Winemaker Notes
100% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A beautiful, toasty, buttery wine, full-bodied and abundant in fruit and oak spices, showing baked-apple, ripe-pear, butterscotch and brioche flavors. Made from 40-year-old vines of the Wente clone, growing on limestone soil and fermented in 4% new oak, mostly American. Drink now or hold.
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Wine Spectator
A distinct white, with impressive spice notes including nutmeg, black cardamom and clove that add a warm, toasty quality to the grilled Meyer lemon and Fuji apple flavors. Shows touches of panna cotta and gingersnap, with firm crushed rock minerality and toasted brioche details that are harmonious and complex on the finish. Drink now through 2038.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2024 Ridge Estate Chardonnay is medium straw in color; aromas of dried spices and rustic earth rise from the glass; full-bodied, layered, and elevated on the palate; dry, with balanced acidity and solid balance; chalky, earthy flavors give depth and structure; finishes firm, composed, and persistent. From the rugged slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains, this Chardonnay speaks with quiet authority and pairs beautifully with roast chicken and wild mushrooms, where the wine’s earthy nuances and structural backbone echo the dish's savory richness. (Tasted: March 17, 2026, San Francisco, CA, USA)
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Jeb Dunnuck
From the Monte Bello Estate Vineyard, the 2024 Chardonnay Estate suffered 20% reduced yields this vintage and is ripe in citrus and apple, with pronounced oak and a medium-bodied frame. There's primary fruit in the form of apple and citrus and a caramel toastiness to the finish. Drink now through 2030.
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.
In 1962, Ridge Vineyards made its first Monte Bello, and two years later its first zinfandel. 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.
In August 2021, Ridge Vineyards joined International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), a group of like-minded wineries that are dedicated to decarbonizing the global wine industry. RIDGE is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050 and completes a biannual greenhouse gas audit utilizing the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol methodology and be verified by an internationally accredited, third-party auditor.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
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.