2008 monte bello®

Varietal Information

2008 Monte Bello, bottled June 2010
72% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot
Vineyard Production: 60 tons from 58 acres
22 parcels selected for this wine
13.3% alcohol by volume

History

In 1886, high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Monte Bello estate vineyard was planted, and the winery constructed. A first vintage from the young vines followed in 1892. During Prohibition (1920-1933), the vineyard was not fully maintained; by the 1940s it was effectively abandoned. Eight acres of cabernet sauvignon were replanted in 1949. These were the source of the first Ridge Monte Bello (1962). Since then, the original vineyards have gradually been replanted.

Vintage

Harvest Dates: 26 September - 16 October
Grapes: Average Brix 24.3 degrees
Fermentation: Destemmed, and left uncrushed as whole berries. Natural-yeast primary and secondary fermentations. Pressed at six days.
Barrels: 98% new and 2% one year old air-dried american oak; 2% new french oak (for comparison.)
Aging: Eighteen months in barrel

Growing Season

Rainfall: 30 inches (below average)
Bloom: Early June
Weather: Moderate summer/fall, long cool growing season.

Winemaker Tasting Notes

Opaque purple-tinged ruby. Ripe black currant, fennel, cola, crushed-rock mineral, and a hint of sweet oak. Dense, full-bodied, with velvety tannins, firm acid. Lingering oak/spice finish. (8/11)

• 2008 MONTE BELLO 2008 Ridge Monte Bello, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 02-2010 , Tasting
  Rating: 94-96
  
  The 2008 Monte Bello (still in barrel) is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot. More successful and higher in quality than the 2007, it exh...(more)
• 2007 MONTE BELLO 2007 Ridge Monte Bello, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 02-2010 , Tasting
  Rating: 92
  
  The 2007 Monte Bello is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. Its dense ruby/purple color is accompanied ...(more)
• 2006 MONTE BELLO 2006 Ridge Monte Bello, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 02-2010 , Tasting
  Rating: 94+
  
  While it is eclipsed by the brilliance of the 2005, the 2006 Monte Bello (68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc) is...(more)
• 2006 MONTE BELLO Year's Best Cabernet and Blends, Joshua Greene , Wine & Spirits 12-2009 , Tasting
  RATED: 92
  
  2006 Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon On the the quiet side of intense, this vintage of Monte Bello is austere, delivering its f...(more)
• 2005 MONTE BELLO 2005 Ridge Monte Bello, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 02-2010 , Tasting
  Rating: 97
  
  Composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2005 Monte Bello should be one of the all-time greats made at ...(more)
• 2005 MONTE BELLO Five-Star California Red Blends , Quarterly Review Of Wines 06-2009 , Tasting
  2005 RIDGE MONTE BELLO (CALIFORNIA). 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Big, deep, rich, earthy, powerful, licorice, cassis and ...(more)
• 2005 MONTE BELLO 12-2008 , Tasting
  SCORE: 93 **
  
  For more than three decades, Ridge Montebello Cabernets have generated their fair share of excitement in the market. In more years than not they challen...(more)
• 2005 MONTE BELLO Year's Best Cabernet and Blends, Joshua Greene , Wine & Spirits 12-2008 , Tasting
  SCORE: 97
  
  2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon The vines at Ridge’s Monte Bello Estate vineyard, at altitudes from 1,300 to 2,660 feet abo...(more)
• 2005 MONTE BELLO Great Wine Bargains-Exceptional bottles for less than 150 bucks, Mike Steinberger , Slate Magazine 06-2008 , Tasting
  The 2005 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon ($145) is still an infant, but the seeds of greatness are manifest. The wine is showing lots of everything at the moment—black cu...(more)
• 2005 MONTE BELLO 5-Star California Red Blends , Quarterly Review Of Wines 06-2008 , Tasting
  2005 RIDGE MONTE BELLO (CALIFORNIA). About 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Huge, tannic, powerfully built, black fruit, ea...(more)
• 2004 MONTE BELLO 2004 Ridge Monte Bello, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 02-2010 , Tasting
  Rating: 91
  
  The 2004 Monte Bello (76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) reveals a similar dark ruby/purple color, but it i...(more)
• 2004 MONTE BELLO , Wine & Spirits 12-2007 , Tasting
  SCORE: 94
  
  2004 Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon
  Ridge grows one of California's most distinctive cabernets at its Monte Bello estate. Ridg...(more)
• 2004 MONTE BELLO Lining up some fine Ridge wines, Patrick Comiskey , Los Angeles Times 06-2007 , Tasting
  2004 Ridge Monte Bello. This year's estate red blend is three-quarters Cabernet, with the balance Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It is a seamless, beautifully...(more)
• 2004 MONTE BELLO New Releases from California's Central Coast, Stephen Tanzer , International Wine Cellar 09-2006 , Tasting
  2004 Monte Bello California:
  
  Ruby-red. Brooding aromas of cassis, blackberry, minerals, bitter chocolate, tobacco and fresh herbs. Fat, broad and sweet, with nicely integra...(more)
• 2004 MONTE BELLO 2004 California Cabernets Offer Richness and Balance, James Laube , Wine Spectator 05-2005 , Tasting
  2004 California Cabernets Offer Richness and Balance
  A preview of barrel samples shows uniformly high quality and excellent promise
  
  RIDGE Monte Bello Santa Cruz...(more)
• 2003 MONTE BELLO 2003 Ridge Monte Bello, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 02-2010 , Tasting
  Rating: 95+
  
  The 2003 Monte Bello goes from strength to strength. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, and 7% Petit Verdot, it exhibits a dense opaque purple...(more)
• 2003 MONTE BELLO The Dow Jones Classic Cabernet Index , The Wall Street Journal 11-2007 , Tasting
  Rating: Very Good/Delicious
  
  Black wine, rich and deep, intense and soulful, yet with good structure, too. Ripe California fruit, some chocolate and earth and some sp...(more)
• 2003 MONTE BELLO American Cabernet, Joshua Greene , Wine & Spirits 12-2006 , Tasting
  2003 Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon The elegant structure of Monte Bello cabernet comes through in the 2003 bottling, built on mineral tannins, fro...(more)
• 2003 MONTE BELLO New Releases from California's Central Coast, Stephen Tanzer , International Wine Cellar 09-2006 , Tasting
  2003 Monte Bello California ($120; 85% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot and 7% petit verdot):
  
  Full ruby-red. Knockout nose offers blackberry, currant, plum, cedar, minerals a...(more)
• 2003 MONTE BELLO 2003 Ridge Monte Bello, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 12-2005 , Tasting
  Rating: 94+
  
  The dense ruby-hued 2003 Monte Bello offers a tight but promising nose of tar, briery creme de cassis, toast, and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, with abun...(more)
• 2003 MONTE BELLO Buying Guide - Ridge Vineyards, Steve Heimoff , Wine Enthusiast 04-2005 , Tasting
  2003 Monte Bello (Santa Cruz Mountains); $NYR.
  
  All grapy-fermenty. Gobs of cherries. Good, rich, sweet tannins, brilliant acids. Finishes nice and fruity. Well balanced, co...(more)
• 2003 MONTE BELLO New Wines from the Central Coast, Stephen Tanzer , International Wine Cellar 08-2004 , Tasting
  2003 Monte Bello California ($80 as futures purchase now):
  
  Deep, full ruby. Superripe aromas of black cherry, coffee, mocha and sassafras. Creamy and dense, with tangy ber...(more)
• 2002 MONTE BELLO Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains 2002, James Laube , Wine Spectator 11-2005 , Tasting
  Open-knit and generous in its display of ripe, supple black cherry and blackberry fruit that's appealing. Well-balanced, it's a bit racy with a hint of balsamic cherry on the ...(more)
• 2002 MONTE BELLO Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Blends - New Releases, Nicholas Ponomareff , California Grapevine 10-2005 , Tasting
  2002 Ridge, "Monte Bello Vineyard," Santa Cruz Mountains ($120)
  
  Medium-dark ruby; attractive, forward, rich, spicy, cassis and sweet black cherry fruit aroma with hints of ...(more)
• 2002 MONTE BELLO Buying Guide - Ridge Vineyards, Steve Heimoff , Wine Enthusiast 04-2005 , Tasting
  2002 Monte Bello (Santa Cruz Mountains); $NYR.
  
  Smells "fermenty"--sharp, grapy, jammy. The fruit seems successfully ripe, but this is not a blockbuster. Like an immature ve...(more)
• 2002 MONTE BELLO Ridge Vineyards, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 02-2005 , Press
  Ridge has been a reference point winery for so many years you would think they are hundreds of years old. The fact is, their history began in 1886, when an Italian doctor purc...(more)
• 2002 MONTE BELLO New Wines from the Central Coast, Stephen Tanzer , International Wine Cellar 08-2004 , Tasting
  2002 Monte Bello California (74% cabernet sauvignon, 18% merlot and 8% petit verdot):
  
  Deep, full ruby. Explosively perfumed nose combines black raspberry, violet and dark ...(more)
• 2002 MONTE BELLO California Dreamin' - Deja Vu, Robert Parker , Wine Advocate 12-2003 , Press
  The great classics here are the proprietary reds from the Monte Bello Vineyard, which are now aged in 90% American and 10% French oak... The 2002 Monte Bello Proprietary Re...(more)
• 2002 MONTE BELLO Barrel Tasting, James Laube , Wine Spectator 11-2003 , Tasting
  A tight beam of herbal cherry, plum and wild berry fruit is sharply focused, dense and concentrated, with a firm wall of tannins on the finish. Score range: 92-94 (JL)...(more)
• 2001 MONTE BELLO Top 100 Wines of 2005 , Wine Enthusiast 12-2005 , Tasting
  Ridge 2001 Monte Bello (Santa Cruz Mountains)
  
  ***SCORE: 97***
  
  Without doubt this is a wine to cellar. It's massive in flavor, with the purest black currant...(more)