
2012 Ridge Vineyards "Monte Bello" Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon
97
Vinous
Review Date: 07/2016Read All Reviews
The 2012 is a racy, voluptuous Monte Bello built on a core of sweet red fruit, with striking perfume, silky tannins and fabulous overall balance. The 2012 is of course an infant, and the new oak is still evident. As Vinous readers know, Monte Bello is a wine that really should not be touched until its tenth birthday, and even that requires an optimistic view. The 2012 has been a consistently brilliant wine. Today, it is once again stellar. (AG) 97+
Price: $299.99
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Professional Reviews
96
James Suckling
Review Date: 01/2023
Very complex nose of red fruit, spices, pencil shavings and old balsamic vinegar. Rich and fleshy palate with beautifully integrated tannins and a touch of leather at the long, firm finish. A cuvee of 64% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot, 8% cabernet franc and 6% petit verdot. Tasted at the Thomas Kammeier Monte Bello vertical. Drink or hold.
96
Wine Advocate
Review Date: 05/2018
The 2012 Monte Bello is a beauty, wafting from the glass with complex aromas of plums, blackberries, bitter chocolate, black truffles, cigar tobacco and hints of crème de cassis. Its new oak is already well integrated. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, richly tannic and very deep, with a layered, concentrated core of fruit framed by chalky, fine-grained tannins. The 2012 is still quite youthfully chewy at this early stage, but there's a certain lavishness to its ripe blackberry fruit that suggests this will be a dramatic, even decadent Monte Bello in the style of the 2002 when it reaches maturity. (WK)
95
Decanter
Review Date: 10/2022
There's a trace of evolution on the nose, which is still reserved, but has hints of smoke and tobacco as well as brooding black fruits. The attack is suave, with integrated tannins but somewhat raucous acidity that keeps it youthful. There's excellent balance and potential here, as well as ample energy that delivers a very long, zesty finish. (SB)
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Product Details
Origin: Santa Cruz Mountains, California, United States
Type/Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends
Alcohol Content: 13.8%
SKU: #1206725