California Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains

Specification

Producer

Ridge

Region

Rest of world

Where

Santa Cruz Mountains, California

Classification

Santa Cruz Mountains AVA

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc

Vintage

2014

Case

6 x 75cl OWC

Held at

Wine Tunnels, London City Bond (in bond)

Code

RIDGEX146X75

About this wine

Monte Bello is Ridge's flagship, grown on limestone-rich soils at high elevation in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, typically with Merlot and smaller amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, it is aged in American oak. Cooler and more restrained than most Napa Cabernet, it is firm and savoury in youth and develops remarkable complexity over twenty to thirty years or more.

About Ridge

Ridge Vineyards is based at Monte Bello, high in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Cupertino, south of San Francisco. Vines were first planted on the ridge in the 1880s, and the modern winery was established in the early 1960s. Under Paul Draper, winemaker for more than four decades from 1969, Ridge became one of California's most respected producers.

The winery favours a traditional approach, with native yeasts, minimal intervention and ageing in American oak. Alongside Monte Bello, its single-vineyard Zinfandels from Sonoma, such as Lytton Springs and Geyserville, are widely admired. Monte Bello is valued by collectors for its restraint and exceptional longevity.