2011 Monte Bello among Eric Asimov’s Unforgettable Wines of 2021

The New York Times

December 2021

Last month, Eric Asimov wrote the following about discovering distinctive cabernet:

“If Americans know one thing about wine, they know this: Napa Valley makes cabernet sauvignon. They know it so well that many Americans simply assume that all cabernet sauvignon comes from Napa Valley. Paul Draper, the longtime head of Ridge Vineyards, which makes Monte Bello, perhaps the greatest American cabernet, once joked to me that people were surprised to learn that Monte Bello was not from Napa. It comes from the Santa Cruz Mountains.” (Source)

Now, Asimov is looking back on this year as a time to experience wine from the comfort and safety of his home. Read on to discover why our Monte Bello cabernet is on his list of most memorable in “2021 Seen Through 12 Unforgettable Wines.”

2011 Ridge Monte Bello

“I recently said in an article that Ridge Monte Bello was perhaps the greatest American cabernet sauvignon. I received some pushback for that opinion … I ought better to have said ‘among the greatest American cabernets.’

“But the 2011, which I drank in January for a Zoom discussion on that very difficult California vintage, reinforced my conviction. It was gorgeous, beautifully aromatic, complex and elegant, graceful and savory.”

“I can think of a lot of great California cabernets. But it’s hard for me to think of any that are regularly better than Monte Bello.”

Eric Asimov, The New York Times