2020 Technical Specifications
Alcohol 14.1%
Grape Varieties 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
Region Santa Cruz Mountains
Production Details Monte Bello Vineyard fruit; the Klein Casa Grande parcel constituted most of the wine. Daily pumpovers were performed for six days and the wine was pressed on day seven.
Tasting Notes Dark ruby; red plum, black currant, cedar, fig and sweet toasted oak; medium-bodied, with focused integrated tannins, fresh natural acidity and a long finish.
Sources: www.ridgewine.com ↗ · Compare this vintage
2019 Technical Specifications
Alcohol 13.8%
pH 3.36
Total Acidity 5.98 g/L
Grape Varieties 96% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon
Region Santa Cruz Mountains
Harvest Dates 1–22 October 2019
Brix at Harvest 24.7°
Estate Grown Yes
Indigenous Yeast Yes
Malolactic Fermentation 100%
Oak Details 75% First Fill New Oak
First Fill New Oak75%
Oak Types American oak
Contains Added Sulfites Yes
Production Details Hand-harvested, estate-grown grapes were destemmed and retained as whole berries, with native primary fermentation and full natural malolactic fermentation. The producer’s narrative says the berries fermented for seven days, while its tabulated Winemaking section says the wine was pressed at six days; no maceration_days claim is therefore proposed. The wine matured for nineteen months in 100% air-dried American oak barrels, comprising 75% new and 25% one-year-old barrels. Sulfur additions were reported as 35 ppm initially and 80 ppm over the course of aging, not as a finished-wine measurement; the wine was depth filtered at bottling.
Tasting Notes Dark vibrant red; bright red plum, tobacco leaf, cedar and toasty oak; red bramble fruit, supple fine-grained tannins, lively acidity and a long finish.
Sources: www.ridgewine.com ↗ · Compare this vintage
2016 Technical Specifications
Alcohol 13.4%
Grape Varieties 100% Merlot
Region Santa Cruz Mountains
Soil Limestone soil
Harvest Dates 21 September–10 October 2016
Brix at Harvest 23.8°
Estate Grown Yes
Indigenous Yeast Yes
Malolactic Fermentation 100%
Oak Details 100% First Fill New Oak
First Fill New Oak100%
Oak Types American oak
Contains Added Sulfites Yes
Production Details Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested, estate-grown grapes were destemmed and retained as whole berries. Natural primary and full natural malolactic fermentations were followed by pressing at seven days. The wine matured for eighteen months in 100% new, air-dried American oak barrels. Calcium carbonate was added to two of five lots at the producer-reported rate of 0.3 mg/L. Sulfur was reported as 35 ppm initially and 59 ppm over aging, not as a finished-wine measurement; the wine was pad filtered at bottling.
Tasting Notes Dark ruby; ripe mountain bramble, chaparral, toasted oak and exotic spices; rich cherry fruit, firm acidity, savory dried herbs, textural tannins and a long finish.
Sources: www.ridgewine.com ↗ · Compare this vintage
2011 Technical Specifications
Alcohol 12.9%
Grape Varieties 100% Merlot
Region Santa Cruz Mountains
Soil Fractured limestone subsoils overlaid with decomposing franciscan greenstone mixed with clay/loam
Harvest Dates 19 October–2 November 2011
Brix at Harvest 23.8°
Estate Grown Yes
Vine Age 52% fourteen-year-old vines planted in 1998; 48% twenty-five-year-old vines planted in 1987
Indigenous Yeast Yes
Malolactic Fermentation 100%
Oak Details 41% First Fill New Oak
First Fill New Oak41%
Oak Types American oak
Bottling Date August 2013
Contains Added Sulfites Yes
Production Details The Monte Bello vineyard elevation was reported as 1,400–2,600 feet. Vines were head trained and cane pruned on a vertical, vertically shoot-positioned trellis, with a reported yield of two tons per acre. Four of eight parcels were selected for the Estate bottling. Hand-harvested, estate-grown grapes were destemmed and whole-berry fermented on native yeasts; natural malolactic began in tank and finished four months later in barrel, and the wine was pressed at seven days. It matured for nineteen and a half months in 100% air-dried American oak, comprising 41% new and 59% three- and four-year-old barrels. Calcium carbonate was added at 22 mg/L to two fermentors. Sulfur was reported as 35 ppm initially and 83 ppm during aging, not as a finished-wine measurement; the wine was pad filtered at bottling.
Sources: www.ridgewine.com ↗ · Compare this vintage
Producer Information
Website
Address
17100 Montebello Road, Cupertino, CA 95014-5435, USA
Phone
+1 408.867.3233
Owner
Private ownership (founding families)
Cellarmaster
John Olney (Head Winemaker & CEO)