On Friday 6th of March we opened six different vintages of Monte Bello as the next instalment of our Masterclass tasting series. The specialist Masterclasses are a way of us to open and share some truly special wines with our customers, and they are better value than just buying one of the bottles.
Monte Bello has gained international fame and a big cult following due to the power, structure, elegance, and longevity of the wines. In 1976 Californian wines burst onto the world map off the back of the ‘Judgement of Paris’ Tasting – whereby the top wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy were pitted against Californian wines in a blind tasting – California won the blind tasting and Ridge Monte Bello 1971 in particular came in fifth place. The tasting was re-enacted again in 2006 with the exact same wines and vintages, this time Ridge Monte Bello 1971 won the blind tasting! Today Monte Bello is revered as one of the ‘first growths’ or highest classified wines of California.
We showed 3 wines from 75cl bottles and 3 wines from magnum. The vertical consisted of:
Wine 1: Ridge Monte Bello 2020 (75cl)
Wine 2: Ridge Monte Bello 2019 (75cl)
Wine 3: Ridge Monte Bello 2018 (75cl)
Wine 4: Ridge Monte Bello 2017 (Magnum)
Wine 5: Ridge Monte Bello 2016 (Magnum)
Wine 6: Ridge Monte Bello 2014 (Magnum)
The wines were double decanted at 2pm on the afternoon of the tasting, which started at 7pm. Usually we would decant the wines slightly later in the day however these wines benefitted greatly from the extra time.
While these are all fantastic wines, when presented the opportunity like this to try them side by side it really highlights the differences and allowed everyone to choose personal favourites. Subtle differences in blend and ageing time become noticeable and each wine is a true reflection of the year and conditions it faced.
Starting with the 2020, this wine has the highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (the star grape in all the wines) as well as the longest period in oak casks. This wine is young at only six years old and one of the most recent released vintages. The fruit was bright and concentrated with rich blackberries and plums, the oak is evident, showing lots of sweet baking spice and cedar. It has all the parts in all the right places, high tannins and bright acidity will carry this wine as it continues to age and the fruit develops. You could easily sit on this wine for another 10 years.
The 2019 by comparison was a warmer and wetter year than 2020, this wine only saw 17 months in oak and has slightly less Cabernet Sauvignon. It did share similarities with rich opulent cassis and black fruit as well as the warm spiced characters. There were hints of
tobacco and leather starting to develop in this vintage.
2018 was a standout vintage with several people choosing it as their favourite wine of the evening. What became evident as we progressed though the vintages were how the years with below average rainfall showed a huge concentration of flavour. This wine had such intense concentration and rich opulent fruit; the tannins were ripe and had great structure. The 17 months in oak barrels added another layer of toasted spices to the wine which were balanced out by the fresh acidity on the pallet. A wine that could very happily sit in a cellar for years to come.
We then moved on to our first magnum, the 2017. This had so far, the highest proportion of Cabernet Franc compared to the other vintages we had tried at 4% and while that is still low you can see the difference it made in the wine. 2017 was bold and structured full of juicy fruit but with hints of violets and a balsamic note which added another layer of freshness to the wine. The tannins were bold and firm, creating a bold structured wine. It was easy to see why this got 100 points from Robert Parker Wine Advocate.
The 2016 was another favourite with several choosing this as their wine of the night. It has the highest percentage of Cabernet Franc (6%) and the lowest of Cabernet Sauvignon (72%), it was a below average rain year as well. This year was concentrated cassis and black fruit with vanilla and baked spices, a touch herbal with a smoky oaked character. This vintage showed fine grained tannins which supported the excellent structure and a fresh acidity on the finish.
Finally, we had the 2014, another vintage witnessing low rainfall. This wine was concentrated and packed with fruit, still despite being twelve years old there was still fresh blackberries and cherries with the warm spiced characters. There was some development with balsamic and leather characters beginning to show clearly alongside the fruit. Still young at heart with firm tannins and excellent acidity. What was clear from this wine was that you don’t need to rush to drink this anytime soon, although it was drinking incredibly well now.
Throughout the evening all the wines continued to evolve and change, without sacrificing their signature power and elegance. It was not hard to see why all of these wines come so highly rated from critics.
