2015 Ridge, California Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains 1x375ml

Vinous 96

The 2015 Monte Bello is still a well-protected fortress of a wine. A more red-fruited and tobacco-laden Monte Bello, it s mouthwateringly juicy and stubbornly tightly wound, giving rise to the question of whether it will ever let its guard down. Even so, the stuffing is undeniably there, so you might as well just keep waiting. Of course, the risk is that this wine may outlast all of us before it ever truly gives up the goods. Check on it again in five years. [Billy Norris, 01/10/2024]

Anticipated maturity: 2029-2055

Robert Parker 95+

"At this early stage, the 2015 Monte Bello is all about potential. I followed a bottle over several days and only witnessed improvement. The wine unfurls in the glass with a rich bouquet of cassis, ripe plums, espresso roast, black tea and baking chocolate, lavishly framed by minty, spicy new oak-which is often at its most prominent at exactly this stage, when the wine is shutting down after bottling. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with rich, velvety tannins and beautifully succulent, even tangy acidity that lends amazing lift on the finish. The most obvious analogy is the 2005 vintage, though it also evokes a more elegant version of the 1995 Monte Bello. It’s a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc that attained 13.5% natural alcohol. Since the wine appears to be shutting down, I’d recommend forgetting it until its tenth birthday. Given its structure and balance, it should enjoy remarkable longevity." [William Kelley, 31/07/2018]

Anticipated maturity: 2025-2050