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FANTASTIC Article on Ridge (& The Santa Cruz Mountains Region!) In The San Francisco Chronicle!

March 1, 2010

Jon Bonné has penned an absolutely wonderful article about Santa Cruz Mountains wines in the San Francisco Chronicle, with a hearty portion of the text devoted to Ridge Vineyards. Here’s how the article begins:

Next week, Paul Draper and his team at Ridge Vineyards will pause from their work at the legendary Monte Bello vineyard and raise a glass to 50 years of winemaking, high above the streets of Cupertino.

Ridge’s half-century history is a testament to the improbable. Neither Draper nor any of Ridge’s founders, all Stanford scientists, were wine people by training. And Monte Bello is the exception that proves the rules in California Cabernet: made in American oak and not French; rarely exceeding 13 percent alcohol.

This would be reactionary if not for the fact that its style (with the exception of more new oak) hasn’t wavered much in more than 40 vintages – a tribute to the old-fashioned techniques that Draper pioneered after arriving in 1969.

You can enjoy the full article here.
 

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Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, History, Monte Bello, Paul Draper, Press Reviews, Varietals & Blends | Leave a Comment »

1977 and 1988: Through The Eyes Of A Double-Barrel Bello …

July 10, 2009

Let me just give you a little context for this particular Monte Bello tasting.

In 1977, women dressed like this:

1977-pre-washed-denims

Men dressed like this:

1977_Men

We listened to this:

Led_Zeppelin_on_stage_1977

or this:

bee-gees

 

This man was president:

jimmy_carter_300px

And this man:

wine_advocate_logo-256x256

who would go on to practically single-handedly reinvent the rules for modern wine tasting, released the first issue of The Wine Advocate.

Fast forward to 1988:

250px-Plymouth_Reliant_Station_Wagon_lateSonny_Bonokidnplaydukakis-tank-717905cocktailAnd it was clear we were in a different era. For those of you to whom these images might be unfamiliar, by the way, that’s a Plymouth Reliant, which debuted in 1988, that’s Sonny Bono, who assumed the mayorship of Palm Springs in 1988, that’s Kid n’ Play, who hit the charts with “2Hype” in 1988, that’s Michael Dukakis, who ruined his bid for the presidency in 1988 by having himself photographed in this helmet, in this tank, and that’s  Tom Cruise, showing us how cool bartenders could be in “Cocktail,” which opened in 1988.

And just as different as these two eras were, that’s just how different these two vintages of Monte Bello taste today! The 1977 Monte Bello, as expected, will play to the palates of those who prefer austere, serious, mature wines; the sort of serious, mature wines that should be drunk by serious, mature individuals, in austere, serious settings, to the sounds of mature classical tones. Something like this perhaps:

masterpiecetheater

Just add wine. 1977 Monte Bello perhaps. With its appearance of orange-tinted garnet, its aromas of chocolate-covered raisins, fennel, dried embers (as in smoky, but not savory per se), dried fruit, and the unmistakable whiff of autumn leaves raked after a rain; with its fine, chalky, baby-powder-esque tannins and its terse acidity, its hints of Worcester sauce and apricot, and its warm, almost cognac-like chest-filling finish, this is a wine to be savored over canonical literature, by a fire, in a library full of leather-bound books that is heavy with the somberness of deep, dark rugs and low candle-light.

The 1988 Monte Bello, on the other hand, is a young person’s game, a spring person, a green-thumbed person; this is a wine for gardens and gazebos; picnics and rowboats; blankets in the grass and the twinkling eyes of couples contemplating love.  Don’t let the deep, dark plum appearance fool you, nor the firm legs and viscous glaze. Skip to the dried herb bouquet, the notes of quince and persimmon, the dried sweet cherries. And take a sip, then bask in the elegant and palate-coating mouthfeel, the subtle warmth, the supple tannins, the long and graceful length of the finish. Then lie back in your field, gaze up at the clouds, and find in them the lost shapes of childhood.

77_88_MBUnmasked

1977 and 1988. Those were the days, my friends.

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Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, History, Monte Bello, Tasting Notes, Viticultural Salmagundi | Leave a Comment »

The 1996 Monte Bello, Some Quick Tasting Notes …

June 29, 2009

I just had a quick but lovely chance to take a nice taste of the 1996 Monte Bello out of a 375ml; something I’ve not had the opportunity to do for a while, and let me tell you, it was quite a treat; one of the finer showings I’ve had the pleasure of sampling recently. At the 750ml size I’d definitely still recommend flexing some patience, but if you’ve a 375ml on hand of the ’96, you certainly don’t need to feel guilty if you pop it tonight!

Anyhow, my notes, with some others to follow:

Appearance:
A black plum middle with a double-banded halo of inner blood-orange pulp and outer salmon-raspberry. Thick bowl glaze indicating supple and rich viscosity…

Aromatics:
Teriyaki and Soy Sauces right out of the gate, followed by parallel strains of ketchup and fried green tomatoes on one side, and cinnamon, clove, pepper steak, white pepper, and tarragon on the other, making for an intensely complex and hunger-inducing bouquet…

Front:
Bright, vivacious acidity, softly granular tannins, mouth-watering cranberry skin characteristics, tanginess of fruit pectin, and the sweetness of cherry pastries…

Mid-palate:
Still a little youthful warmth on the roof of the mouth, but otherwise a nice balanced spread of acid against tannin, fruit against spice …

Finish:
Long, warm, chest-filling, and deeply satisfying. A quick whiff of the glass ten minutes after emptying it reveals nice sweet fruit and lingering caramel undertones …

Summary:
As noted above, one of the most pleasurable Monte Bello tastings in my recent memory!

And here are some other thoughts:

Paul Draper, writing back in 1998, had this to say:

“Sensuous and complex, with layered fruit and beautifully integrated tannins, this is among the loveliest of the ‘90s. Accessible as a young wine, it will develop further with twelve to fifteen years of bottle age.”

And Stephen Tanzer, my oft-quoted personal wine-reviewer favorite, wrote this in 2000, which I think is particularly spot-on:

“Good full bright ruby. Wild, super-ripe aromas of cassis, plum, cocoa, soy sauce, leather, roasted game and plum sauce, all lifted by a floral note. Lush, thick and dense, but the currant, black cherry and menthol flavors are still austere. The slight green note repeats on the long finish, which features faintly gritty tannins. In an awkward stage today, but has all the elements to make a superb bottle.”

And here’s perhaps the most unexpected kicker; James Laube, who’s occasionally been known to be ever so slightly tough on us every once in a while, gave this vintage a 96 point rating in Wine Spectator!

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Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Monte Bello, Petit Verdot, Tasting Notes | 1 Comment »

A Musical Evening Of Wine, A Wine-Full Evening Of Music!

June 26, 2009

I had the great pleasure of spending Thursday evening at decarolis design & marketing in San Jose as “wine host” for a Wine & Jazz themed event, courtesy of an invitation from Vince DeCarolis, principal and founder of the company. RIDGE doesn’t actually do a lot of off-site events of this sort, but when Vince wrote to query as to whether we might be interested, I have to admit I was intrigued. Partly, they’re a local business, and it’s always a good feeling to reach out and share some good times with members of one’s immediate community. Plus, Vince is a big supporter and fan of RIDGE wines, and a long-time member of our ATP Wine Program. And lastly, well, he said there’d be a jazz band. So yeah, I was interested. Vince came up and met with me at the Monte Bello Tasting Room, and after he described the details, I was sold; it sounded lovely.

And lovely it was! The event was held in the little cobblestone tree-lined courtyard behind the decarolis offices, table’d and umbrella’d, with room enough for a fish pond, bar, and food table, plus the band. Very fine digs indeed. And a very fine and kind crowd as well, running the gamut from serious, serious wine enthusiasts and RIDGE fans to the previously uninitiated; I fielded lots of good questions, had a number of very engaging conversations, and altogether enjoyed the rapport.

The event was catered by a restaurant I was personally not familiar with, but judging by what was on offer this particular evening, I’d certainly say they merit a visit if you’ve not been already. The restaurant is Eulipia Restaurant, and they’re just down the street. One of the staff members who was on hand at the event described the cuisine to me as “New American comfort food!”

We had three wines on offer for the evening, the 2007 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Chardonnay, the 2007 Geyserville, and the 2006 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate (CabernetSauvignon/Merlot/Petit Verdot), all of which I thought were showing quite well. The chardonnay is really flexing its minerality right now, and judging by the comments from tasters at the event, this is something that all levels of experience (as regards palate) seem to note with a good deal of pleasure. The ’07 Geyserville was by far and away the most familiar of the three offerings to the gang at hand, and although still utterly in its infancy at this point, it was very well received, and a couple of very serious RIDGE-o-philes waxed notably rhapsodic about this vintage. Personally, I’m a big fan of the ’07; my preferences as regards the Geyerville are for the years when the zin percentage comes down slightly, and the complementary rhones, particularly the carignane, come up, and the ’07 is a great example of this; I think this model really allows for a lot of the second and third tier layers of spice and herbality to express themselves, and I think those components are at the heart of what make the Geyserville such a singular offering. The ’06 Cab Santa Cruz was easily the dark horse success of the evening, being seemingly less familiar, but eliciting the most appreciative of responses. Altogether, I think it was quite a nice trio.

The band, it turns out, is not actually a “straight ahead” jazz band per se, rather, they effect a suprisingly seamless series of moves between solidly approachable “soft bop” and a somewhat tropical and reggae-infused world vibe; appropriately enough, the band is named the “Altered Roots Quartet.” Their chops are rock solid, they’re in full command of touch and dynamic, and, courtesy of guitarist and luthier Andrew Sacco, they’ve got some beautiful instruments as well. Both Andrew and bassist Chris Wilder play custom-made guitars, and their sounds were remarkable; warm, round, crisp without being biting, fleshy without losing clarity. One visit to their website this morning pretty much confirmed what I already had felt the night before; anyone who name-checks both John Coltrane and Burning Spear in their list of influences is way alright by me …

Anyhow, that’s my scoop on the evening, thanks to all for inviting me, and here are a trio of photos to give a little more visual sense of how it all played out (please click to see full-size)…

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Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane, Chardonnay, Events & Photographs, Food & Wine Pairing, Petit Verdot, Rhone varietals, Viticultural Salmagundi, Wine and Jazz, Wine Tales, Zinfandel | Leave a Comment »

2008 Monte Bello: Final Assemblage Tasting Notes

May 23, 2009

I’ll confess two things:

1) I was not able to taste the new (and most likely final)  assemblage at the actual Monte Bello Collector Event; I was just too busy.

-And-

2) Having now tasted it, I’m REALLY excited … I do try to be objective when I assess our wines, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love Ridge, so of course there is a fair share of love coming from my corner of the ring, but I have to say, I’m feeling particularly loverly after tasting this offering today …

I’ll backtrack here a bit and note that there has been alot of discussion about the fact that the blend is currently a two-varietal construction; after the component tasting in March, there was a tangible degree of excitement about both the co-fermented Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and especially about the Petit Verdot. Conversation about the Petit Verdot continues, and Monte Bello winemaker Eric Baugher has said he’ll be keeping some separate and in barrel for a final look in the fall; but all that said, we may very well be looking at the first two-varietal Monte Bello in some two decades … Exciting? I think so, though not necessarily just because of the architecture per se, but rather, because the wine is currently showing … well … deliciously! Im particularly happy with the heightened presence of merlot in the new blend, as I think it is bringing a tremendous amount to the aesthetic table; the blend is currently seventy-one percent cabernet sauvignon and twenty-nine percent merlot.

When I first set out to really analyze the ’08 sample, I tried to hew to my “standard” methodology of assessing appearance, aromatics, front, mid-palate, and finish, and despite my somewhat giddy travails, I did manage to maintain at least that degree of methodological consistency. That said, restraining my “standard” prose proved far more difficult; much as I would have loved to keep my winespeak within the realm of the accepted aroma-wheel world of descriptors, I found myself instead writing the most goofily euphoric lines; some embarrassing, some nonsensical, most at least hopefully informative (if not for tangible accuracy than at least in spirit), and in the end, I decided to go ahead and stick with the “raw” version; meaning, I’ve decided to include the early and perhaps rather more surreal drafts of my attempts to craft tasting notes on this ’08 Monte Bello assemblage.

So here goes (and one last disclaimer, this is essentially the first-wave lunatic visceral reaction to this wine; no pretense to accuracy or objectivity is implied, rather, this should only be construed/received/interpreted as a record of one taster’s reveries in mid-taste …)

2008 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello
(“Final Assemblage” as of 5.15.09, tasted 5.22.09)

Appearance:Beautiful inky blackness, squid ink blackness, black grape grapeness, dark plum rolled in ashes, a black grape dropped in hot tar … such a glaze, a Karo glaze, molasses legs!

Aromatics:Pecan pie and street vendor pralines? Nutty sweetness? Certainly baked and herbed poultry, meaning clove. And Calimyrna fig, naturally. And how many shades of smoke here? Campfire smoke mostly, but also fireplace, firepit, and just plain smoke. What kind of smoke? Smoke smoke. Umami smoke. Pipe smoke? No! Cocoa smoke! Is there such a thing? There is here! Woody as well, the wood without the smoke, perhaps even cedar-y …

Front:INTENSE acidity! And an unexpected gardens-worth of herbs both fresh and dried. And pistachio nuts! Cassis and anise, obviously, and even brandy’d apples … Naturally there is blackberry as well, and some black currant …

Mid-palate: Toffee notes, and just completely mouth-covering tannins. And pressed flowers. And more nuttiness, but now the sweet and roasted nuts are giving way to roasted almonds, but dry-roasted, and most definitely not candied. And again the anise, or is it now licorice? Well, no doubt about the chicory …

Finish: Tannins and acids to spare, but all in balance, so excellent accordingly! Fruit becoming herb, earth becoming spice, intricate to the Nth, and quite a long, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree’d circumference of components; put another way, an oenologic erector set painstakingly crafting an esophageal passageway from taste buds to tummy, clinical in its precision. I stand humbled, submissive, mastered.

Man, I think I really love this wine …

I read this to my missus just now, and I asked her, I said, “What do you think, is it too weird?” And she said, “I don’t know, but I just poured myself some more!”

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Posted in Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Monte Bello, Tasting Notes, Varietals & Blends | Leave a Comment »

Pssst! Pass This Cab Across Your Lips -or- Aaaaah, the Eisele!

May 21, 2009

If you’ve been following along with this saga, the 1971 Ridge Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon has been the subject of some degree of scrutiny and speculation of late, and finally, courtesy of the good graces of one Mr. Paul Draper, I was able to taste this rare and mercurial offering. I did so in the company of Sara Teeter, Monte Bello Hospitality Representative, and Chris Seguin, Monte Bello Customer Service Representative, both of whom have extraordinary, and extraordinarily fine-tuned and individualized, palates.

In case you need a refresher on this history of this wine, my previous post can be found here:

http://ridgewine.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/1971-ridge-eisele-vineyard-cabernet/

We tasted the wine blind next to another offering of somewhat similar vintage and varietal, a 1968 offering from Bordeaux, which I won’t name for reasons soon to be made clear. Meaning, it was really easy to spot the Ridge, because it was both stylistically and aesthetically intact, as well as structurally (read: drinkable!), and the other was, well, not so much. Hopefully needless to say, all three of us successfully identified the Ridge with no trouble at all.

Anyhow, on to the Eisele:

Appearance: Plum and amber hues, exceedingly limpid translucence, a quite attractive sort of pale orange limn (with hints of salmon tones), and the fascinating and/or baffling  utter lack of legs; it’s all glaze! Very intense viscosity, to say the least …

Aromatics: Cedar, dried cranberry, a hint of prune, some brandy notes, a slight forestiness, and some faint traces of menthol … Surprisingly fresh aromas all the way around, very vibrant …

Front: Both acids and tannins are strong right out of the gate, with the acids holding on through to the roof of the mouth in mid-palate … Not a ton of fruit in the front …

Mid-Palate: Fruit begins to emerge here, with some classic old-world portions of plum, both fresh and baked, some raisin and prune, and some mincemeat … Strong dose of rusticity overall … There are also some brighter notes of cherry additionally on offer which, combined with the full-on presence of acidty, makes for a rather unexpectedly spirited and zesty layer to counterbalance all those earthy sylvan attributes …

Finish: Medium-length, showing off the remarkably intact structure; the herb and spice components definitely win the day over the presence of fruit, as do acid and tannin, but all are in balance, making for a complex and very chest-warming residual echo of all the above … none of which to say there isn’t still fruit present; there is, but the fruit hangs on a dominant architecture of herb, spice, and earth …

Summary: If you’re fortunate enough to have a bottle of this wine, drink now, and find out why Ridge’s particular methodologies as regards the production of Cabernet Sauvignon translate across other properties besides Monte Bello itself; 38 years later, this is still a very enjoyable bottle of wine.

What a treat to be able to taste this. ‘Twas a good day indeed…

 

And p.s., here’s an exerpt (posted with permission!) from Monte Bello winemaker Eric Baugher’s reaction to tasting this wine:

“The ’71 Eisle was awesome!  I had not tasted it since 2001.  It still has maintained a great deal of freshness and a delicious level of fruit.  I figure it could continue to go out another 15-20yrs.  The bottle we opened had a high shoulder fill and a fully saturated cork. When I pulled the cork, there was the wonderful sound of vacuum-meaning a great seal was protecting the wine. ” –EB

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Posted in Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, History, Tasting Notes, Varietals & Blends | Leave a Comment »

Monte Bello Collector Event/Final Assemblage Tasting: Part I, The Vintage Pack Vertical – 1995 Monte Bello, 1997 Monte Bello, & 1999 Monte Bello!

May 18, 2009

We’ve just had quite an event here this past weekend, our Monte Bello Collector Final Assemblage Tasting, and among the many treats on offer was the opportunity to try the three selections that comprise our new Vintage Pack offering: the 1995 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello, the 1997 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello, and the 1999 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello.

I’m a big fan of the nineties in general for Monte Bello, and this chance to have a look at some of the vintages from the second half of the decade was quite special. Despite being run pretty ragged over the course of the weekend trying to keep up with the pace of the event (thank the powers that be for having such a great staff on hand to keep everything working so smoothly!), I did manage to sneak a little time to sit down and really contemplate these three wines. Here are my notes:

1995 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello

Appearance: Deep, inky black plum middle with a perfectly glowing raspberry-toned halo … Fairly svelte and swiftly moving legs coursing over an elegant and thorough bowl glaze …

Aromatics: Great notes of cinnamon and clove; a strong autumnal character. Very present notes of cedar as well as a hint of menthol and some black licorice …

Front: Strong berry notes right away, quite fruit-forward; surprisingly present but gentle acidity balanced against very soothing tannins …

Mid-Palate: Medium to bright red fruit notes begin to emerge, as does some bright cheek acidity, which is timely, as the adhesion of the tannins begins to intensify slightly …

Finish: Lovely residual vibrancy from the ever-so-slightly tangy acidity …

Summary: I’ll summarize by playing off a slightly vexing review from 2000 by one of my favorite writers, Stephen Tanzer, who wrote of the 1995 Monte Bello:

“… Comes across as quite austere due to its strong acids and slightly tough tannins. Has intensity, but will this wine ever truly blossom in bottle? Reminded me of a lot of old Bordeaux that showed fascinating aromas but never quite delivered in the middle palate. Draper has defended this wine from the outset, but I’ve never yet been convinced.”

If this is what it tasted like in 2000, then I would definitely say it has “developed” in the bottle! The acids are no longer strong per se, I rather found them quite mouth-wateringly elegant. And the tannins are certainly no longer tough (I described them in my original notes as “soothing”!). I think I can agree that the mid-palate may not yet be delivering all that is hoped for, but judging by the progress of this wine on other fronts, I don’t think it’s a foolish bet to bank on continued expansion and expressiveness in the middle.  At the risk of sounding like a company man, I think I’m with Paul in defending this vintage!

1997 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello

Appearance: Hues and tones of blackberry, plum, and black cherry, with a beautiful translucent strawberry-toned limn … Classic legs and glaze; elegant, yet strong …

Aromatics: Ripe, rich plumminess, some cocoa, strong hints of boysenberry, a little leatheriness, a little black tea, some baked blueberry pie, just a trace of forest floor; incredibly unique all around …

Front: Very light tip-of-tongue acidity, and nice wide side-tongue acidity. Not much fruit or tannin right out of the gate; a little closed at the front …

Mid-Palate: Fascinating potpourri of dried flavors; dried cranberry, dried apricot, dried lilac and rose petals; some black cherry notes as well. Also, some hints of anise, roasted nuts, and just a fleeting debut of eucalyptus … tannins are largely concentrated in the mid-palate, as are the dominant fruit notes of black cherry and black plum …

Finish: Very elegant, no heat, and supple tannins, which, despite their seeming restraint, are still taking the driver’s seat over the acids, which are currently riding shotgun…

Summary: Altogether fascinating for its complexity, with an underlying question of balance as regards tannins and acids; in a review also from 2000, James Laube of Wine Spectator wrote that the 1997 had “tannin to lose,” so if that was the case then, then I think this wine is continuing to move in a great direction, as the tannins have clearly been re-calibrating in relationship to the acidity. Meaning the answer to the underlying question noted above should be a positive one!

1999 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello

Appearance: Very rich coloration; rich, inky pigment with a belly of black plum and black cherry, and a clear and bright halo of raspberry … Quite thin legs, but a very firm and adhesive overall glaze …

Aromatics: Dominated by varying tiers of cherry, with underlying layers of cocoa butter, truffle oil, and white pepper. Very earthy overall … and I swear, there is even a faint trace of candied ginger!

Front: Tons of youthful tannins right up front, complementing a very spicy character; quite vivacious acidity, with a granular, crushed-rock sort of minerality showing through as well …

Mid-Palate: Intertwining strains of mandarin and blood orange, joining some dried apricot, and the always reassuring notes of plum and dark cherry …

Finish: A short-to-medium duration for the fruit overtones, and a longer-lingering presence from the rich tannic architecture …

Summary: Appropriately showing the “youngest” of the three, but highly notable for the depth, concentration, and singularity of the earth and spice components. For my final compare-and-contrast with notable wine writers, we’ll this time turn to Steve Heimoff, who wrote in Wine Enthusiast back in 2005, “Will be very good, but don’t touch it until 2014,” which seems to confirm the youthful character of this fine vintage. And by the way, he then went on to give the wine a 95 point rating!

 

And that’s my Vintage Pack notes! More on the Collector Event soon …

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Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello, Tasting Notes, Varietals & Blends | 7 Comments »

1971 Ridge Eisele Vineyard Cabernet

May 2, 2009

To borrow a phrase from Paul Draper, “We have had several requests for information on the 1971 Ridge Eisele Vineyard Cabernet.” Some strange zeitgeist afoot, to say the least! This has come up recently in e-mails, on the blog, and in the tasting room as well. Anyhow, as with many of these requests about rare back vintages, I like to go directly to the source for some “inside” insight, and again, Paul has very kindly offered some information:

“We have had several requests for information on the 1971 Ridge Eisele Vineyard Cabernet.  This was the first commercial bottling of the Eisele, a vineyard now owned by the Araujo family and so named.

By 1970, we had replanted all the vineyard parcels, abandoned during prohibition, on the Monte Bello land we owned at that time.  As the vines we planted were not yet mature, the Monte Bello was made entirely from the vines on the land that had been replanted in the 1940’s and the quantities were limited.

We felt that our use of traditional methods (naturally occurring yeast, no processing, no chemical additions except minimal S02) had historically made the finest wines.  We wanted to make a wine from the Napa Valley where more technical winemaking was typical in order to see what level of quality we could achieve with our traditional techniques.  We looked around and in 1971 Milt Eisele offered us the grapes from his small parcel of vines near Calistoga.  At 25° Brix the grapes were riper than anything we had yet harvested in our cool region.  I fermented them in small, one ton fermentors with the cap held submerged by a grid.  To make sure the wine would be full and intense, I did not press until the biblical “40 days and 40 nights” had passed and the caps had fallen to the bottom of the fermentors.  The wine was very structured but with time it integrated fully and has shown beautifully over the years.  We will open a bottle this next week to see how it is doing. 

Paul”

And that’s the scoop on the 71! And by the way, regarding the conversations around whether there was a ’73 Eisele, I’m wondering if the confusion might have to do with bottling dates and tasting notes? Although the ’71 was the only vintage made, the wine was in fact bottled in 1973, and this is also when Paul wrote the first tasting notes, which are featured on the original label (see below).

rv_eisele71

(click on the graphic above to see the full-size image)

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Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, History, Viticultural Salmagundi | 2 Comments »

Return To Forever: Revisiting the 1993 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello

May 1, 2009

As discussed in a previous post, I’ve been looking forward to a re-visit of the 1993 Ridge Monte Bello, and I’ve just had my opportunity this past Sunday. And I must say, I was in particularly good company for the visit; I was with Harris Davidson, from our brilliant Canadian distributors Rogers & Co., and four Toronto Wine Buyers: Bronwen Clark, Taylor Thompson, Jason Ernst, and William Predhomme. This was a supremely gifted and insightful group of tasters, and I was beyond happy to host them.

Prior to the ’93 Monte Bello we tasted the new 2007 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Chardonnay, the new 2007 Geyserville, the new 2006 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, and the not-yet-released 2006 Monte Bello, all of which seemed to be met with great satisfaction on the part of our Canadian guests. And then came the ’93 Monte Bello. I served out of a 375ml bottle, single-decanted, and out of the decanter itself. What followed was some great and fascinating conversation about the ’93 specifically, and Monte Bello in general. In the end, what we found ourselves discussing more than anything else was the “Bordeaux” factor.

It’s probably clear testament to the pervasive influence of wines from the Bordeaux region on the calibration of international palates that the term is thrown around as often as it is. In the worlds of the various creative arts, I see a great many reviews that start with the disclaimer, “The term ‘genius’ gets inappropriately thrown about these days with far too much regularity, but in this case …”. I see the same thing with “Bordeaux” in the world of wine. In a great many circles, it remains the highest of compliments to say something to the effect of, “In a blind tasting, I would have thought this was a Bordeaux …” The Monte Bello has certainly benefitted from just this sort of critical comparison, and of course we’ve taken it as high praise every time. Jancis Robinson has compared the Monte Bello to great Bordeaux wines in her writings, Slate has called the Monte Bello “California’s First Growth,” and the very eminent Stephen Spurrier has oft made the comparison in various ways, as have Robert Parker Jr., Stephen Tanzer, and more.

Anyhow, when tasting the ’93 MB, my Canadian guests and I did indeed find ourselves discussing the Bordeaux factor, and in the end, collectively agreeing that the ’93 in fact did seem not only distinctly “Bordeaux-esque”, but in fact, and quite possibly, one of the most so of the past 20 years of Monte Bello vintages. If I may speak for the group, I think it’s safe to say we found it (and admittedly, I am making a collective generalization here!) rustic, lean, elegant, low in alcohol, with intensely deployed acidity and supple tannins, showing a great array of herb and spice combinations. And yes, the term did come out: “barnyard.” We had a bit of conversational fun with that one, and then of course checked ourselves, but recognizing no trace whatsoever of brettonomyces, we again simply concluded that the ’93 Monte Bello really did just have a touch of that old-world rustic funkiness so often associated with the Bordeaux style.

Perhaps a post on what exactly the Bordeaux style IS would be fun to discuss? Something to ponder for the future …

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Posted in Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello, Tasting Notes, Wine Tales | Leave a Comment »

Discovering Tepusquet: Inside The History

April 30, 2009

Sometimes, when researching a particularly fascinating wine query, or a singularly obscure vineyard offering, one just has to go straight to the source. Cue Mr. Paul Draper!

 

“I am delighted that the 1981 Cabernet from the Tepusquet Vineyard in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County was showing well.

We have produced the Monte Bello Cabernet in every year from 1962 to the present, but declassified it only in 1966, 1979 and 1983.  We made cabernets from outside vineyards in those years.

Starting in 1971 with the Eisele Cabernet (now Araujo) from Napa Valley, we attempted to learn what other vineyards and regions could produce if we used our traditional methods in fermenting the wines.  We have made cabernet from Howell Mountain in Napa Valley, Bradford Mountain in Sonoma, Mount Madonna in the Santa Cruz Mountains and in 1981 from a hillside vineyard in Mendocino as well as the Tepusquet.  All of these were one year or two year experiments. Of course, the excellent York Creek cabernet from the Spring Mountain District in Napa Valley was a wine we made for many years.

Our conclusion was that as interesting as these wines were, the individuality of Monte Bello was the most distinctive and as the replanted parcels, abandoned during Prohibition, were now mature, we no longer needed to buy cabernet grapes from outside the estate.”

 

And that’s the scoop! Mystery solved!

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Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, History, Viticultural Salmagundi | Leave a Comment »

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