About Ridge Vineyards

This is an elegant, exceptional and very memorable Merlot..

Ridge Vineyards is an iconic California winery that has long been benchmark for world class wine. They are best known for producing a single-vineyard, premium, Bordeaux style Cabernet Sauvignon Blend (“Monte Bello”), Zinfandels, and Chardonnay. Ridge has two estates – Monte Bello, located in the city of Cupertino in Santa Clara County, and Lytton Springs, located in the city of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. The Monte Bello estate is nested on a summit high atop Monte Bello Ridge, in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA.

Ridge Vineyards commenced full-scale production as a commercial winery in 1962, but the history of the original winery dates back to 1885 when Oseo Perrone, a doctor from northern Italy, purchased the land. He terraced the steep slopes and planted vineyards. Using native limestone, he constructed the Monte Bello Winery, producing the first vintage under that name in 1892. The winery included a unique cellar built into the mountainside on three levels. Today it is Ridge’s production facility.

In the 1940s, William Short, a theologian, bought the abandoned winery and vineyard just below the Perrone property. He replanted several parcels to Cabernet Sauvignon in 1949. David Bennion and his three partners, all engineers from nearby Stanford Research Institute (SRI), purchased the land from Short in 1959. The partners initially intended to sell the grapes on the property, but Bennion made a half-barrel of wine from the 1959 harvest. Its quality convinced the partners to re-bond the old winery and undertake the venture that became Ridge Vineyards.

By 1968, production had increased to about three thousand cases annually. In 1969, Paul Draper, a Stanford graduate in philosophy, joined the partnership. Soon thereafter, Ridge gained an international reputation when the 1971 Ridge Monte Bello, under the direction of winemaker Draper, took fifth place in the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” against nine other French and California wines. Here’s what’s really cool though, the 1976 Monte Bello unanimously took first place in The Judgment of Paris 30th Anniversary when it was tasted against the same wines thirty years later!

Draper, who retired in 2016 as CEO and Winemaker serves as the Chairman of the Board. He joined Robert Mondavi and André Tchelistcheff as the only Americans honored as the Decanter Man of the Year.

Ridge refers to their style of winemaking as “pre-Industrial“. Essentially that mean native yeast, no invasive commercial enzymes, nutrients, or invasive industrial processes. The winery has also been a leader in transparency. While not required to do so by the TTB, labels on Ridge wines list ingredients and “actions” taken in producing the wines.

2013 Ridge Merlot Perrone Monte Bello

From Ridge Vineyards – “In the nineteenth century, the highest elevations vines on the Monte Bello vineyard were part of Dr. Osea Perrone’s ranch…We combines four barrels of merlot from the Point (replanted in the 1960’s) with eight barrels from the West Block (replanted in 1996). together, they show excellent definition, an dthe beauty of merlot grown on a mountain within sight of the Pacific Ocean, composed largely of fractured limestone”

Tasting Note: Opaque ruby purple color with exuberant black cherry, plum, anise, cola and barrel spice, and a hint of leather aromas. On the palate it’s medium-full-bodied with vibrant acidity and grainy well integrated tannins and black cherry, blackberry, ripe black plum,cola, and spice with savory dried herb notes and a long finish. Raised in 100% new air-dried American Oak for 21 months. 13.9% abv|SRP – $60|93pts

We paired this distinctive with Grilled T-bone steaks, roasted mushrooms and baked potatoes. Yum!

This is an elegant, exceptional and very memorable Merlot that (here comes the wine lovers all too familiar lament), I wish I had another bottle or two of to see how it evolves over the 5-10 years.

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