2020 Ridge Monte Bello

Community Tasting Notes (28) Avg Score: 92.5 points

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  5/14/2024 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine:

  Got another chance to try this. Others tried it blind and nailed it as Monte Bello. Lots of good palates at the table and not one remarked on any flaw or smoke taint. This comes off as a young Monte Bello - huge and super pure - amazing fruit - w lots of oak. Huge and exotic Dill from the new oak. Palate is monstrous and huge and super full - oak and massive fruit.

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  5/11/2024 - acyso wrote: 93 Points

  Lots of folks opining on this wine, so I shan't. Plenty of American oak, where it becomes the dominating characteristic, but that's also very much Monte Bello anyway. Dark fruit, sappy, and silky, with a palate that isn't particularly complex even if it does come across quite potent now already. I haven't had young Monte Bello for a decade (why bother?), and from what I remember, this is very much in line with that.
  
  Mild temperatures in March prompted an early bloom that coincided with the spring rains. This resulted in a smaller crop that, accompanied by more summer fog than usual, allowed for slow, steady ripening into September. After assembling thirty-six of fifty-eight lots, the wine was returned to barrel for a further twelve months. As a classic Monte Bello, it will benefit from a decade of aging and develop over another twenty years. JO (5/22)

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  5/8/2024 - fredb wrote:

  Early look to assess how to handle this vintage. Decanted 3 hours before meal. Not a tremendous amount of change/development in the decanter over that time. Dark red, limited transparency. Plum, currant, smoke, and vanilla on nose. Palate has medium density with smoky cherry, currant, and plum character that carries into a medium-long finish. Oak sticks out at this point. 1/3 left for day 2 resample. Day 2 showed more of the oak and some acrid smoke elements, but not really showing outside of what I tolerate. Works ok with heartier fare. Either decant or wait for at least 5 more years to see where this lands. Hold.

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  4/30/2024 - zimmy07 wrote:

  I will not rate this. The wine is young, I decanted 8 hours, it opened up nice. No doubt lacking the massive perfume of a MB, the taste, still domianated by the oak was a bit muted but I was bracing for the worst. Now, my wife who has an incredible palate and knew nothing of the fires or even why I was tasting the wine said" it smells like a campfire and although not a bad wine, does not soar like a MB". I will take her note over mine all day long. To the okay palate I think very little to detect, to the better palates no doubt some issue with the wine. I most likely will take my credits towards future purchases

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  4/28/2024 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points

  Following the encounter with two smoke-tainted half bottles (see comment from April 21), a tasting session involving a 750ml bottle revealed no perceptible smoky undertones among the seven participants, whether tested blind or otherwise. Maybe the half bottles offer a glimpse into the future for the regular bottle. This wine appears unsuitable for aging.
  
  TN: This wine presents a luxurious structure marked by elegance and vivacity. It boasts a wide aromatic range anchored by a vibrant fruit core, enriched by subtle earthy mineral and woody/herbal notes of cedar and pine. While the wine delivers a balanced and delightful experience, it concludes with a relatively brief finish.

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