Ridge Monte Bello (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2012
-
Wong
Wilfred -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Monte Bello vineyard, situated a mere 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, sits high atop the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, California's coolest cabernet producing area. It is underlain by decomposing limestone, which is not found in the well-known Cabernet producing areas of Napa and Sonoma, making the soil composition at Monte Bello a unique and important contributor to the wine's distinctive character.
Blend: 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: It has been a half-dozen years since I tasted the 2012 California Cabernet Sauvignons; this Ridge Monte Bello is impressive with its strength and power on the palate. Even with a decade of age, this wine stays firm and built, looking for more time in the bottle. I'll have to check the cellar for other 2012s. TASTING NOTES: This wine is powerful from start to finish. Its aromas of tart berries, oak, licorice, and dried leaves would pair well with an old-fashioned, slow-cooked pot roast. (Tasted: September 16, 2022, Cupertino, CA)
-
Wine Spectator
Beautifully structured, with firm acidity and tannins that show grip amid a core of dense currant and blackberry fruit, turning juicy. This is classic old-school Cabernet. Cellaring for five to seven years is the right approach. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2020 through 2035.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Inky colored, the sensational 2012 Monte Bello comes all from the Santa Cruz Mountains and is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. It's backwards and tight, with classic black cherry, crushed violets, cassis, espresso roast and crème brulee notes all flowing seamlessly to a full-bodied, concentrated, structured and layered Bordeaux blend that has bright acidity, a stacked mid-palate and firm tannin. It needs 5-6 years of cellaring and will hold for two decades beyond that.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine & Spirits
This vintage of Monte Bello includes a fairly high proportion of merlot—22 percent—which, along with the warmth of the 2012 vintage, gives the wine an unusually lush, open, velvety texture in its youth. Still, it’s not a wine to drink now. A layer of stony tannins tugs at the fruit, pulling mouthwatering blackberry and cedar flavors back into the wine’s structure and holding them at a distance. Bright mountain-grown acidity will support the 2012 well as it ages. This should hit its stride in another eight or ten years.
-
Connoisseurs' Guide
Over the years, Ridge’s Monte Bello bottlings have been among the most individual and distinctive of the state’s top Cabernets, and the latest incarnation fits the classic winery model of precision, restraint and varietal purity. It backs well away from high ripeness and bluster and fixes on steady cassis- and cherry-like fruit with subtle accents of oak and herbs scattered throughout its considerable length, but it is its sense of structure and keen balance that earns it a place with the high achievers of the 2012 class.
Other Vintages
2020-
Wong
Wilfred
-
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine
-
Wong
Wilfred -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James - Vinous
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Wong
Wilfred -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Journal
The Somm -
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Spectator
Wine
-
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred
-
Parker
Robert - Decanter
-
Wong
Wilfred -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine & - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
Ridge's history begins in 1885, when Osea Perrone, a doctor and prominent member of San Francisco's Italian community, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He planted vineyards and constructed a winery of redwood and native limestone in time to produce the first vintage of Monte Bello in 1892. The historic building now serves as the Ridge production facility.
Though Ridge began as a Cabernet winery, by the mid-60s, it had produced several Zinfandels including the Geyserville. In 1972, Lytton Springs joined the line-up and the two came to represent an important part of Ridge production. Known primarily for its red wines, Ridge has also made limited amounts of Chardonnay since 1962.
The Ridge approach is straightforward: find the most intense and flavorful grapes, guide the natural process, draw all the fruit's richness into the wine. Decisions on when to pick, when to press, when to rack, what varietals and what parcels to include and when to bottle, are based on taste. To retain the nuances that increase complexity, Ridge winemakers handle the grapes and wine as gently as possible. There are no recipes, only attention and sensitivity.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A rugged and topographically diverse cool-climate appellation with a rich history, the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA stretches from Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, to the northern border of Monterey County. Elevations range from 800 feet to upwards of 3,000 and microclimates vary substantially depending on which side of the mountains the vineyards lie; cool ocean winds and fog play an important role here. This can be a challenging region in which to grow grapes, but it is well worth the effort. Santa Cruz Mountains wines are noted for balanced acidity levels, often showing great aging potential. Wine has been made here since the 1800s, most notably from the legendary Ridge Vineyards, whose Monte Bello vineyard garners international admiration.
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the stars of this region, while Merlot and Zinfandel also perform quite well. Organic and sustainable vineyard practices are becoming increasingly common.