fine-grained tannins. The 2012 is still quite youthfully chewy at this early stage, but there's a certain lavishness to its ripe blackberry fruit that suggests this will be a dramatic, even decadent Monte Bello in the style of the 2002 when it reaches maturity. Late September heat made for a record-setting harvest in only 16 days. May 2018 Drink: 2022-2060 WA 96
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2014 (1)
Central Coast, California.
u. bn. marked label.
RIDGE MONTE BELLO 2015 (2)
Central Coast, California.
u. 2 x bn. 1 x scraped label & capsule.
The wine unfurls in the glass with a rich bouquet of cassis, ripe plums, espresso roast, black tea and baking chocolate, lavishly framed by minty, spicy new oak—which is often at its most prominent at exactly this stage, when the wine is shutting down after bottling. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with rich, velvety tannins and beautifully succulent, even tangy acidity that lends amazing lift on the finish. The most obvious analogy is the 2005 vintage, though it also evokes a more elegant version of the 1995 Monte Bello. It's a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc that attained 13.5% natural alcohol. Since the wine appears to be shutting down, I'd recommend forgetting it until its tenth birthday. Given its structure and balance, it should enjoy remarkable longevity. July 2018 Drink: 2025-2050 WA 95+