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The vineyard’s history dates to 1888, when Alsatian immigrant Pierre Klein purchased the Mira Valle property on Monte Bello Ridge and planted Cabernet Sauvignon with the ambition of producing wines comparable to those of the Médoc. His Cabernet went on to win a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition. The vineyard was later abandoned during Prohibition, before the property was acquired by the Schwabacher family and renamed Jimsomare. Cabernet Sauvignon was replanted in the early 1970s, and Ridge produced Jimsomare Cabernet from 1978 until 1997. Ridge took over the vineyard in 1996, incorporating it into the wider Monte Bello estate.
Situated lower on Monte Bello Ridge, Klein experiences greater variation between daytime and night-time temperatures than the vineyards higher up the mountain. In 2016, Ridge selected a small number of barrels whose character was sufficiently distinctive to warrant bottling separately.
Made from 100% organically grown Cabernet Sauvignon, the fruit was harvested between 19 and 21 September and fermented with native yeasts. The wine underwent natural malolactic fermentation and was matured for 18 months in 100% new, air-dried American oak.
Cassis and blackberry lead the nose, accompanied by violets, black olive and spice. The palate has concentrated dark mountain fruit, firm acidity and rich, velvety tannins, with oak contributing structure and spice through the long finish. Erin Brooks awarded the 2016 Klein 94 points in The Wine Advocate, highlighting its mineral and savoury complexity alongside red and black fruit and its considerable ageing potential.
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.
