Posts Tagged ‘Wine Clubs’

a VERY rare & cool vertical for next week’s First Friday event!

January 26, 2013

First Friday.

One of my favorite recurring events here at Monte Bello.

It’s just so EASY! When is it? First Friday! Simple …

And it’s just so delicious!

There’s always a theme. A delicious theme. A delicious wine theme. The most delicious of the themes. The wine theme.

Often, it revolves around a new release. The release is the theme. Be the theme, release. Be the theme.

For February, the theme is the release. The release is the Carmichael. The Carmichael is the release. The release is the theme. The Carmichael is the theme.

What is the Carmichael? The Carmichael is the 2010 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael Zinfandel. And it is the new ATP Release.

ATP

And the February First Friday (Ah, the 3 Fs!) will be the debut. Meaning that February First Friday attendees will be among the VERY FIRST to try this VERY ANTICIPATED new release.

And to celebrate this new release, we’ll be sharing with our guests a very special and very rare three-vintage vertical of the Carmichael, with the new 2010 vintage being accompanied by 2007 and 2009 vintages as well!

10zcm1

This is, hopefully needless to say, a quite lovely tasting opportunity (remind me to tell you a great story sometime about Paul Draper and the word “lovely”!), and we sincerely hope you can join us for the experience.

There are two requirements to attend First Friday:

1. You must be able to come to our Monte Bello Estate on Friday, February 1st, between 4pm and 7pm, as that’s the where and the when of the event.

2. You must be a member of our Wine Club (attendance is not branch-specific; members of ATP, Zlist, and Collector are all welcome!), or a guest of a member.

And that’s it!

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The “official” language:

First Friday at Monte Bello
Date: 2/1/2013

February 1st~ 4-7pm

Please join us for the February edition of First Friday at our Monte Bello Estate!

In celebration of the new 2010 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael Zinfandel release, we will be showing a special three-vintage vertical of the Carmichael, plus our new 2011 Mikulaco Chardonnay!

We’ll have some delicious small bites on offer as well, and remember, while this is a Member Event, we are more than happy to host guests of our members too!

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Regarding membership, please click here for general information, and for specific details about the ATP, please click here.

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Regarding the Carmichael Zinfandel, please click here for detailed information on the new release, and please read on for today’s tasting notes!

2007 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael Zinfandel

Appearance (AP): mature hues; dark & serious plum & crimson, with a pale salmon halo. A somewhat adhesive glaze in the bowl, with thinnish legs that are still quite slow-moving …

Aromatics (AR): smoky, savory aromas, with hints of warm & salty baked pretzel wheat, matched against lo-tone root and chicory on one end, and dried stone fruit on the other. Additional layers of pemmican and jerky tones add to the savoriness, while traces of pine cone and bramble lend some fresh forestation …

Mouthfeel & Palate (MFP): still very plush mouthfeel, excellently juice-forward fruit, with tremendous acidity for a zinfandel with some age on it; def. shows some secondary tobacco and dried autumnal fruit character, and the savoriness carries over into the mid-palate …

Finish (F): long, forceful, and warming …

Summary: With an estimate of 4-5 years of development made by the winemakers back in late 2008, this wine is holding on even better than expected; secondary character is emerging, but great acidity enlivens the profile …

2009 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael Zinfandel

AP: very plummy hues, with a lovely ruby limn. Easy glaze in the glass, with fairly rapid legs that are somewhat thicker-torsoed …

AR: mouth-watering aromas of lemon curd and caramel matched against Spanish cured ham, with an under layer of stone fruit skin; apricot in particular …

MFP: very plush on the palate, thicker even than might be foreshadowed by the aromatics; sweet, lush fruit, with a fresh, summery decadence redolent of watermelon flesh and strawberry juice …

F: clean, focused, with tannins in emergence …

Summary: a very fruit-forward and sensuous rendition of the Carmichael …

2010 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael Zinfandel

AP: strong, crisp and lively garnet, with a perfect ruby halo. Easy viscosity, with relatively thin and swift legs …

AR: Remarkably bright and “up” aromatics; strong on citrus notes: ruby grapefruit and key lime pie particularly, all riding on top of classically herbal Alexander Valley zinfandel traits; rich fruit woven through with subtle threads of peppercorn and tobacco …

MFP: Great acidity; very fresh! Very high tone character, loads of fruit, though still wrapped in a pretty youthful structure; carignane feels particularly forward at this young stage …

F: Still tightish & lightish; will benefit greatly from double decanting, but very clean, very precise, and very pure …

Summary: A young showing for what looks to be a tremendous Carmichael vintage …

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Posted in Carignane, Events & Photographs, Special Offerings, Tasting Events/Opportunities, Tasting Flights, Tasting Notes, Tasting Rooms, Varietals & Blends, Wine Clubs, Zinfandel | 2 Comments »

Monte Bello Collector Component Tasting Event: The 4488 Wrap!

March 12, 2012

Monte Bello Noir?

It was a dark and stormy night.

Except it wasn’t.

What it actually was, was a warm and sunny morning, with the low sun casting rays through the gauze of morning haze that lightly veiled the vineyards as I walked down towards the Old Torre Family Barn …

We couldn’t have asked for a better day, and the wine gods were smiling.

At that moment, with the mountain sounds closed to all but the gossip of birds and the rustle of the breezes betwixt the gentle crop-cover tendrils, it was hard to believe how many people would soon be joining us for the Monte Bello Collector Component Tasting…

But the lure of a tasting this unique is strong. Taste, grasshopper, the wine is good …

Or should I say, grasshoppers …

In addition to the beauty of the location, the deliciousness of the culinary offerings, and the singular caliber and exclusivity of the wines, one of the greatest appeals of this event is the opportunity to engage with members of our production team. Winemaker Eric Baugher, seen here with Kim Korupp (most excellent Monte Bello Retail Sales & Hospitality staffer), is a legendarily generous host …

…to whom guests come in droves, notebooks and pens in hand.

We were particularly pleased this year to have a new member of the production team join us for the Component Event festivities. He is Kyle Theriot, and he is now our Monte Bello viticulturist, and this was his very first Collector event as a host!

In addition to the excitement generated around the opportunity to taste barrel samples of the Monte Bello components prior to final assemblage …

… The event is also a great way to enjoy some of the finest of Northern California’s culinary offerings. Each year, we choose three of our fave producers, and we feature their wares at all three Monte Bello Collector Events. This year, Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola provided our breads, Cowgirl Creamery provided our cheeses, and Daniel Cote and the team at The Chef’s Chateau provided the charcuterie …

For the carnivores amongst ye, ye might wish to note that the salami was actually made with Monte Bello, and the pâté is topped with dried cherries re-hydrated with Geyserville Essence. I’m just sayin …

Anyhow, as the day progressed, it only became ever more incomparably beautiful …

There is nothing quite like the sparkle of Monte Bello sun on a Riedel wine glass …

It even brings a smile to the faces of our hard-working staff. For example, even though most excellent host Jenny Merit will likely be suffering wine-pourer’s elbow by the end of the day, her spirit remains simply irrepressible …

Something about the wines, perhaps …

The barn that is the locational epicenter of the event was built at the turn of the century by the Torre family; it was their winery, and the first 8 vintages of Ridge were made there as well. It’s a great space to begin with, and tasting within those hallowed walls definitely goes a long way towards helping one deeply internalize the historical narrative of our wines, and the story of our lands …

In a temporary lull, you’ll see it come across the faces of our staff; the depth of it all, the weight, the history, the story. Peter Yaninek is just as krinkly-eyed and kindly a host as one could ever hope for (and deeply knowledgeable and passionate as well!), and as euphorically reverential a viticultural mendicant as anyone who’s ever strode the mountain or lifted a bottle of Ridge, but in the temporary quiet of a non-pouring moment, the gravitas returns …

While the tenets of Responsible Hospitality mandate a mitigated, modulated, and controlled dispensation of tastes, with nothing left to chance as regards the precision of the pours …

… nothing can in fact diminish the enthusiasm with which those tastes are enjoyed. Take winemaker Eric Baugher, for example; he’s not just an employee, he’s a fan!

And he’s not the only one …

(if you look closely in the pic above, you can spot the host of the very great Stay Rad Wine Blog!)

(And above is Assistant Winemaker Shun Ishikubo, talkin’ shop with none other than The Pepper Man!)

Why, even Mark Vernon, the President of Ridge Vineyards, got in on the act! He’s not just the President, he’s a fan!

While the Old Torre Winery Barn was certainly the locational epicenter of the event (courtesy of our pouring not only the four components, but also the 2011 Monte Bello First Assemblage AND the soon-to-be-released 2009 Monte Bello!), the Monte Bello Tasting Room was certainly a hot bed of oeno-activity as well …

After all, legendary Monte Bello staffer Barry Campbell was pouring the 2006 Monte Bello down there, not to mention the VERY RARE 2009 Historic Vineyard Series Klein Cabernet … they’s was linin’ up, they was!

And don’t forget the picnic area! Heaven forfend if you forget the picnic area. That’s where the serious collectors go, the salty and sage veterans of the Monte Bello wars …

 

The picnic area is where THEY go to share the treasurable niceties from their own hidden vaults … Oat Valley Carignane, anyone?

One of the true stars of the whole show, of course, is our head winemaker, Paul Draper, who, despite having been in these viticultural trenches for over 40 years, still delights in chatting with guests about all things wine, and all things Ridge …

And when he and Eric both go side-by-side?

Magic. That’s a lot of palate magic right there …

And don’t get me started about David Gates! Being our Vineyard Manager (i.e. a farmer!) it’s a tad rarer that we get him INSIDE the barn, but anyone who’s ever tasted with David knows he’s just astonishingly charming, brilliant, knowledgeable, charismatic, and flat-out entertaining. Here he is, running it down for very well-regarded wine-blogger Martin Redmond (he of http://enofylzwineblog.com/) …

The sun is shining, the weather is sweet, yeah, makes you want to move those dancing feet …

Or, just sit, and not do much of anything. Just drink wine, feel happy, relax …

And if all I’ve said to date hasn’t sold ya, just dig this cat (and note the vintage Day In the Vineyard shirt!) …

Dig it Les! Just dig it …

And to you all, I thank you all! Thank you all, on behalf of us all! This is such a special event for us, and we treasure the time we spend with you. Come back next time, it’s going to be oh so fun again …

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Posted in Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane, Events & Photographs, Food & Wine Pairing, History, Monte Bello, Paul Draper, Petit Verdot, RIDGE Staff, Social Media, Special Offerings, Tasting Flights, Tasting Rooms, Varietals & Blends, Vineyards and Oenology, Viticultural Salmagundi, Wine & Food Pairing, Wine Blogs, Wine Clubs, Wine Tales, Winemaking | 7 Comments »

Monte Bello Half-Bottle Showcase & Monte Bello Assemblage Tasting! Saturday!

April 16, 2010

This Saturday we are very pleased to be hosting a wonderful event, our Monte Bello Assemblage Tasting, during which we’ll be pouring not only the current assemblage of the 2009 Monte Bello (slated for release in 2012) and the 2006 Monte Bello Chardonnay (recently awarded 95 points by Wine Spectator!), but also an extraordinary trio of back-vintage Monte Bellos as part of our ongoing Monte Bello Half-Bottle Showcase Series (you can read about the previous edition here).

This time around, we’ll be pouring the 1990, 1992, and 1994 Monte Bellos from 375 ml bottles, offering an unparalleled point-of-entry into the mysteries and majesties of ageable wines and their bottle-format-specific maturation rates. (My current tasting notes are below.)

On hand to host this fine event, in addition to our lovely Tasting Room Staffers, will be members of our Production Team, including Paul Draper himself, alongside our celebrated Vice President of Vineyard Operations David Gates, and Shun Ishikubo, our Assistant Production Manager.

As to event specs, here’s the gist: the event is $30/person for the general public, $15/person for members of our ATP and ZList programs, and complimentary to Monte Bello Collector members(+1 guest per membership). For our non-member guests, the event fee will be refunded to those who join the Monte Bello Collector futures program the day of the event, and for our ATP and Zlist members, the $15 event fee will be applied to any Monte Bello purchased in the Tasting Room. (For more details about this event, please click here.)

And now, on to some tasting notes!

1990 Monte Bello (375 ml)

Deep crimson in the glass, with a vivid cranberry-salmon limn, showing medium-light viscosity in the legs – rustic aromatics, rich with plum succulence and forest-floor herbality and earth — incredibly supple point-of-entry, with astonishingly youthful acidity and utterly seamless tannins — hints of raspberry and  plum mid-palate, with some cassis and tobacco interwoven throughout the palate spread –a lingering woodsiness redolent of sweet pipe tobacco wraps around the core  of meaty stew, concentrated broth, and dried fruits that makes up the elegantly weighted finish, as the mineral-driven chalkiness of the integrated tannins lays languidly across the tongue — remarkably intact for a 20-year half-bottle, and absolutely ready to drink, with no signs of degradation, only the fine emergence of secondary and tertiary maturation characteristics.

1992 Monte Bello (375 ml)

Gorgeous cherry hues sparkle in the bowl; deep, almost black cherry in the belly, widening out to a bright red cherry limn; notably adhesive viscosity in the legs — deep, dark aromatics, rich with cocoa, chocolate liquor, graphite, and black and blue berries — big, round, warm, and supple at point-of-entry, showing itself as a plush and fleshy Monte Bello right away — tannins are finely ground and well-integrated, though they definitely dominate the acidity, which takes a comparatively restrained role in the construct — Sweet and decadent fruit notes are tremendously expressive mid-palate, though without being cloying or overtly grandiose; raspberry and blackberry characteristics dominate, in that way of exhibiting both sweet fruit and woodsy seed notes — the finish is singularly mouth-coating, and the teeth-to-inner-lip tannins established at point-of-entry are still swelling in intensity at this point — the finish is long and warm, and exceedingly decadent. While certainly drinkable now, and despite the reserved intensity of the acidity, the sheer opulence of the fruit suggests this is still developing and maturing.

1994 Monte Bello (375 ml)

Black to red plum hues display brilliantly in the bowl, moving from dark to light from belly to limn, with quick-moving legs bespeaking an elegant body-weight on the palate — wildly exotic aromatics that, while almost bordering on funky, at the same time exhibit utterly archetypal old-world cab characteristics; anise, currant, tobacco, campfire wood and smoke, mint, coffee, fleshy black olives, and a multiplicity of black fruits, in particular — pointed without being austere, structured without being clumsy, the beams-and-girders are front-and-center at point-of-entry, while a horde of cocoa-powder-dusted and dark-chocolate-covered fruits await their turn mid-palate — acid and tannin are perfectly balanced throughout, and the finish, while shorter than some vintages, is seamlessly palate-coating and completely devoid of both inappropriately angular distractions and short-changing hollownesses — in short, rich, complex, fully saturated, and if anything, still young, though very, very drinkable now as well.

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Posted in Bordeaux varietals, Events & Photographs, Monte Bello, Paul Draper, Tasting Notes, Tasting Rooms, Varietals & Blends, Wine Clubs | 2 Comments »

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