1997 Chardonnay Estate

Since its first commercial release in 1962, Ridge’s Monte Bello has established itself as one of the most pedigreed wines in the United States, with a track record that can comfortably stand next to the very best from around the world. For this tasting, Paul Draper, Ridge’s CEO and Head Winemaker, presented ten Monte Bellos; the five most recent vintages followed by one wine per decade going back to the 1960s, with each of the older wines chosen to represent a milestone in the estate’s distinguished history.

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.