Tried last night w/ my samwich:
1. Ridge Estate CabernetSauvignon MonteBelloVnyd/SantaCruzMtns (77% CS/23% Merlot; 13.8%; 54 tons from 34 acres; Bttld: 6/11; 17 Estate Cabernet parcels slctd; Drk: 3/11-3/21-3/26: EB) 2009: Very dark/black color; classic MB/coffee bean/smokey/Am.oak intense blackcurrants/Cab/herbal some earthy/dusty complex nose; fairly tart rather tannic/hard intense blackcurranty/Cab/earthy/dusty/SCM Cab strong coffee bean/Am.oak/vanilla/toasty/smokey rather spicy flavor; very long/lingering somewhat hard/tannic strong smokey/coffee bean/toasty/smokey/Am.oak very strong blackcurranty/Cab/smokey/dusty/SCM Cab/earthy slight herbal very spicy finish; needs another 5 yrs before trying again; a steal at $36.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. After they do the assemblage for the MonteBello, they then look at the remaining lots of wine to do an assemblage for their Estate Cabernet; what used to be called the SantaCruzMtn Cabernet. Those lots that don't make that cut are then bulked out or go into their single-vnyd varietals.
This is a classic MonteBello in style....a MB Jr. Not quite as structured and tannic as the regular MB '09. Maybe a bit more approachable than the MB, but not by a whole lot. A hard wine to taste....kept changing in the glass on me.
Tom