New Scores From Vinous
Vinous Media
October 2025
In his Fall 2025 Santa Cruz Mountains report, Billy Norris of Vinous Media highlights RIDGE’s “reliably consistent wines,” noting the careful expression of each vineyard site. Among the new releases, five wines earned 95-point scores, reflecting the balance, structure, and consistent quality that define these vineyards year after year.
2023 Geyserville | 95+ Points
“The 2023 Geyserville is dark and brooding. Virile and intense, this is a monster wine that’s only at the very beginning of its evolution. So impressively articulated, the 2023 somberly marches from the glass with dark shadings of tobacco, inky black fruit, cracked pepper, sage, turned earth and pine, building powerful minerality with aeration. The 2023 will need several years to come around. It’s a sleeping giant today.”
2022 Monte Bello | 96 Points
“The 2022 Monte Bello feels like a cooler-vintage wine, defying all expectations of the torrid growing season. Juicy, fresh and very old school, the 2022 sashays with true elegance as it unfurls into classic layers of cedar box, tobacco, grilled herbs, tart cherry and crushed rocks. A return to a more typical percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in this vintage can be felt in the wine’s upright build and darker aromatic shadings. Winemaker John Olney chose to keep the 2022 in barrel for 21 months, a little longer than usual, in an effort to tame its fierce young tannins. That prescription worked out swimmingly. The 2022 is a very serious, structured wine, but its textural polish is beyond reproach. It’s a Monte Bello that whispers rather than shouts. Time is very much on your side.”
2023 Estate Chardonnay | 95 Points
“The 2023 Chardonnay Estate is bright, fresh and precisely articulated. Sourced entirely from the Monte Bello estate vineyard, the 2023 is a rounded, intensely concentrated wine that remains completely energized and lively from the vibrant first sip to the creamy finish. Shades of caramelized pear, white flowers and marzipan blossom in the glass. The Chardonnay was aged in a combination of 85% American and 15% French oak, 20% new. It’s a fabulous edition of this bottling.”
2023 Lytton Springs | 95 Points
“The 2023 Lytton Springs is powerfully aromatic and expressive from the jump. It explodes from the glass with dark blue fruit, lavender and blood orange peel, framed by mocha-like richness and a wave of exotic spice. The texture is pure silk, wrapping the palate with seamless contours and lifted freshness courtesy of the cool growing season. A blend of 76% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, 7% Carignane, 2% Alicante Bouschet and 1% Mataro, the 2023 shows remarkable persistence and poise. If you know Lytton, you know these wines can age for decades—this one is clearly built for the long haul.”
2023 Pagani Ranch Zinfandel | 95 Points
“The 2023 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch is potent and intense yet exceptionally cool-toned and collected. Bright, chalky blood orange, black pepper, underbrush and blue-toned fruit flow confidently across the palate. The acids drive with real gusto, carrying a salty core of fruit that saturates deeply but remains tightly hemmed in by firm tannins. There’s tremendous tension and shimmering vibrancy here, all channeled into a long, measured finish.”
2022 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon | 94 Points
“The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate delivers an unmistakable Monte Bello stamp. Lavender, black olive, pine forest and cedar tones announce this as what can only be Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet. Layers of forest floor, garrigue and generous black fruit flesh out on the generous mid-palate, nicely offsetting the bright, crunchy acids. This is an exceptional rendition of the Estate Cabernet, especially in this challenging hot vintage. Beautifully balanced and so fresh, the 2022 is fabulously transparent and approachable. Best of all, the gap between this bottling and the Monte Bello is notably narrower than usual. Don’t miss it.”
2023 East Bench | 93 Points
“The 2023 Zinfandel East Bench, from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley, delivers bright raspberry fruit, white pepper and gentle mineral grip. Crunchy and vibrant, the 2023 reflects a more classic California Zinfandel profile, eschewing overt sun-kissed ripeness in favor of savory cedar and tobacco inflections. Very nicely done.”
2023 Paso Robles Zinfandel | 93 Points
“The 2023 Zinfandel (Paso Robles) comes from the east side of Benito Dusi Ranch. It opens with a rush of dark varietal fruit and structure, with notes of spiced blackberry preserves and licorice underpinned by subtle tobacco tones. Despite its undeniably forward personality, the 2023 remains balanced and composed. The finish is long and mouthcoating, marked by impressive persistence, energy and palpable tannic grip.”
2023 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon | 93 Points
“The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Cruz Mountains) is a blend of fruit from the Monte Bello estate and a few neighboring vineyards (Bates, Vidovich and Fellom) aged for 16 months in 100% American oak. Taut and structured, the 2023 opens with dark fruit, cracked pepper, smoked meat, tobacco leaf and cedar, all enshrouded in firm, chalky tannins that lead to a long, savory finish. This is a very fine access point to the Ridge house style at a more approachable price. As a note, this cuvée has existed in various iterations in the past, and was the original designation for what eventually became Ridge’s Estate Cabernet.”
2023 Three Valleys | 93 Points
“The 2023 Three Valleys is a serious edition of this bottling from Ridge. Firm and structured, it delivers brambly blue fruit, graphite, vanilla, licorice and tons of spice, all wrapped up in a voluptuous, curvy frame. The Ridge house style is on full display. Best of all, the 2023 punches way above its modest price point. Though this is the ultimate by-the-glass pour or house red, it’s complex enough to stand with the big boys in this portfolio.”
2024 Grenache Blanc | 92 Points
“The 2024 Grenache Blanc Paso Robles also includes dollops of Picpoul and Roussanne. A flicker of gunsmoke reduction leads the charge, opening into a tropical-inflected array of rich, oily fruit. Bright and phenolic, the 2024 is a nicely textured white with a palpable sense of mineral grip. Golden mango, pear, toasted hazelnut, orange oil and chalk build with air.”
2022 Lytton Estate Petite Sirah | 92 Points
“The 2022 Petite Sirah Lytton Estate is dark, brooding and unapologetically wild. A musky, slightly feral note runs through layers of dense blackberry and plum. It’s tight and compact through the mid-palate, then slams into a wall of prickly, chewy tannins. Even so, the fruit is plush and opulent, hinting at the textural smoothness that will emerge with time. Right now, the 2022 is still finding its footing.”
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