Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

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£195.00
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  • Vinous rating 87
  • Robert Parker rating 85
Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
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HED25252

75 cl

13.5%
£195.00
Taxes included.

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The 2020 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon is a distinguished Bordeaux-style blend that exhibits enticing aromas of cassis, black currant, and graphite. The palate reveals a combination of dark fruit, subtle tobacco, and savoury herbs, all supported by firm tannins and elegant acidity. A lovely expression of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation.
87 Vinous
The 2020 Monte Bello opens with a burst of dark red fruit. Leather, tobacco and mocha open nicely in the glass. There's no getting past smoke taint in this wine. That's a shame, as the flavors are nicely delineated and the tannins are well balanced for the year in this small-scaled Monte Bello. The 2020 has signs of taint when I tasted it from barrel, so I can't say I am terribly surprised. Antonio Galloni7th November 2023
85 Robert Parker
Unfortunately, the 2020 Monte Bello is a victim of this harvest`s devastating wildfires. Smoke taint is evident from the first pour, after which it receded and then reappeared on and off over the two days I spent with the bottles. The palate tells the same story, with the retronasal signature of campfire smoke and hollowed-out, gritty fruit on the finish. This was only more glaring in the context of a vertical spanning 2021-2015, many of which are banner vintages for Ridge. While an otherwise technically well-made wine is there behind the smoke, albeit with noticeably less depth and concentration than is typical, due to Ridge`s decision to bulk out of 90% of the pressed wine, this flaw is unavoidable. In the interest of thoroughness, a sample of the bottled 2020 Monte Bello was submitted to ETS Laboratories in St. Helena, where a series of tests to detect glycosylated smoke markers were carried out (glycosylated tests specifically separate sugar-bound markers from volatile markers that can be imparted by oak élevage). The results confirmed significantly elevated levels of 4-methylguaiacol rutinoside, cresol rutinoside, phenol rutinoside and syringol gentiobioside, all of which correspond to elevated levels of smoke exposure and heightened sensory thresholds by up to a factor of four from the 99th percentile of a non-smoke-affected vintage. - Matthew Luczy

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Mountain Wines of Distinction

Named after the historic vineyard area of Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains has been a byword for fine Californian wine since the early 1960s. Ridge shot to fame in the fabled 1976 Judgement of Paris. It was at this groundbreaking blind tasting that the 1971 Ridge Monte Bello was pitted against some of the most revered First Growths of Bordeaux. It placed fifth. (NB: in a re-enactment of the same tasting held in 2006, Monte Bello 1971 placed first.)

Under legendary winemaker Paul Draper, Ridge Vineyards became renowned for the exceptional quality of its single-vineyard wines. Though Draper has now retired, the estate continues to produce terroir-focused wines with the same commitment to organic farming and traditional winemaking techniques. From the fine Bordeaux blends and Chardonnays of Monte Bello to the Zinfandels of Lytton Springs and Geyserville in Sonoma, and all points in between, Ridge Vineyards remains one of the most celebrated names in California wine.

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