Cellar Favorite: 1995
Ridge Monte Bello

BY BILLY NORRIS | MARCH 24, 2025

After a dizzying day of tasting and mingling with numerous producers
and attendees at Vinous Icons NYC 2025, a small but mighty group of Vinous
critics—Neal Martin, Eric Guido, Joaquín Hidalgo, Nicolas Greinacher and
myself—assembled for an impromptu late meal and powwow at what Eric refers to
as his “second office,” Keens Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan. A historical New
York City institution dating back to 1885, Keens is best known for its
dinosaurian mutton chop, its ceiling adorned with Victorian-era tobacco pipes,
and the sense of proper old-school gravitas that permeates its numerous dimly
lit, always slightly too-warm dining rooms. Though we hadn’t properly planned
in advance, being passionate oenophiles ever-prepared for an impromptu vinous
(or Vinous) gathering, each of us had brought along a bottle or two from home.
This anticipatory move was a logical follow-up to the epic dinner Antonio
Galloni hosted for the entire team in 2024, for which he generously raided his
own cellar and poured a blind, flighted lineup supplemented by wines we each
brought from our far-flung homes. It was on this night that the inimitable
Giaconda Chardonnay Angus Hughson lovingly carried all the way from Australia
rocked our collective worlds.

The meal at Keens was classic carnivore-centric NYC
steakhouse fare done to a tee, but the parade of bottles—garnering puzzled
looks from the neighboring late-diners—was the highlight. The wines ran the
gamut from the 2006 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon from Nicolas, to
the 2019 Sei Solo Ribera del Duero from Joaquín, to Neal’s 2019 Kershaw
Syrah G.P.S. from South Africa, to Eric’s 2018 Antica Terra Pinot Noir
Antikythera and 2013 Commando G Las Iruelas El Tiemblo. I toted two
bottles up from Florida for the hypothetical-turned-happily-manifested occasion,
the 2012 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon and the 1995 Ridge Monte Bello.
Even in such indubitably esteemed company, the Monte Bello stole the show.

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1742824300408-CF_Mar242025.jpg">A wine of suave sophistication and supreme textural finesse,
the 1995 Monte Bello is almost shockingly primary and fresh as a daisy. Cool-toned
and elegant, clearly articulated and precise, it delivers a textbook “Monte
Bello” profile of layered dark berry fruit, black tea, eucalyptus, tobacco and
cedar. As the hours in the glass tick by, the 1995 packs on weight and builds concentration,
stretching its legs and becoming ever more expressive. The ultra-fine tannins
are mostly resolved, but there’s still a whisper of structure that ensures
there’s zero risk of the wine coming unglued anytime soon. What impresses most
is the long, lifted finish…one minute? Two minutes? Who’s counting? More
importantly, who wants to wait two minutes between sips? Not me. Notably, the
1995 clocks in at 12.5% alcohol on the label (which spurred a sprightly
post-hoc social media debate with some modern winemakers about this figure and
its implications). This particular Monte Bello’s ability to deliver such
compelling depth at such low alcohol speaks to a seriously special site and particularly
calibrated winemaking.&nbsp;This is a superb effort by Winemaker Paul Draper and his team.&nbsp;Any way you spin it, the 1995 Monte Bello is
fully in the zone, but there are easily many, many years left in its journey. 95/Drink
2025-2045.© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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