Monte Bello

The Monte Bello (originally Monte Bello Cabernet; until 1975, 100% cabernet) is the wine that introduced Ridge to the world, and the world to Ridge. Today it is a blend of bordeaux varietals in which cabernet sauvignon still predominates. Exhaustive tasting of test blends during assemblage determines how much — if any — merlot, petit verdot, or cabernet franc will be included in the finished wine. Almost every vintage (an unbroken chain from '62 on) has something substantive to recommend it. Each decade has its high points, but year after year Monte Bello proves to be a consistently outstanding wine. There's structure, there's complexity, there's balance. And it develops for a long, long time.

1976 Paris Tasting Rematch

May 24, 2006

On the 30th Anniversary of the Judgment of Paris tasting, the original wines were tasted blind by expert panels simultaneously in Napa and London. The 1971 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon earned the top rating by both panels.

"Judges on both continents gave top honours to a 1971 Ridge Monte Bello cabernet...." The Times Online

"The Ridge Monte Bello was my top wine warm and spicy with no sign of age, as fragrant as a fine Bordeaux, elegant and beautifully balanced." The Independent

"A 1971 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet from Napa received the highest praise." BBC News

"When the results were combined, the 1971 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon from the Santa Cruz Mountains finished first,..." San Francisco Chronicle

"Judging panels on both sides of the Atlantic declared the 1971 Ridge Monte Bello, a wine from the hills above Cupertino, the best wine in the tasting." Mercury News (free registration required)

Combined Results

1 - 1971 Ridge Monte Bello (137 points)
2 - 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (119 points)
3- (TIE) 1970 Heitz Martha's Vineyard (112 points)
3- (TIE) 1971 Mayacamas (112 points)
5 - 1972 Clos du Val (106 points)
6 - 1970 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (105 points) 7 - 1970 Chateau Montrose (92 points)
8 - 1970 Chateau Haut-Brion (82 points)
9 - 1971 Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases (66 points)
10 - 1969 Freemark Abbey (59 points)

UK Results

1 - 1971 Ridge Monte Bello (70 points)
2 - 1970 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (59 points)
3- 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (56 points)
4 - (TIE) 1970 Chateau Montrose (53 points)
4 - (TIE) 1972 Clos du Val (53 points)
6 - 1971 Mayacamas (52 points)
7 - 1970 Heitz Martha's Vineyard (50 points)
8 - 1970 Chateau Haut-Brion (46 points)
9 - 1971 Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases (32 points)
10 - 1969 Freemark Abbey (24 points)

Berry Bros. & Rudd (UK) Panel: Michel Bettane, Michael Broadbent MW, Michel Dovaz, Hugh Johnson, Matthew Jukes, Jane MacQuitty, Jasper Morris MW, Jancis Robinson OBE MW and Brian St. Pierre (UK panel chairman: Steven Spurrier)

US Results

1 - 1971 Ridge Monte Bello (67 points)
2 - 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (63 points)
3 - 1970 Heitz Martha's Vineyard (62 points)
4 - 1971 Mayacamas (60 points)
5 - 1972 Clos du Val (53 points)
6 - 1970 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (46 points)
7 - 1970 Chateau Montrose (39 points)
8 - 1970 Chateau Haut-Brion (36 points)
9 - 1969 Freemark Abbey (35 points)
10 - 1971 Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases (34 points)

A comprehensive results can be found on Copia's website