Monte Bello has often been called America’s First Growth, as it is the finest domestic example of a classic Bordeaux blend in which cabernet sauvignon predominates. Exhaustive tasting of test blends during the assemblage process determines how much, if any, Merlot, Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc will be included in the finished wine. Each grape variety makes a contribution to the flavor and structure of the wine - with Cabernet Sauvignon often showing cassis and adding tannin, Merlot giving plum character and a bit of softness, Petit Verdot contributing dark colour and earthiness and Cabernet Franc adding fragrance and a hint of spice. Each vintage is different, but year after year Monte Bello proves to be a consistently outstanding wine with great structure, complexity and balance. And, in terms of ageability, it has been known to lay down for several decades with elegance and ease.

Monte Bello is first and foremost a wine of place. That place - high atop the Santa Cruz Mountains underlain by decomposing limestone and Franciscan rock - produces a wine unlike any other. It is our belief that this vineyard with its very low-yielding vines (less than two tons per acre) is capable of creating a wine of great significance, depth, complexity and aging potential - but only if we take care in sustaining it. Our vineyard practices, therefore, do not intervene; rather they use and preserve the existing eco-system through techniques such as sowing cover crops and utilizing integrated pest management to nurture and protect the vines. We do not add anything to the vineyard that is not natural. We are currently pursuing organic certification for Monte Bello.

"The assemblage was done on January 23. Sixteen of the most complete lots, with Monte Bello character, were blind tasted in four flights of four glasses and voted. Eleven of the sixteen, that received top scores, were combined as a core blend. Four wines, in the middle of scoring, were tasted one at a time added to the core in two glass tastings. This was also done blind, not knowing what glass contained the addition. As a lot was added, a new control blend was made, to then add another lot. Through tasting, we brought all four into the blend. There was only one merlot lot held out of the original sixteen, making a first assemblage of fifteen lots. The varietal composition stands at 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 11% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. With more excellent Cabernet lots held over in the cellar than usual, needing to finish sugar, a good number of these lots have great potential to be selected at the second assemblage. We will taste them all and complete the second assemblage on May 2nd. Until then, our first assemblage is an outstanding wine, showing wonderful complexity, dark fruit, and rich tannins. Any addition made at the second assemblage will only be done if it improves the wine’s quality and complexity."
(Eric Baugher - Chief winemaker, Jan 2019)

"The 2018 Monte Bello is a wine of extraordinary finesse. Although it doesn’t have the body or overt richness of some recent vintages, it more than makes up for that with its total sense of harmony. Lavender, mocha, spice, licorice and dried flowers all develop in a sublime, refined Monte Bello that will thrill Ridge lovers. This is an especially elegant, lithe vintage for Monte Bello that is marked by a dry year with no heat spikes and a very long harvest that wrapped up in late October.”
96+ points.
(Antonio Galloni, VinousMedia.com September 2020)