Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (375ML half-bottle) 2017
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Winemaker Notes
Saturated purple in color. Aromas of cassis, blueberry, cola, licorice, and sweet oak. Ripe blackberry fruit entry, full bodied, rich textures, exotic spice roasted coffee, and toasted oak aftertaste. Complex, long, sensuous finish. paired with Creole Sausage Balls, Grilled Lamb T-Bones, Pink Peppercorn & Pomegranate Glaze, and Minted Heirloom Carrots, Lamb Meatloaf, Red Wine Sausage, Mozzarella & Red Onion Pizza.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Too often overshadowed by its celebrated running mate, this exquisite wine sourced from the Monte Bello vineyard is silky and lush with lovely structure, tangy style and complexity; sock it away for a few years and be blown away.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Monte Bello Vineyard is blended with 21% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The nose is still tightly wound, taking plenty of air to reveal deep aromas of cassis, tobacco, licorice and coffee with top notes of violet and graphite. The palate is full-bodied and powerful, with a firm grain and concentrated fruits, and it finishes very long, layered and uplifted. This will require more time in bottle than the Klein Cabernet.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate showed beautifully, with gorgeous notes of cassis, crushed violets, graphite, and lead pencil all emerging from the glass. Showing plenty of richness and depth, medium to full body, good acidity, and plenty of firm tannins, it's not a blockbuster, but it has the balance and class to evolve for 15 years or more. The blend is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot.
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Wine & Spirits
The limestone seabed on which this cabernet grows produces Monte Bello as well as this Estate bottling, a selection of the parcels that provide a more accessible wine early on. Those parcels rise up the mountainside in Cupertino, ranging from 1,300 to 2,700 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Crafted by Eric Baugher, the 2017 is an austere yet concentrated wine with mellow intensity, its organically farmed fruit offering fresh black currant and anise savor, its tannins capturing the mineral inflection and tension that limestone soils can give. Rather than effusive enthusiasm, it’s a wine of coastal harmony. Zen cabernet.
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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.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
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.