1981 Monte Bello Ruby Cabernet

This single acre of Ruby Cabernet, planted at our Monte Bello Vineyards in the late 1940s, has been kept separate in each vintage for the last twenty years. In 1981 it set the largest crop to date and was barely ripe when picked in late October. This gave the wine a Bordeaux-like elegance and lighter body than our Cabernet Sauvignon. It should soften somewhat with two years of bottle age and be in its prime in five or six years. PD (9/83)

Begun in 1959, Ridge was one of the first of today’s chateau-size California wineries, that is, those that attempt only the highest quality at the quality levels of the classified chateaux (up to 40,000 cases). All the wines are aged in small oak cooperage with the majority receiving no cellar treatment other than racking. Located above 2300 feet on the Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains, our winery and main vineyards overlook San Francisco Bay.