2023 Monte Bello Chardonnay

Distinctive flinty reduction is complemented by aromas of toasted sesame, brioche, and lemon curd, leading into a medium-bodied palate of key lime, ripe stone fruits, and pineapple with subtle hazelnut. Focused and balanced, the wine combines generous fruit with fresh acidity and layered complexity. The finish is long, with enduring richness. LL (7/26)

A late spring start followed by a cool growing season delayed ripening. Grapes were whole cluster pressed, the juice then transferred to barrel. After natural fermentation, lees were stirred bi-weekly for six months, then left on lees for an extra eight months to develop full complexity. Minerality reflecting the limestone soils of Monte Bello typify the wine. Enjoyable upon release, it will evolve over ten years in the cellar. JO (4/25)

In the late 1940’s William Short, retired theologian and then-owner of the Ridge Torre vineyard (2070’ – 2390’), planted several acres of chardonnay, which provided the 1962 estate Monte Bello Chardonnay for the Ridge partners’ first vintage. From 1962 to 1984, four to eight barrels of chardonnay were produced each year under the Monte Bello designation. By 1985, younger, replanted vines had begun to supplant the older vines, whose yields had dropped to a quarter-ton per acre and we changed the designation to Santa Cruz Mountains. By 1999, the young vines had matured; we were able to select, in most years, several exceptional parcels for a Monte Bello Chardonnay, a practice that continues to this day.

Rainfall: 70 inches (above average)
Bloom: Late June
Weather: Late and prolonged harvest due to consistently cool weather throughout the growing season.

Harvest Dates: 26 & 27 October
Grapes: Average Brix 24.1˚
TA: 4.5 g/L
pH: 3.34
Fermentation: Grapes whole-cluster pressed and barrel fermented. Natural primary and natural secondary (malolactic) fermentations.
Barrels: 90% American & 10% French oak barrels (15% new, 20% one year old, 10% two years old, 30% three years old, and 25% five and six years old).
Aging: Twenty months in barrel

Hand-harvested, estate-grown, organic Monte Bello grapes; whole cluster pressed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel fermentation and aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at juice barrel down, 102 ppm over the course of aging); bottled without filtration. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

See all food pairing recipes we have created specifically for this wine.