These wines were released nationally on 1 April. It’s an exciting collection.
2017 Chardonnay Estate Monte Bello Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains
This is a beautiful Chardonnay and the best young one I can recall from Ridge. The wine is complex in the nose with lemon blossoms, almonds, and vanilla. It is medium-full and round on the palate with depth and outstanding length. The wine is delicious now, and based on past history of Ridge Chardonnays, it should be able to take substantial aging. 14.1% stated alcohol. 92/A
2017 Geyserville Alexander Valley, Sonoma County
This is a great bottle of Geyserville, one that will repay your cellaring of the wine. It is dense, concentrated, and balanced with spicy red and dark fruit. The American oak (16% new, 29% one and two years-old, the rest three and four years-old) still shows, but will fade over a few years. Expect a long lifetime (a couple of decades, at least) for this wine. 68% Zinfandel, 18% Carignane, 12% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet. 14.5% stated alcohol. 94/A
2017 Zinfandel East Bench Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
This wine is all Zinfandel, from vines planted in 1999, so now attaining maturity. This was a low-yield year and the wine shows it with good density and depth to go with intense, spicy crushed blackberry fruit and some almond from American oak. The wine is good for drinking now and over the next 6-8+ years.14.7% stated alcohol. 90/A-
2017 Zinfandel Paso Robles Benito Dusi Ranch
This very good, typical Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel has dense, concentrated, spicy raspberry and blackberry fruit and richness of texture. Although stated alcohol is 15.1% (with 3% addition of water) and the wine is rich and plush, it does not finish hot or otherwise show excessive alcohol. However, the nose is slightly spirity, so I would serve the wine slightly chilled. Good for drinking now and over the next 6-8 years. 90/A-
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Monte Bello Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains
This wine effectively is the second wine of Ridge’s flagship Monte Bello bottling. The wine is concentrated and dense with spicy dark plum fruits in a medium-full body. For the moment, the American oak (35% new, 20% one year-old, 45% two years-old) is dominant, too much for my tastes for current drinking. I’d put it aside in the cellar for 4-6 years, and then I think you’ll have something quite good, and it should continue to be so for a decade or two. 13.8% stated alcohol. 90(+)/B+