Flying under-the-radar at Ridge Monte Bello

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They've been making these wines since the 70's, staying true to the principles of purity and balance, respecting the history of the grapes, being a reference point of American wine making. Recently I had a chance to re-visit Ridge. Another great experience, once again re-affirming that this local Santa Cruz Mountains winery not only has the world-class chops but also the soul.

For the 2nd installment of Ridge blogger tasting, Chris Watkins, the tasting room manager at Ridge Monte Bello, lined up an array of under-the-radar low-production (under 1000 cases) "Advanced Tasting Program" wines from Ridge that sell out to devout members without ever hitting retail - all Rhone varietals, for which Ridge obviously has a soft spot, but not a soft palate.

This time we focused on multiple vintages of 100% Carignane, 50/50 Syrah/Grenache blends (Southern Rhone style), Syrah/Viognier (Northern Rhone style) blends, and 100 Petite Sirah.

Continue reading this article on corkd.com.

Comments

Richard Jennings said…
Okay, so you beat me getting your blog post up on this Gary. I think yours was probably the first for the group. Nice job.
July 10, 2010 at 2:49 PM
Iron Chevsky said…
Thanks Richard!
I loved your detailed post - very useful notes. For my readers here, here is the link to Richard's article: http://rjonwine.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/ridge-wine-bloggers-tasting-atp-rhone-varietals/
July 10, 2010 at 2:54 PM
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