1997 Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains

Ridge Vineyards' Monte Bello bottling has been one of California elite collectibles virtually since Paul Draper came on board as winemaker in 1969. Today, more than ever before, Ridge is strikingly different from the cabernet-based wines of Napa Valley, which routinely carry alcohol levels of 14% or more in decent vintages. In recent years, Monte Bello has become more accessible in its youth, but not through sheer ripeness or power: it remains a subtle, more European-style red, typically featuring a claret-like 12.5% alcohol.x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D The oldest vines on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains date back to the 1940s; extensive additional planting took place in the mid-'60s. (The first year these "younger" vines went into the Monte Bello was 1982.) The multiple vineyard parcels that can go into the Monte Bello blend lie mostly at an altitude of between 2,000 and 2,600 feet. The crop level is extremely low, typically in the 1.5 tons per acre range and rarely higher than 2. The growing season begins and ends about a month later than in Napa Valley. "We never need to acidify here," notes Draper. "On the contrary, the challenge is to wait until the grapes have burned off their green flavors."x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D In most vintages, Monte Bello includes 70% to 85% cabernet sauvignon, with the rest of the blend accounted for by merlot, petit verdot, and, in recent years, cabernet franc. Dozens of small parcels are harvested and vinified separately, then go into new barrels after the malolactic fermentation. Draper uses mostly new American oak from multiple coopers; since the early '70s he has also used a small percentage of new French oak. A first selection is made in February, and the assemblage is usually completed by April or May; typically, 30% to 50% of the estate's fruit is held out of the final blend.x000D x000D x000D x000D I tasted Monte Bello vintages back to 1984 with Draper in Ridge's mountaintop dining room on a wintry afternoon in early March, during which a cold rain briefly changed to snow. Draper chose '84 as a starting point because this vintage marked the beginning of a shift toward what he describes as "more sensous" wines vinified to show better early fruit and balance. Ridge purchased an Amos crusher/destemmer in 1988; Draper set the motor at half speed and opened the rollers wide, allowing about 40% of the berries to go into the tank uncrushed. Thus he was in a position to do a longer maceration without fear of extracting excessive seed tannins.

On a stormy day in early March, during which the rain momentarily turned to wet snow in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paul Draper staged a vertical tasting of his classic Ridge Monte Bello back to 1984. After having tasted high-octane Napa Valley cabs for more than a week without respite, I appreciated these wines for their claret-like alcohol levels (rarely over 13%). As long-time fans of this world-class wine know, Ridge more closely resembles classified growths from the Medoc than it does Napa Valley cabernet. (Results of this event will appear in the next issue.) Ridge has an outstanding '99 Monte Bello in the works, from "a huge crop" despite having dropped 30% of the fruit. "The season here is typically three to five weeks later than in Napa, and we really have to drop crop to get ripeness," Draper explained. "And we need to wait until we've burned off the green flavors. We have never added acidity here; in fact, sometimes it is necessary to de-acidify."

This producer has recently purchased a number of small stainless steel fermenters, consistent with its current approach of picking parcels more precisely. The Monte Bello cabernet is normally harvested quite late, but 1998 was especially exaggerated. "In '97 we started on September 15," reports Paul Draper, "while in '98 we didn't begin picking the lower blocks until October 23." Ridge dropped crop during mid-summer, then eliminated berries that showed signs of rot following rain in August. Draper describes the very young '98 as tannic (perhaps as much as '95, the most tannic recent vintage for Ridge), deeply colored and potentially strong: 18 of 33 parcels had made the first cut for the grand vin at the end of February. On my recent visit, the 1997 Ridge zinfandels showed impressively; they are clearly more successful than the '96s.