Wine Advisor
Ridge, Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Fine Wine Experience vertical. A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot, the difference in blend between this and the 2002 creates a very different bouquet: plush, generous, black fruit, a touch of chocolate and raisin. The palate is opulent, much sweet on the entry than the 2002 with black cherry, a touch o spice and raisin, fleshy on the mid-palate but with very good acidity. White fruits coming towards the lush finish, a little warmth of alcohol leaving you light-headed (just 1% more ABV). Very fine. Drink now-2020. Tasted June 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2001 Monte Bello Proprietary Red Wine (the 40th anniversary of this cuvee) is a stunning blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 8% Petit Verdot. A saturated purple color to the rim accompanies gorgeous aromas of charred oak, black currants, and lilacs (or is it acacia flowers?). In the mouth, there is more of a roasted richness than is found in the 2000, as well as deep, classically structured, full-bodied, broad, expansive flavors of black and red fruits, espresso, and chocolate, and a spectacular finish. This Ridge Monte Bello is a tribute to a great winery that has never gone through an unsatisfactory period of winemaking, largely because of the perpetual brilliance of Paul Draper. This wine will require considerable patience. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2030. Tel. (408) 867-3233; Fax (408) 868-1350
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A resoundingly great effort from this iconic producer, Ridge’s 2001 is a spectacular, still young but promising wine. Interestingly, 60% of the production from the winery’s 108 acre Monte Bello Vineyard made it into the 2001’s final blend (their 40th anniversary, by the way). The unusual blend is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, a whopping 36% Merlot, and 8% Petit Verdot. It also carries 14.2% alcohol, which is high for this estate. On the back label, the conservative Paul Draper writes that “5-8 years of bottle age will bring generous rewards, and 20 years will bring full maturity.” At age 10, it is still an infant in terms of development, and I would not be surprised to see this 2001 last 40 years. A dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by extravagant, generous aromas of pen ink, lead pencil shavings, spice box and black fruits. The wine is full-bodied and silky textured, but secondary nuances have not yet begun to develop as it is still very primary, tasting more like a 3-4 year old Monte Bello than one that is ten years of age. Nevertheless, it reveals spectacular concentration, a voluptuous texture, a rare opulence for a Ridge Monte Bello, and an incredible finish. The upside is enormous and this cuvee may prove somewhat atypical due to the huge percentage of Merlot in the final blend and the higher than normal alcohol. But make no mistake about this Monte Bello – it is a great wine. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040. Tel. (408) 867-3233; Fax (408) 868-1350
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A candidate for one of the longest-lived Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines in California is Ridge’s Monte Bello. The 2001 Monte Bello Proprietary Red is this historic vineyard’s 40th anniversary cuvee. It boasts a saturated purple color in addition to a luxurious perfume of smoky oak, plums, cedarwood, espresso, black cherries, and cassis. As the wine sits in the glass, a hint of tar also emerges. This full-bodied, broad, expansively flavored offering exhibits high tannin along with a huge finish. In blind tastings, I consistently mistake these cuvees for French Bordeaux, and also underestimate their age since they last for 30+ years. Over 90% of this offering is aged in new American oak, yet it never displays that sappy American oak character thanks to the superb cooperage of the barrels. This top-notch 2001 Monte Bello should be at its best between 2012-2035. Tel. (408) 867-3233; Fax (408) 868-1350
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2001 Monte Bello is a very atypical vintage for Ridge, attaining a record high alcohol of 14.1% and containing an unprecedented 36% Merlot. Baugher remembers that the grapes retained green, unripe flavors while sugars soared, so he was forced to wait to pick. It's hard not to be seduced by the resulting wine, which wafts from the glass with lavish aromas of ripe plums, black truffles, dark chocolate, cigar ash and loamy soil. It's full-bodied, ample and dramatic, with a broad, expansive attack and a voluptuously layered mid-palate, its sweet fruit complemented by plenty of savory nuance. At this stage, I prefer the 2002, which is almost as generous but better balanced and more Cabernet Sauvignon-driven in personality, but I suspect many tasters will favor the more opulent, sun-kissed 2001.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2001 Monte Bello (which marked Ridge Vineyard’s 40th anniversary) is undoubtedly sold out, but a bottle I tasted in my office revealed a stunning wine. Boasting abundant amounts of sweet black and red fruits intermixed with tobacco leaf, white chocolate, charred wood, and espresso roast, it is a full-bodied effort with superb purity, high tannin, and an austere finish. It is built for 30 years of longevity. This impressive wine is unlikely to win many blind tastings given its current austerity. Tel. (408) 867-3233; Fax (408) 868-1350
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2001 Monte Bello is a very atypical vintage for Ridge, attaining a record high alcohol of 14.1% and containing an unprecedented 36% Merlot. Baugher remembers that the grapes retained green, unripe flavors while sugars soared, so he was forced to wait to pick. It's hard not to be seduced by the resulting wine, which wafts from the glass with lavish aromas of ripe plums, black truffles, dark chocolate, cigar ash and loamy soil. It's full-bodied, ample and dramatic, with a broad, expansive attack and a voluptuously layered mid-palate, its sweet fruit complemented by plenty of savory nuance. At this stage, I prefer the 2002, which is almost as generous but better balanced and more Cabernet Sauvignon-driven in personality, but I suspect many tasters will favor the more opulent, sun-kissed 2001.
Reviewed by: Matthew Luczy
While certainly an outlier in Monte Bello's history, the fact that the 2001 Monte Bello's "record-high" alcohol content is just 14.1% tells one all they need to know about Ridge's aesthetic preferences. The season served as a prelude to vintage conditions that have become increasingly common: August heat spells, the resulting hydric stress and accelerated ripening. Poured from a magnum, the wine offers a remarkably youthful bouquet of red plums, pipe tobacco, truffle, dried mint and subtle undertones of vanilla, introducing a fittingly dense yet suave and impressively elegant mouthfeel despite its comparatively outsized personality. The finish continues this luscious profile, although it is energized by ample acidity and persistent, supple tannins that provide an ironclad frame for the wine's overall generosity. The cépage is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot.
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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