2016 Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma, California
A$199.50
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Out of stock
SKU
RIDECABS16
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 caber¬net 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 replant¬ed 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.
Fermentaion: Grapes destemmed, and sorted; 100% whole berries fermented on the native yeasts. Pressed at five days. Natural malolactic initiated in tank, finished in barrel with additional 12 weeks of lees contact.
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (35% new, 20% one year old, and 45% two years old). Aged seventeen months in barrel
77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Saturated purple in color. Aromas of cassis, blueberry, cola, licorice, and sweet oak. Ripe blackberry fruit entry, full bodied, rich textures, exotic spice and toasted oak. Complex, long, sensuous finish.
“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate comes from the Santa Cruz Mountain estate, and it follows its big brother Monte Bello’s style with a terrific sense of elegance paired with richness. Lots of crème de cassis, crushed violets, vanilla, tobacco leaf, and cedar notes flow to a medium to full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, layered Cabernet Sauvignon that has terrific purity, building tannins, and a great finish. It offers pleasure today yet won’t hit prime time for another 5-7 years, and it’s going to evolve for 15-20 years (probably longer).”
94+ points– Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (June 2019)
Decanter Magazine (July 2019 Issue): Steven Spurrier’s Wines of the Month “Ridge Vineyards in California and visionary winemaker Paul Draper (Decanter Hall of Fame Award 2000 winner) need no introduction, and neither does the famed Monte Bello vineyard – first planted in 1886 but left abandoned by the early 1940s to be replanted a little later, the Cabernet Sauvignon vines now more than 65 years old. Research and tasting in the new millennium showed that certain blocks consistently produced a more accessible wine that developed Monte Bello’s full complexity earlier, and from 2008 these were combined under the Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Cabernet label, stressing the principal variety and the Monte Bello estate vineyard as its source. The 2016 vintage of this ‘baby Monte Bello’ is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc from the more vigorous, lower slopes of the mountain vineyard. It reveals a really lovely fragrance of red and black fruit on the nose that continues on the palate – supple, juicy yet still reserved, the wine is all there waiting to fully open up from 2020, with a decade in front of it. Ageing for 17 months in air-dried American oak, only 35% new, has enhanced the natural fruit, while minimum filtration preserves the wine in the bottle.”
– Steven Spurrier
| Product/Service Sold Out | Yes |
|---|---|
| En Primeur | No |
| New Arrivals | No |
| Wine Type | Red Wine |
| Wine Style | Certified Organic |
| Country | USA |
| Region | Sonoma Country |
| Varietals | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot |
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Bottle Size | 750ml |
| Wine Points | 94-95 |
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