2010 Ridge Monte Bello component tasting

WINE TALK
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Tasted through some sample components of the 2010 Monte Bello yesterday at the Monte Bello winery.

Merlot - nice deep, rich, round and mellow. 90

Cabernet Franc - espresso nose, deeper, darker, nice structure. 92. Baugher says the espresso is from prolonged malo fermentation on the lees

Cabernet Sauvignon - very dark and rich, while also hiqher acidity with a slight tang on the finish. 90.

Petite Verdot - dark, brooding, beautiful structure, I always wish this could be bottled on its own, but the blend deserves every percent it can get. 94

2010 Monte Bello - preliminary blend is rich, deep, round and almost fleshy, but not at all flabby, with nice structure. Draper says there are higher levels of tannins than almost any previous vintage, though they definitely don’t dominate, and he expects this to be a 30-40 year wine. Right now 93, will be much more informative at the final assemblage tasting in May.

1992 Monte Bello - from half bottles, oh my, fabulous nose of cedar and tobacco, beautiful rich, dark, deep red fruit, excellent structure with everything in perfect balance, great finish. 95. The 92 is always amazingly youthful, from 375 it is truly at its peak. Draper says it will last for quite a few more years in halves, though maybe not improve much more; but 750s and larger have another decade to go. They were offering this as a library out of the cellar for $69, 10% discount for members, can’t go wrong with that :slight_smile:

2008 Monte Bello - dark, deep, and brooding, great stuffing, good acidity and overall structure, this is a classic MB, really outstanding. 94

2007 Monte Bello - has really deepened and fleshed out, with deep red/black fruit, still some of the vintage acidity, but definitely rounded and filled out since release a year ago. While I was a little worried about this wine a year ago, now I’m very happy to own it. 93

2007 Cabernet Santa Cruz Mountains - nice rich, dark red fruit, good acidity, very nice particularly at its price point. 91

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Thanks for the report Alan.

Did Draper say anything specific about how the relatively cold 2010 effected the wines for them?

$69? Seriously? Usually their library offerings are above market.

I really like the 07 SCM bottle though it seemed harder structured than the 06 and in need of plenty of sleep. Was it open to you?

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Chris,
I don’t think I got great answers on how they were able to make such a good wine in 2010, given the coolness. Eric Baugher basically said it was largely through careful selection. Obviously local climate is very different in SCM, and at their elevation, so generalizing from Napa and Sonoma maybe isn’t too wise. I only know what things were like for us in Fremont, at about the same latitude, which was darn cool all summer, except for one or two short heat waves. Somehow they made it work! I think people pay too much attention to degrees, and not enough to sunlight. Plants want sunlight to create sugar, and enough temperature to drive the rest of the biochemical pathways. 2400 feet up, and mostly above the fog is good for sunlight, and it gets warm enough there to do the job.

Keep in mind the $69 was for halves, but $62 for a half of perfectly stored 92 Monte Bello I consider to be not unreasonable :wink:

Can’t really compare the 07 and 06 SCM, I don’t have any notes on the 06. I’d say the 07 was a little tight, and could definitely use a few years.
Cheers

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Thanks. I wasn’t trying to compare to any specific region only the entirety of the state which was cool from nearly every spot as far as I could tell. Ridge is certainly one of the first wineries I would pick that would have a good handle on vintage variations.

Halves makes a LOT more sense at that price. [wink.gif]

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Almost had to back up the truck if they were 750 yo!

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That’s a decent price for those 375s, especially given perfect provenance. When I was up there last summer I bought 3 each of the '92, '93 and '94 in halves for $70 a pop, I think. I can’t remember if they gave me the club discount.

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Great notes Alan, thanks.
Paul said that 2010 was cool and that they dropped fruit and rolled out the mylar “carpets” in a couple of the vineyards that are hard to ripen. They believe that this reflects the heat back to the vines. If I remember correctly it may have been the new Cab Franc planting and that they haven’t used the carpet since 1998. I was surprised to learn that they are increasing the acreage for Monte Bello. They have a long term lease on a new 25 acres just to the south of the winery some of which is planted to Cab Franc.

Larry

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Does anyone know how long the offer on 2010 Monte Bello futures stands?

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March 15th is the deadline for making changes to your standing allocation as a Collector’s member.

I do wish that they would offer the .375s in increments of 2 (with the same 4 bottle minimum) instead of increments of 4. My ideal quantity would be 6, but that’s not an option. On the otherhand, I should have first expressed my gratitude that they offer the .375s as they are a PITA to produce and most don’t mess with it. So yes, thanks for giving us the option [cheers.gif]