Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Absolutely incredible..well integrated tannins..blackberry/blackcherry/plum, ripe, leather, anise, mint, green herbs..spice, dill weed, vanilla..very long finish with incredible fruit..delicious..paired with filet/ribeye..

PnP as a night cap. Dark brooding purple. Not showing much age in the glass. Rich fruit nose. Notes of black fruit, plums, rustic leather, herbs, and some oak. Cool embrace in the mouth. Silky. Went too fast to see what more air did for it.

Now that I've spent some time with this wine...I'm so enraptured by it. Absolutely the height of what California wine can do. Graphite, mint, herbaceous, mulling spices, anise, licorice. Tannins still incredibly powerful. Linear on the palate, giving a complete and unique vision. I simply cannot imagine a better wine.

The best of the vertical. Tannins still gripping the back end, mint, forest floor. Tremendous elegance with a youthful ferocity remaining. Just amazing.

Mag, amazing #wine, one of world's best (?), cellar till 2025?, dusty, baby, elegance in bottle (tasting notes)

2005 vintage Ridge Monte Bello on 1/09/16 WOTN in Left Bank vs California lineup.

Ridge Wine Dinner. Almost opaque. Flamboyant nose with notes of black cherry, blueberry, light smoke and walnuts. Still primary. Great finish with perfect balance of fruit, structure and acidity. For me this was the best of the 95/05/12 MB lineup. Needs time.

Spellbinding, many dimensions, intensity of '05

Not bad. Great acid decent fruit. Lacks a great mid palate and has way too many pencil shavings for my taste.

Very fun moment in time to taste this vintage 10 years after the grapes were picked. The fine tannins are starting to soften as are the acid and fruit into something even more complex. A snapshot in the evolution of an amazing wine. When to open the next bottle is the real question...