Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains (2019)

Perched high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Ridge Vineyards is an absolute titan of historic California winemaking. Famous for their unwavering commitment to pre-industrial methods, the estate champions single-vineyard expressions, dry-farming, and total transparency through their pioneering ingredient labeling. Whether crafting electric, old-vine Zinfandel from Sonoma or their legendary, Bordeaux-rivaling Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, Ridge relies on native yeasts and minimal intervention. These are fiercely traditional, structurally monumental wines of unmatched pedigree, delivering breathtaking complexity, intense savory depth, and spectacular cellar longevity.

Few vineyards sit as high or as wild as those in the Santa Cruz Mountains - steep, remote sites above San Francisco Bay, many of them perched above the fog line where the sun stays bright while the cloud sits on the slopes below. The cool air and rare limestone soils make Cabernet of unusual poise: less about power than balance and the patience to age. This is the home of Monte Bello, the wine that placed against the great names of Bordeaux in the 1976 Judgement of Paris - and topped them outright at the thirty-year rematch.