2019 Ridge Monte Bello

Monte Bello was one of the wines that participated in the 1976 Judgment of Paris, the famous blind tasting event that really put California on the map as a legitimate player. Amongst the Bordeaux style wines tasted, Ridge’s 1971 offering placed 5th after the 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellar, the 1970 Château Mouton-Rothschild, the 1970 Château Montrose, and the 1970 Château Haut-Brion. Funny enough, the French noted that while the California wines may be good in the short term, there’s no way they would stand up to the longevity of the previously aforementioned Bordeaux powerhouses. Yet in 2006, when these same wines and same vintages revisited the competition to prove the longevity of lack thereof of the California wines, the 1971 Ridge Monte Bello came out on top, and it was not even close (18 points of the next best wine - the ‘73 Stag’s Leap). California is still on the map and still a force to be reckoned with as it relates to the Bordeaux style of wine (Cabernet-dominant oaked wines), and the current 2019 Ridge Monte Bello offering is still at or near the top of the heap.