The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

Last Monday we went up to Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello, and it was one of those visits that reminds you why you fell in love with wine in the first place. It’s been over 13 years since my epic visits, documented here and here . I was greeted by bright sun above a sea of clouds, cool mountain air, and a view that stretches forever. On a clear day you can even spot the Apple “spaceship” far below in the valley. It feels remote, calm, and completely removed from Napa’s rhythm. That’s also an important point that many people miss: Monte Bello is not Napa. Ridge’s flagship wines come from the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA , a very different place. Higher elevation, cooler temperatures, rugged terrain, and thin, rocky soils. The wines reflect that—more structure, more acidity, more restraint, and a sense of place that’s unmistakable once you tune into it. A bit of history The Monte Bello Ridge existed long before Ridge the winery. The site itself was planted to vines in the late 19th century...

Having written about them a few times in the past , I've often considered Ridge to be America's finest winery. Never mind gorgeous views from the mountain-top, never mind the showing at the legendary Judgment of Paris (and a victory at the re-tasting 30 years after ). All that aside, look at what's in front of you in the glass! Never before had I enjoyed their wines as much as I did this time, when I was presented with a special occasion to (re-)taste some of Ridge's greatest wines. Simply sensational!!! Chris Watkins, the tasting room manager, set up the following venerable line-up for a handful of us: 1985 Ridge Monte Bello , 1989 Ridge Monte Bello (magnum), 1995 Ridge Monte Bello , 2005 Ridge Monte Bello , and 2003 Ridge Estate Cabernet (Monte Bello's little brother). The 1985 was amazing - fresh, earthy, savory, with black olives, hints of eucalyptus, pine and herbs (without appearing vegetal or green), loads of dark, blackcurrant fruits and echoes ...

This is a guest post by my friend, wine and food gourmand - Dan Snyder, from his September 2011 visit to Ridge. A gorgeous September afternoon in the Santa Cruz mountains, fall releases, two great vintages of Ridge Monte Bello, wood fired organic pizza, and Paul Draper mingling with his huge snowball of a dog. There was a lot to like about the Ridge fall release party! The highlights were the 1992 and 2008 Monte Bellos side by side. '92 is of course a legendary vintage and kinda kicked off the "new age" of sought-after California cabs. Kudos to Ridge for keeping pricing in line and sticking to their style. The similarities were striking in the wines -- although sixteen years apart. Good earthy, loamy, mushroomy minerality are threads throughout. The '08 of course being younger, wilder and sexier. The '92 was still absolutely gorgeous and at a great balance of fruit and development. 1992 Ridge Monte Bello  -  80% cab, 11% merlot, 9% PV. Effusive nose of cr...

This young winery with vineyards running along Skyline Blvd., overlooking Silicon Valley from the heights of the Santa Cruz Mountains, doesn't really feel like wine country. World-renowned hot-bed of high technology, these lands are not exactly a destination of wine tourism. But legendary Santa Cruz Mountains names such as Ridge Monte Bello have long been on the map of California's wine history. Just minutes drive from swanky Palo Alto, but high enough for snow to form, founded by a high-tech entrepreneur in the early 2000's, Rhys has caught an eye of Burgundy wine geeks. The entire Rhys winery operation is located under-ground, dug out from the rocky guts of the mountain. The winery generated even more buzz when Allen Meadows (aka "the Burghound") - one of world's greatest authorities on Burgundy, gave the 2008 Horseshoe Vineyard Pinot Noir his highest ever score for a domestic Pinot - 95 points. Other wine authorities have been complimentary as well. Throug...

Chris Watkins and I have been discussing getting together for a really cool Ridge tasting ever since he reached out to me after my mention of Ridge at the Wine & Spirits Top 100 tasting . Finally he came up with a great angle. Robert Parker's latest scoring of Ridge wines inspired Chris, the tasting room manager at Ridge Monte Bello - an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and all-around cool dude, to throw a re-tasting for the mere mortal wine blogger folk. Armed with fancy cameras, shabby notepads, and cute business cards, a small army of wine and food writers showed up at Ridge on a beautiful sunny morning of March 18. I also invited my friend and wine director at Donato Enoteca - Eric L. - for second opinions and witty commentary! I see Parker's scores far from being something I rely on for personal enjoyment, but if you learn to calibrate his scores against your palate, then it's a useful data point. After the tasting of the same portfolio, my conclusion is that Parker...