Tried these two new MonteBellos at our Pig+Fig tasting last night:
1. Ridge MonteBello MonteBelloVnyd/SCM (13.5%; 64% CS/31% Merlot/5% PetiteVerdot; Y=63 tons from 51 acres; bttld June 2023; Drk: 5/23-5/43-5/48: JO) 2021: Very dark near black color; very classic MB/cedary/smokey/coffee bean intense blackcurranty/CS strong vanilla/oak quite lovely nose; fairly tart/tannic bit hard slightly closed blackcurranty/CS bit tight bit complex flavor w/ hard chewey tannins; very long/lingering strong blackcurranty rather structured finish that tracks flavor; a pretty classic example of a young MB. $155.00(MBC)
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2. Ridge MonteBello MonteBelloVnyd/SCM (13.2%; 89% CS/9% Merlot/2% PetiteVerdot; Y=72.8 tons from 57 acres; bttld June 2025; Drk: 4/25-4/50: JO) 2023: : Very dark color; more lush/fruity/blackcurranty/CS light smokey/coffee-bean strong vanilla/oak somewhat classic young MB nose; lightly tannic strong blackcurranty/CS some toasty/pencilly/oak less structured/tannic bit round/lush fairly structured MB classic flavor w/ ample chewey tannins; very long/lingering structured ripe blackcurranty CS finish that tracks flavor; a bit richer/lusher than the '21 but another classic MB Cab. $185.00(MBC)
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More gerglesnit from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Both of these were pretty classic young MB Cabs. I had no real preference of one over the other and the difference in these two was pretty minimal. Both will be very fine classic MB Cabs w/ age.
Tom
