Beschreibung:

RIDGE MONTE BELLO Wine has been made at the Monte Bello Vineyard, in the Santa Cruz Mountains for over 100 years and continuously by Ridge Vineyards since 1962. It was in 1969 that Paul Draper joined the nascent business and with the existing partners grew a winery rooted in the expression of varietal and vineyard. Draper is a practical wine maker and adopts a "hands-off' approach that has come to be the corner-stone of Ridge's success. The Monte Bello wine, was until 1975 100 Cabernet Sauvignon, but since has been a Bordeaux blend always with a strong Cabernet content with the addition of the other Bordeaux varieties based strictly on tasting and the uniqueness of each vintage. Monte Bello for me is one of the greatest reds made in California today. RB Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello, Cabernet Sauvignon--Vintage 1994 Santa Cruz Parcel: lots 562-563 See Illustration "The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello was one of the most backward Cabernets in the March tasting. It almost defies inspection given its austere, extremely tannic, hard style. The opaque purple color is accompanied by a wine that smells and tastes ripe, rich, and brilliantly made, but it will require a minimum of 10-12 years of cellaring to shed enough tannin to become civilized. Although it should be a winner, it may not be as sure a bet as such vintages as 1991, 1992, and 1995. When young, this wine rarely reveals its full potential. Having said that, the last three vintages of the Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon (1993, 1994, and 1995) are immensely impressive, with perhaps the 1994 the least expansive - for now." Robert Parker Wine Advocate, #104 (Apr 1996) 2 magnums per lot