Winemaker Notes
Saturated ruby/purple color. Marvelously-scented rich mountain bramble fruit, intense anise/fennel, ginger, cardamom, flint. Black currant/cassis entry, coffee, forest floor, crushed rock. Full body, elegant chalky tannins, refreshing acidity in a lengthy finish.
Blend: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Dried mulberry, brick dust and rosemary aromas intertwine with Monte Bello’s signature sweet n’ sour scent. Seamless, pure and plump on the palate, with flavours of dried blueberry, fig and dried cherry. The finish is firm and rustic, ending with notes of ash, cocoa powder and cherry skins. Still in its youth, but beginning to reveal itself. Drinking Window 2021 - 2041.
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Wine & Spirits
The cool 2011 season turned out a pristine vintage of Monte Bello, made from cabernet (88 percent) grown on a limestone-inflected ridge high above Silicon Valley, blended with some merlot and cabernet franc. The team at Ridge let the fruit recover for two weeks following an early October storm before picking, and were more aggressive in their extraction than normal, drawing as much color and structure as possible from the delicate fruit. The aromas revolve around oak at first—anise, wood smoke, cedar bark and cinnamon—but the wood’s contribution is fine and integrated, shading gradually toward bright fruit as the finish lengthens with floral aromas and the tang of tiny, concentrated black currants. It’s even better with a day of air, as the tannins turn to velvet, allowing red-fruited acidity to take the lead and brighten the wine’s savory, pungent sous bois tones of wet wood and forest mushrooms. Supremely elegant and polished, it’s a wine to put away and forget about for the next ten years or so. Its transparency it will suit game birds as much as beef.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A superb example of this chronically undersung harvest, the 2011 Monte Bello strikes me as a more contemporary version of the 1985, combining a pleasantly herbal profile with a tensile, understated core and just enough streamlined polish. It opens with a distinctly herbal, open-knit bouquet energized by streaks of menthol, underbrush, dried tobacco and chalky overtones, and it concludes with a succulent, gentle and fine-grained finish. While I don't expect this to enjoy the extraordinarily long drinking window of Monte Bello's more structural and assertive renditions—although this example was served from magnum—it is a fantastic example of a modern vintage drinking near its peak, and I suspect it will hold for the better part of a decade. It achieved 12.8% alcohol, and the blend is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc.
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James Suckling
I love the mineral, lead pencil and blackberry aromas and flavors in this. Full yet refined and ultra clean. Fantastic. Why wait on this?
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 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.