Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 2022

From the historic Monte Bello vineyard, this wine comes from high in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, within the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. The organically farmed plots are terraced between 400 and 840 metres above sea level, just 24 kilometres from the Pacific. Soils of fractured limestone, decomposed Franciscan greenstone and clay loam give the wine its characteristic mineral tension.

The grapes are harvested by hand, destemmed and then sorted. Each lot is vinified separately as whole berries with native yeasts, followed by pressing at dryness and a complete natural malolactic fermentation. Eighteen plots are selected for the blend. The wine is aged for twenty-one months in new barrels made of 95% American oak and 5% French oak, then filtered before bottling.

This wine reveals notes of blackberry, blackcurrant, black cherry, plum, fennel, dried chaparral, tobacco leaf, cedar, toasted oak, crushed stone and liquorice. The broad, deeply structured palate pairs a velvety texture with polished yet firm tannins. Straight acidity supports the black fruit and lengthens the saline, mineral and spicy finish.

In the United States, 90% of the wine produced comes from California. It was the influx of gold prospectors into California that boosted the Californian wine industry in the mid-19th century, particularly in Sonoma and Napa. At the start of the 20th century there were 800 wineries. From 1919 to 1933, Prohibition destroyed the vast majority of the Californian wine industry, so much so that by 1933 only 140 wineries were still producing wine. It was not until 1960 that the wine industry began to recover from Prohibition, and California was then known mainly for fortified wines (in the style of Port). It was also in the 1960s that some of the most famous wineries were founded (Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, etc.). In 1976 a landmark event took place: the legendary tasting competition better known as the "Judgement of Paris". It pitted the greatest French wines against the American newcomers. On 24 May, an unexpected result shook the wine world when, to everyone's surprise, the United States came out on top. Yet the competition remains fairly unknown to the general public. Today there is no doubt that the United States produces great wines. Although California largely monopolises the reputation of American wines with its excellent Zinfandels, the state of Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world and Washington State offers excellent Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.