Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
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Robert
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Dark purple hues with black cherry, dark plum, black olive, soy, dried jerky, lilac, dried rose petals, cedar, juniper berry, and wintergreen mint. Fresh entry with building tannins that coat the entire palate. Gravelly, dusty, and mineral notes give way to layers of red and black fruits. Integrated oak with youthful tannins and acidity. Will prove to be very age-worthy.
Blend: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
From the legendary Monte Bello estate vineyard, most of this 2021 Cabernet comes from the Klein Ranch portion of the famed Santa Cruz Mountains estate. An American Cabernet (blended with 16% Merlot) evocative of first-growth Bordeaux nuance and complexity. Freshly turned soils, bay leaf and sweet tobacco aromas segue into notes of pure black fruits. Sweet, ripe black plums open the palate with perfectly tart blackberries, muddled mint leaves, pencil shavings, and soaring acidity brighten this wine into a mineral-driven finish. This is a wine that, in 8-10 years, will surely be at its apex.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2021 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Cabernet Sauvignon offers excellent mountain-grown fruit in its aromas and flavors. Serve with beef pho. (Tasted: April 14, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Blended with 16% Merlot and bottled at 13.3% alcohol, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is immediately layered and expressive on the nose. Aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, cocoa nibs and charred wood lead to a vibrant, satiny palate that is fresh and light on its feet. The finish combines juicy, muddled berry flavors with tense, chocolaty tannins of good length. Rating : 92+
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Vinous
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot, is tight and compact, boasting a stern mineral core and a truckload of spiced black fruit. Plum, blackberry, tar, eucalyptus and iodine all live behind a wall of searing tannins, but there’s a nice airy, floral lift and a balancing proportion of creamy oak that implies roundness For now, hands off, but this is a serious wine.
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RIDGE's history begins in 1885, when Osea Perrone, a doctor and prominent member of San Francisco's Italian community, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He planted vineyards and constructed a winery of redwood and native limestone in time to produce the first vintage of Monte Bello in 1892. The historic building now serves as the RIDGE production facility.
In 1962, Ridge Vineyards made its first Monte Bello, and two years later its first zinfandel. The RIDGE approach is straightforward: find the most intense and flavorful grapes, guide the natural process, draw all the fruit's richness into the wine. Decisions on when to pick, when to press, when to rack, what varietals and what parcels to include and when to bottle, are based on taste. To retain the nuances that increase complexity, Ridge winemakers handle the grapes and wine as gently as possible. There are no recipes, only attention and sensitivity.
In August 2021, Ridge Vineyards joined International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), a group of like-minded wineries that are dedicated to decarbonizing the global wine industry. RIDGE is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050 and completes a biannual greenhouse gas audit utilizing the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol methodology and be verified by an internationally accredited, third-party auditor.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
A rugged and topographically diverse cool-climate appellation with a rich history, the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA stretches from Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, to the northern border of Monterey County. Elevations range from 800 feet to upwards of 3,000 and microclimates vary substantially depending on which side of the mountains the vineyards lie; cool ocean winds and fog play an important role here. This can be a challenging region in which to grow grapes, but it is well worth the effort. Santa Cruz Mountains wines are noted for balanced acidity levels, often showing great aging potential. Wine has been made here since the 1800s, most notably from the legendary Ridge Vineyards, whose Monte Bello vineyard garners international admiration.
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the stars of this region, while Merlot and Zinfandel also perform quite well. Organic and sustainable vineyard practices are becoming increasingly common.