Description
In 1886 the first blocks of the Monte Bello vineyard were planted and construction on the winery begun. The first vintage was the 1892. In the early 1940s, the last of the old vineyard was abandoned; in the late forties, a few blocks were replanted. Those Cabernet vines—now over sixty-five years old—produced the first Ridge Monte Bello (1962) and subsequent vintages until 1974. By then, other abandoned blocks had been replanted, and their fruit considered for use in the Monte Bello. A number of those consistently produced a more accessible wine that developed its full complexity earlier, and these were combined as the “Santa Cruz Mountains.” With the 2008 vintage, the name of this stylistically distinct wine became the Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, stressing the principal varietal and the Monte Bello estate vineyard as its source.
Hand-harvested, estate-grown grapes; destemmed and sorted; fermented on indigenous yeast; calcium carbonate; full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; minimum effective sulfur (35 ppm at crush,158 ppm during aging). In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.
Harvest Dates: 1 – 24 September
Grapes: Average Brix 24.4˚
TA: 7.0 g/L
pH: 3.51
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed, and sorted; 100% whole berries fermented on the native yeasts.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (50% new and 50% one-year-old).
Aging: Nineteen months in barrel.
Dark purple hues with black cherry, dark plum, black olive, soy, dried jerky, lilac, dried rose petals, cedar, juniper berry, and wintergreen mint. Fresh entry with building tannins that coat the entire palate. Gravelly, dusty, and mineral notes give way to layers of red and black fruits. Integrated oak with youthful tannins and acidity. Will prove to be very age-worthy.
