Ridge 2020 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains, California

While most of the iconic Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines of California are from Napa, Ridge, and their bluechip Monte Bello Estate Red are from high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  For many longtime collectors, Ridge’s Monte Bello is as classic as it gets in terms of California Cabernet-based wines.  We couldn’t agree more.  We were blown away tasting this 2020 a couple of weeks ago.  The balance (13.5% alc.), depth and sheer palate intensity are off the charts.  "The extremities of the season built the character in this 2020, the vines stressed by the driest winter on record, then relieved by rain in the spring. Those vines set a small crop due to that rain, which rode through the heat spikes of June into a mild summer, then concentrated into perfumed blue and black fruit flavors as the heat returned in August. Of the 45 blocks destined for Monte Bello, 36 made the cut in 2020, a blend of 84 percent cabernet, 14 percent petit verdot, 11 percent merlot and one percent franc. John Olney and his team worked to gentle the extraction of that concentrated fruit, though they still ended up with a big, herbal cabernet, its foresty berry and plum skin flavors including touches of raisins, the tannins dry, but not severe. An elegant wine for its substantial size, this speaks of care in farming and in the “pre-industrial” winemaking strategies at Ridge: A great wine in a challenging season.” -94 Wine & Spirits