The American Vine Rating
Drink Window
2025–2045
The Santa Cruz Mountains benchmark, bottle after bottle — California's most age-worthy Cabernet blend.
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dense ruby-purple with a dark core.
Aroma: Blackcurrant and cherry with pine, crushed stone, and a savory herbal edge.
Palate: Powerful yet classical, with firm mountain tannins, dark fruit, and mineral lift from the high-elevation limestone soils.
Finish: Very long and structured, with serious cellaring promise..
Food Pairings
Prime rib, braised short ribs, roasted mushrooms, aged cheddar
About the Wine
Grown high on the Monte Bello ridge, this Bordeaux-style blend is Ridge's flagship: organically farmed mountain fruit, native fermentation, and American oak. The 2022 vintage continues the estate's run of strong recent years.
About Ridge Vineyards
Ridge Vineyards has made Monte Bello since 1962, and the 1971 Monte Bello famously placed among the world's best in the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Ridge's commitment to pre-Prohibition American winemaking, native ferments, and restraint defines the estate to this day.
The American Vine's Take
A legend that keeps earning its reputation — buy it young if you can, and forget it in the cellar for ten years.
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