Wine Advisor
Ridge, Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon 1996
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Fine Wine Experience vertical. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 9% Petit Verdot, this has a more introverted bouquet with the Cabernet lending it a slightly subdued cedar and mint character. Good definition, a touch of pine cones. Very Bordeaux-like. The palate is medium-bodied with superb balanced, very fresh although it is very linear, very “correct” in a similar way as a fine Pauillac. A very “correct” Monte Bello although lacking a little exuberance at the moment. Drink 2010-2025. Tasted June 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello (80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, and 9% Petit Verdot that reached 13.4% alcohol) represents a severe selection of only 40% of the vineyard's crop. A blockbuster, powerful, concentrated Monte Bello, it possesses an opaque purple color, plenty of spicy oak in the nose (100% American oak has always been used for aging Monte Bello), and a deep, layered, concentrated style. There is plenty of tannin, but it is sweeter than that found in the 1997, and the wine is more concentrated and extracted. There is a touch of oak in the flavors, which are otherwise dominated by minerals and jammy black fruits. This is a terrific Monte Bello that will have 30+ years of life. Tel. (408) 867-3233; Fax (408) 867-2986
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The most aromatically exotic vintage of the decade, the 1996 Monte Bello is superb, bursting from the glass with an extravagant bouquet of cassis, cigar box, rich soil, roasted meats and decadent oriental spices. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, richly tannic and very intense, with a deep and tight-knit core and a bright line of acidity, concluding with a long, youthful finish. The 1996 vintage saw rain during flowering—which reduced yields at this address to less than one ton per acre—followed by a warm summer. The result is a super concentrated Monte Bello that hasn't even reached its plateau of maturity yet. Choosing between this and the formidable 1995 will always be a challenge, but I suspect the 1996 has the greater upside. The blend consists of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 9% Petit Verdot, attaining 13.2% alcohol.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at David Wainwright’s 40th bacchanal in Brighton. This has a lively, exuberant nose of black-berried fruits, mint and cedar, slightly conservative in style but very well defined and controlled. The palate is full-bodied, imbued with a thrilling sense of symmetry like a great Pauillac with notes of blackberry, blueberry, a touch of graphite and green pepper. The finish is dense and backward, almost surly, suggesting that it would benefit from further cellaring. Excellent. Drink 2015-2030. Tasted June 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at David Pope’s Monte Bello dinner in London. This was one of the most ‘complete’ wines of the Monte Bello vertical tasting. A deeper hue than the 1995. A very pure, Cabernet-driven nose with blackberry, cedar and a touch of burnt toast. The palate has good definition, well balanced and a firm sold structure. This is more masculine than the 2000 with a savoury mid-palate, a touch of volatility creeping in on the finish, but this is a bold, ambition modern-day Monte Bello built for the long-term. Tasted January 2006.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The most aromatically exotic vintage of the decade, the 1996 Monte Bello is superb, bursting from the glass with an extravagant bouquet of cassis, cigar box, rich soil, roasted meats and decadent oriental spices. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, richly tannic and very intense, with a deep and tight-knit core and a bright line of acidity, concluding with a long, youthful finish. The 1996 vintage saw rain during flowering—which reduced yields at this address to less than one ton per acre—followed by a warm summer. The result is a super concentrated Monte Bello that hasn't even reached its plateau of maturity yet. Choosing between this and the formidable 1995 will always be a challenge, but I suspect the 1996 has the greater upside. The blend consists of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 9% Petit Verdot, attaining 13.2% alcohol.
About the Producer
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 metres) on Monte Bello Ridge in unincorporated Santa Clara County in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, south of Los Altos, California and west of Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County. Ridge Vineyard's 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon gained prominence for its fifth-place finish in the 1976 "Judgment of Paris" wine tasting. History Although Ridge Vineyards was founded in the early 1960s, wine production at the winery's Monte Bello location has a much longer history. Grapevines were first planted on Monte Bello Ridge by Osea Perrone, a doctor and prominent member of the northern California Italian immigrant community, in 1885. The first Monte Bello wine was produced in 1892. Following Prohibition, the vineyard at Monte Bello passed through the hands of several amateur winemakers until it was purchased in 1959 by David Bennion, Charles Rosen, Hewitt Crane, and Howard Zeidler, all engineers at nearby Stanford Research Institute. Ridge Vineyards was bonded and produced its first commercial wine, a Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, in 1962. According to a 1987 New York Times article, Ridge Vineyards was acquired by a Japanese company. "The new owner is Otsuka U.S., a subsidiary of the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, a producer of nutritional drinks and other pharmaceutical products. Otsuka operates an experimental wine-making center near Fuji, in Japan." The international reputation of the Monte Bello wine produced by Ridge Vineyards was established when it achieved fifth place in the "Judgment of Paris", against nine other French and California wines. Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon was acclaimed in subsequent competitions, including The Judgment of Paris 30th Anniversary, the 30th anniversary retesting of the same red wines evaluated in the 1976 Paris wine competition. In this blind tasting, held both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, judges in both countries ranked Ridge Monte Bello number one among all the wines judged. Ridge Vineyards produced its first Zinfandel in 1964. Beginning in 1966, the winery began sourcing some grapes for its Geyserville Zinfandel and other wines from vineyards in Sonoma County. In 1991, Ridge Vineyards purchased the Lytton Springs vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley AVA. The winery produces wine at both the Monte Bello and Lytton Springs locations, and operates tasting rooms open to the public at both. Wines Ridge also focuses on single-estate wines where the grapes for a particular label are all grown at the same vineyard. The signature wine of Ridge is its Monte Bello, a field blend of Cabernet Sauvignon mixed with varying percentages of other grapes grown in the same location, usually including Merlot, Petit Verdot, and occasionally Cabernet Franc. Ridge's Zinfandels (or mostly-Zinfandel field blends) constitute the bulk of the winery's production. Using grapes from selected sites from all over the state and bottling them each under their own label, Ridge Zinfandels emphasize the particular characteristics of each growing site and may show different aging characteristics than do other Zinfandels. Among the best known of the Ridge Zinfandels or Zinfandel-blends are those from Geyserville, York Creek, and Lytton Springs.
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