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Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello 2009 750ml

size
750ml
country
United States
region
California
appellation
Santa Cruz County
subappellation
Santa Cruz Mountains
WA
98
JS
98
VM
96
WS
96
DC
94
WA
98
Rated 98 by Wine Advocate
The 2009 Monte Bello ,72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot is simply magnificent. Layers of dark red fruit, flowers, spices and graphite are all woven together in this utterly impeccable wine. The 2009 is an especially huge, intense Monte Bello, yet a sexy, silky core of fruit lies within its imposing frame. Everything comes together in this glorious, radiant wine. Last year the 2009 had some pretty stiff competition from the 2010, but today it is simply firing on all cylinders. Eric Baugher describes 2009 as a year with cold weather early on, followed by heat in early June and July. The fruit was brought in on October 12, just before an intense downpour swept through the region. There is a purity and silkiness supported by structure in the 2009 that is impossible not to admire. Simply put, this is another utterly magnificent, towering masterpiece from Ridge. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2049. ... More details
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Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello 2009 750ml

SKU 914354
Case Only Purchase
Long-term Pre-Arrival
$1739.64
/case
$289.94
/750ml bottle
Quantity
min order 6 bottles
* This is a Long-term Pre-arrival item and is available for online ordering only. This item will ship on a future date after a 4-8 months transfer time. For additional details about Pre-arrival Items please visit our FAQ page.
Professional Ratings
WA
98
JS
98
VM
96
WS
96
DC
94
WA
98
Rated 98 by Wine Advocate
The 2009 Monte Bello ,72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot is simply magnificent. Layers of dark red fruit, flowers, spices and graphite are all woven together in this utterly impeccable wine. The 2009 is an especially huge, intense Monte Bello, yet a sexy, silky core of fruit lies within its imposing frame. Everything comes together in this glorious, radiant wine. Last year the 2009 had some pretty stiff competition from the 2010, but today it is simply firing on all cylinders. Eric Baugher describes 2009 as a year with cold weather early on, followed by heat in early June and July. The fruit was brought in on October 12, just before an intense downpour swept through the region. There is a purity and silkiness supported by structure in the 2009 that is impossible not to admire. Simply put, this is another utterly magnificent, towering masterpiece from Ridge. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2049.
JS
98
Rated 98 by James Suckling
Tasting this amazing Californian red is like staring into a deep abyss. The notes of graphite, soy sauce and old balsamic vinegar are underlined by remarkably youthful blackcurrant fruit. On the palate there’s a wonderful combination of great concentration, creamy ripeness and incredible structure. Very long, firm finish with intense, chalky minerality. A cuvee of 72% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot and 4% petit verdot. Tasted at the Thomas Kammeier Monte Bello vertical. Drink or hold.Tasting this amazing Californian red is like staring into a deep abyss. The notes of graphite, soy sauce and old balsamic vinegar are underlined by remarkably youthful blackcurrant fruit. On the palate there’s a wonderful combination of great concentration, creamy ripeness and incredible structure. Very long, firm finish with intense, chalky minerality. A cuvee of 72% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot and 4% petit verdot. Tasted at the Thomas Kammeier Monte Bello vertical. Drink or hold.
VM
96
Rated 96 by Vinous Media
The 2009 Monte Bello feels very ripe and lush in its first impression, but the tannins have not softened all that much yet. Game, smoke, licorice and leather gradually open up with a bit of aeration. The 2009 is endowed with tremendous depth of fruit, but the equally imposing tannins need time to soften. All of this fruit was picked before the mid-October rains.
WS
96
Rated 96 by Wine Spectator
A rare fruit bomb Monte Bello, with the structure taking a back seat to waves of gorgeous red currant, blackberry and plum sauce flavors. Features flashes of spice, tea and cedar, showing a lightly mulled edge through the finish that opens nicely in the glass. Very seductive.—Non-blind Ridge Monte Bello vertical (June 2019). Best from 2020 through 2040. 2,800 cases made.
DC
94
Rated 94 by Decanter
Still very deep in colour, after a warm year, this has an intense oaky nose, with a hint of tobacco. The attack is supple and fleshy, with very ripe tannins supporting the concentrated fruit and giving the palate good structure. It's accessible now but will clearly hold, though overall this is a relaxed wine with a very long, gentle finish.
Winery
The Monte Bello (originally Monte Bello Cabernet; until 1975, 100% cabernet) is the wine that introduced Ridge to the world, and the world to Ridge. It is a blend of bordeaux varietals. Cabernet sauvignon still predominates; exhaustive tasting of test blends during assemblage determines how much ”if any” merlot, petit verdot, or cabernet franc will be included in the finished wine. Almost every vintage (an unbroken chain from `62 on) has something substantive to recommend it. Every decade has its high points. Taste and opinions differ. But the just-concluded decade of the nineties has been outstanding. Generalization does a disservice to the individual wines. There's structure, there's complexity, there's balance. And they develop for a long, long time.
Product Details
size
750ml
country
United States
region
California
appellation
Santa Cruz County
subappellation
Santa Cruz Mountains
Overview
The 2009 Monte Bello ,72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot is simply magnificent. Layers of dark red fruit, flowers, spices and graphite are all woven together in this utterly impeccable wine. The 2009 is an especially huge, intense Monte Bello, yet a sexy, silky core of fruit lies within its imposing frame. Everything comes together in this glorious, radiant wine. Last year the 2009 had some pretty stiff competition from the 2010, but today it is simply firing on all cylinders. Eric Baugher describes 2009 as a year with cold weather early on, followed by heat in early June and July. The fruit was brought in on October 12, just before an intense downpour swept through the region. There is a purity and silkiness supported by structure in the 2009 that is impossible not to admire. Simply put, this is another utterly magnificent, towering masterpiece from Ridge. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2049.
barrel

Vintage: 2009

Despite less than ideal climatic conditions, featuring storms which threatened an otherwise perfect year, most parts of California had an excellent year for viticulture. Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs were picked at optimum ripeness, and Californian white wine was just about as good as it could be. Surprises and overcoming difficulties summed up much of the United States' wine industry in 2009, and many of the results from Oregon, Washington State and all over California speak for themselves, with the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon grapes having developed healthy, thick skins and thus plenty of character and distinction. Elsewhere in the New World, South Africa had a very good year in 2009, and wineries across the cape of the African continent are proclaiming it a truly great vintage. In most of Europe, fine weather and punctual ripening periods produced some excellent wines, with many of the best coming out of France's Bordeaux and the surrounding regions. Merlot had an exceptionally good year in France, and wineries are proclaiming that the 2009 Merlot harvest was one of the best in living memory. Indeed, across most of France, ripening was relatively even, and red wine grapes such as Cabernet Franc, Syrah and others were reportedly highly characterful, with plenty of the required tannin levels with which to make high quality wines. Italy, too, had a very good 2009. Piedmont reported extremely favorable conditions throughout 2009, and their signature Nebbiolo grapes were more or less perfect when harvested, having benefited from the slight drop in temperature at the end of their ripening period. Veneto, too, had an enviable year, producing superb Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay wines in 2009.
green grapes

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

For most of us, when we look for red wines in a wine store or supermarket, the name Cabernet Sauvignon stands out as a mark of quality and reliability. The same can be said for the way those who cultivate the grapevines see them, too, as part of the reason Cabernet Sauvignon varietal grapes have had so much success all over the world is due to their hardiness against frost, reliability in regards to yield and quality, and great resistance to rot. As such, Cabernet Sauvignon is a winemaker's dream of a grape, consistently delivering excellence alongside a few pleasant surprises. Despite the fact that the grape on its own in a young wine can often be a bit overpowering, too astringent and challenging for many tastes, it is the perfect grape varietal for blending and aging in oak. Such a truth has been displayed for centuries now in some of the finest wineries on earth, for whom Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are the grape which adds the punch to their world-beating blended wines.
barrel

Region: California

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
fields

Country: United States

For three hundred years now, the United States has been leading the New World in wine production, both in regards to quantity and quality. Wine is actually produced in all fifty states across the country, with California leading the way by an enormous margin. Indeed, as much as eighty-nine percent of all wines to come out of the United States are produced in California, where the fertile soils and sloping mountain sides, coupled with the long, hot summers provide ideal conditions for producing high quality, European style red, white and rosé wines. With over a million acres of the country under vine, the United States sits comfortably as the fourth largest wine producer in the world, where imported grape varietals from all over the Old World are processed using a successful blend of traditional and contemporary techniques.
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More Details
Winery Ridge
barrel

Vintage: 2009

Despite less than ideal climatic conditions, featuring storms which threatened an otherwise perfect year, most parts of California had an excellent year for viticulture. Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs were picked at optimum ripeness, and Californian white wine was just about as good as it could be. Surprises and overcoming difficulties summed up much of the United States' wine industry in 2009, and many of the results from Oregon, Washington State and all over California speak for themselves, with the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon grapes having developed healthy, thick skins and thus plenty of character and distinction. Elsewhere in the New World, South Africa had a very good year in 2009, and wineries across the cape of the African continent are proclaiming it a truly great vintage. In most of Europe, fine weather and punctual ripening periods produced some excellent wines, with many of the best coming out of France's Bordeaux and the surrounding regions. Merlot had an exceptionally good year in France, and wineries are proclaiming that the 2009 Merlot harvest was one of the best in living memory. Indeed, across most of France, ripening was relatively even, and red wine grapes such as Cabernet Franc, Syrah and others were reportedly highly characterful, with plenty of the required tannin levels with which to make high quality wines. Italy, too, had a very good 2009. Piedmont reported extremely favorable conditions throughout 2009, and their signature Nebbiolo grapes were more or less perfect when harvested, having benefited from the slight drop in temperature at the end of their ripening period. Veneto, too, had an enviable year, producing superb Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay wines in 2009.
green grapes

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

For most of us, when we look for red wines in a wine store or supermarket, the name Cabernet Sauvignon stands out as a mark of quality and reliability. The same can be said for the way those who cultivate the grapevines see them, too, as part of the reason Cabernet Sauvignon varietal grapes have had so much success all over the world is due to their hardiness against frost, reliability in regards to yield and quality, and great resistance to rot. As such, Cabernet Sauvignon is a winemaker's dream of a grape, consistently delivering excellence alongside a few pleasant surprises. Despite the fact that the grape on its own in a young wine can often be a bit overpowering, too astringent and challenging for many tastes, it is the perfect grape varietal for blending and aging in oak. Such a truth has been displayed for centuries now in some of the finest wineries on earth, for whom Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are the grape which adds the punch to their world-beating blended wines.
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Region: California

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
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Country: United States

For three hundred years now, the United States has been leading the New World in wine production, both in regards to quantity and quality. Wine is actually produced in all fifty states across the country, with California leading the way by an enormous margin. Indeed, as much as eighty-nine percent of all wines to come out of the United States are produced in California, where the fertile soils and sloping mountain sides, coupled with the long, hot summers provide ideal conditions for producing high quality, European style red, white and rosé wines. With over a million acres of the country under vine, the United States sits comfortably as the fourth largest wine producer in the world, where imported grape varietals from all over the Old World are processed using a successful blend of traditional and contemporary techniques.