Wine Advocate Reviews RIDGE Monte Bello Magnums from 1971–2023
Wine Advocate
Highlights from the 50th Anniversary Judgment of Paris luncheon at Daniel
April 2026
To kick off celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the historic Judgment of Paris, Ridge Vineyards hosted a vertical magnum tasting and luncheon at Daniel in New York City. Revisiting vintages ranging from the celebrated 1971 Monte Bello, first brought to global attention when it placed fifth in the 1976 tasting, to 2023, this four course luncheon featured the wines in an order based on taste.
Wine Advocate’s Matthew Luczy was in attendance and notes “The chosen vintages were arranged thematically rather than chronologically, which brought a welcome variety and rhythm to the proceedings.”
“Such a tasting also makes the consistent character of the Monte Bello Vineyard palpably apparent; across cool, rainy vintages and punishing drought conditions alike, the site leaves a recognizable signature, as only the greatest vineyards of the world do” — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
First Flight: Elegant and Reserved
The first flight of Monte Bello featured the 1985, 1990, and 1977. Luczy laudes the 1985 as a “high point in a generally inconsistent decade for many California producers.”
1985 Monte Bello – 92 Points
“It is svelte, clean and remarkably pretty on the palate, with a savory, herb-inflected finish that lingers with fully resolved tannins and a touch of earthy undertones.”
The product of a rainy vintage, the 1985 Monte Bello is fully mature at this point, opening with a classic mature-Monte Bello bouquet of camphor, pine needles, crushed mint, gravel dust and loamy soil. It is svelte, clean and remarkably pretty on the palate, with a savory, herb-inflected finish that lingers with fully resolved tannins and a touch of earthy undertones. I tasted this from magnum, and while it is not in any danger of immediate decline, I have a hard time imagining it developing further from here. Labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon, it contains 7% Merlot and has an alcohol by volume of 13.1%. — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
1990 Monte Bello – 94 Points
“The 1990 Monte Bello speaks to the site’s inherent consistency and impressive performance in dry vintages”
Exhibiting a polar opposite profile compared to the wet 1985 harvest, the 1990 Monte Bello speaks to the site’s inherent consistency and impressive performance in dry vintages, although an early summer rain reduced the crop size and helped deliver an elegant wine overall. Tasted out of magnum, it exudes a markedly more fruit-dominant profile than most of the other wines in the vertical, defined by considerable mouthfeel density, melting tannins and impressively lively streaks of acidity that pulse through a focused yet resonant finish. It’s a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot with a labeled alcohol content of 13.5%. — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
1977 Monte Bello – 89 Points
“The mouthfeel exudes the characteristically suave, dense texture of Monte Bello before ending with a modest finish.”
Based almost entirely on Cabernet Sauvignon, with a small addition of Merlot, the 1977 Monte Bello hails from an extremely low-yielding vintage following two years of severe drought and attained just 11.7% natural alcohol. Even out of magnum, it is one of the few wines in this vertical that is past its prime, opening with a matte bouquet of medicinal herbs, remnants of new wood and an overall dehydrated character with feral overtones that gradually come to the fore with further aeration. The mouthfeel exudes the characteristically suave, dense texture of Monte Bello before ending with a modest finish. — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
Second Flight: Riper Vintages
2001 Monte Bello – 97 Points
“The wine offers a remarkably youthful bouquet of red plums, pipe tobacco, truffle, dried mint and subtle undertones of vanilla, introducing a fittingly dense yet suave and impressively elegant mouthfeel despite its comparatively outsized personality.”
While certainly an outlier in Monte Bello’s history, the fact that the 2001 Monte Bello’s “record-high” alcohol content is just 14.1% tells one all they need to know about Ridge’s aesthetic preferences. The season served as a prelude to vintage conditions that have become increasingly common: August heat spells, the resulting hydric stress and accelerated ripening. Poured from a magnum, the wine offers a remarkably youthful bouquet of red plums, pipe tobacco, truffle, dried mint and subtle undertones of vanilla, introducing a fittingly dense yet suave and impressively elegant mouthfeel despite its comparatively outsized personality. The finish continues this luscious profile, although it is energized by ample acidity and persistent, supple tannins that provide an ironclad frame for the wine’s overall generosity. The cépage is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot. — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
1992 Monte Bello – 95+ Points
“The wine opens with beautiful floral and minty notes that gradually fuse with classic pipe tobacco, loamy soil and truffle accents”
The 1992 Monte Bello was the product of a superb harvest, with temperate summer and autumn weather and ample yields. The particular magnum I tasted was quite a moving target in the glass, and its performance was surely hindered by the substantial sediment in the pour I happened to receive. The wine opens with beautiful floral and minty notes that gradually fuse with classic pipe tobacco, loamy soil and truffle accents, though increasingly medicinal overtones came forward with aeration, marring the clarity first glimpsed at the first pour. The mouthfeel is suave, dense and richly concentrated, then concludes with an earth-inflected finish that feels relatively lackluster and a touch blurry, especially given the generosity and power that precedes it. I hope to have the chance to reevaluate this wine in the future. The blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 9% Petit Verdot with a natural alcohol content of 13.5%. — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
1978 Monte Bello – 88 Points
“opening with myriad fruit aromas ranging from mixed berries to stone fruit, along with dried-leather overtones”
After two vintages of severe drought, the 1978 Monte Bello is the product of a warm harvest marked by vigorous canopy growth and a small crop, yielding a generous iteration of Monte Bello that appears to have been at its best some time ago. Even from magnum, it is quite tired on the nose, opening with myriad fruit aromas ranging from mixed berries to stone fruit, along with dried-leather overtones. The mouthfeel is weighty in substance yet a touch dilute at the same time, then closes with a slightly hollow finish that lingers with a powdery sensation. Monte Bello was labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon during this period, with this vintage including 6% Merlot and reaching a natural alcohol of 13.6%.
Third Flight: More Structured Renditions
Awarding them 100 and 99 points respectively, Luczy shares his thoughts on the 2013 and 2023 vintages of Monte Bello
“One of my first reactions to tasting the extraordinary 2013 and the spectacular 2023 back to back was to think of the Voyager Golden Record; launched aboard the Voyager spacecraft in 1977, the disc contains a vast array of terrestrial recordings—weather events, whale and bird songs, greetings in dozens of languages and musical compositions by Bach, Mozart, Louis Armstrong and Chuck Berry—functioning as a sonic amalgam of the planet’s bounty along with humanity’s countless cultural creations. It got me thinking about a hypothetical vinous equivalent and what would merit inclusion: I think it’s uncontroversial to say that a California Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend of some sort would deserve representation, and I feel that a superb vintage of Monte Bello would be a strong contender to represent the category.” — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
2023 Monte Bello – 99 Points
“This could prove to be one of the all-time greatest iterations of Monte Bello.”
The 2023 Monte Bello is the definition of classicism across every metric, seamlessly fusing a slow-moving, even-keeled profile with an enviable combination of charm, assertion and effortlessness. The nose opens with a perfect melange of red and black berries, framed by classically informed toasted, herbal and graphite flourishes, along with youthful vanilla undertones that meld with floral notes after aeration. The palate is simultaneously seamless, supple, juicy and firm, before moving into a long finish that is expansive yet expertly controlled, riding on a chassis of ultra-refined, chalky tannins. I had one bottle open for multiple days and saw nothing but an upward trajectory, with notable oak integration relative to its first-day showing. Additionally, I retasted the wine out of magnum in the context of a vertical spanning back to 1971, which only solidified my belief that this could prove to be one of the all-time greatest iterations of Monte Bello. It will be worth cellaring for a decade, at minimum, and should drink beautifully for at least the next three after that. The blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, and the wine achieved 13.2% natural alcohol. — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
2013 Monte Bello – 100 Points
The 2013 Monte Bello is as quintessential an example of Monte Bello as one could ask for, handily combining intoxicating aromas, lavish richness, vibrant energy and tenacious structure. Tasted from magnum, it bounds from the glass with a visceral bouquet that moves through floral, herbal and savory phases before morphing into a dizzying melange that serves as a dictionary definition of Monte Bello’s profile. The mouthfeel places the wine among Monte Bello’s grander, more enveloping examples, yet for all its power and muscle, the exquisite balance, buoyancy and clear through-line of chalky mineral notes provide ample energy to its multidimensional, show-stopping finish. This is unquestionably a classic rendition not only of Monte Bello but of a California Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend overall, and it is best left in the cellar until at least its 20th birthday. The blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot, with 13.6% alcohol.
1995 Monte Bello – 96 Points
“A clear standout in the tasting, the 1995 Monte Bello appears to have been frozen in time, especially when served from magnum.”
A clear standout in the tasting, the 1995 Monte Bello appears to have been frozen in time, especially when served from magnum. The result of a moderately sized crop with abnormally small and concentrated berries, it displays perhaps the most youthful character of any wine tasted in this vertical, slowly wafting from the glass with an intense and darkly floral bouquet, seamless oak integration and classic flourishes of graphite, tobacco and crushed stones. The mouthfeel is velvety, rich and indulgent, yet it retains a taut, laser-focused core that persists through the burly, resolute finish. While it’s certainly ready to drink, it is still a colossal wine with a substantial payload of tannins, and there’s no danger of it waning for some time to come. It finished at 12.5% alcohol, and the blend is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
Fourth Flight: A Diverse Duo
“The wine’s inclusion in and performance at the Judgment are significant parts of Monte Bello’s broader historical gravitas, but its continued excellence in the ensuing decades has secured the wine an authoritative position that extends far beyond its unique origins in the Santa Cruz Mountains.”
2011 Monte Bello – 95 Points
“It is a fantastic example of a modern vintage drinking near its peak”
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. — Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
1971 Monte Bello – 93 Points
“Based on its notable performance out of magnum five decades later, it is not difficult to imagine what a striking wine it must’ve been in its youth.”
The 1971 Monte Bello is one of Ridge’s legendary wines, famous, of course, for its appearance at the 1976 Judgment of Paris, where it placed fifth. Based on its notable performance out of magnum five decades later, it is not difficult to imagine what a striking wine it must’ve been in its youth. The signatures of Monte Bello are on display throughout, from minty herbal inflections to aromas of Earl Grey tea, vine smoke, truffle and gravel dust, to a svelte and rich yet deceptively slender mouthfeel and a long, layered finish propelled by the site’s signature chalky, melting tannins. While it certainly showed better in the past decade, well-stored bottles will be quite enjoyable today and should remain so over the next handful of years, though I understand any collector’s reluctance to pull the corks, given the wine’s collectibility and heritage. It is composed entirely of Cabernet Sauvignon and attainted 12.2% natural alcohol.
Learn more about the historic Judgment of Paris tasting and how we’re celebrating the 50th Anniversary.
Wait!
In order to qualify for user related discounts, you must log in before proceeding with checkout. Click the button below to log in and receive these benefits, or close the window to continue.
Log In