Burgundy and Champagne
Timed Online Auction, 28 August - 9 September 2024
Additional Finds
About the SessionAdditional finds, featuring wines from a Private Seller. The selection is an eclectic offering from California. Highlights include Opus One, Harlan Estate, Ridge Monte Bello and Pride Mountain Vineyards. We have curated a few mixed Chardonnay parcels from Steele Wines offering further variety and very good value.
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
In 1962, Ridge made its first Monte Bello, and two years later its first zinfandel. Since that time, Ridge has championed single-vineyard winemaking, searching California for those rare and exceptional vineyards where climate, soil, and variety are ideally matched. For more than six decades, Ridge has been recognized by top critics, chefs and peers for consistent quality and steadfast approach to winemaking. Ridge is the largest farmer of organically certified grapes in Sonoma County and the Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation.
Producer Notes: This fine vintage was smaller in quantity than the 1980 and produced elegant varietal character. Given the claret style of the wine, we aged part in new French oak, and the rest in our traditional air-dried American oak. Virtually all of our small estate vineyards at Monte Bello were included, and their distinct qualities, along with that of our Merlot, contribute complexity. This excellent wine should begin to open up in two or three years but will need at least eight years to develop fully.
Provenance
Private Client
Critics Ratings
'The 1981 Monte Bello is also fully mature, and it's a pretty wine, though it won't go down in the history books as one of the benchmark vintages. Offering up notes of dried currant fruit, orange rind, medicine cabinet, cedar and spice, its aromas are subtly informed by the signatures of Brettanomyces. On the palate, it's medium-bodied, bright and chalky, with tangy acids and an evolved but sweet core of fruit. While it was overshadowed by greater years at this tasting, enjoyed on its own the 1981 is a complex wine with plenty of Monte Bello character. But now is definitely the time to drink it. It's a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot that attained a mere 12% alcohol.' - William Kelley, Wine Advocate (May 2018)
'A distinctly Old World profile emerges from the 1981 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello. Iron, smoke, herbs, dried cherries, mint and tobacco are some of the signatures. The firm tannins ensure the 1981 will drink well for another handful of years, give or take, but the edges are a bit frayed. I don't see much upside from further cellaring, although the 1981 might very well hold for some time. This is a distinctly ferrous, savory Monte Bello with a high level of Cabernet Sauvignon by historical standards.' - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 94/100 (Jun 2015)
'Both sweet and savoury on its beguiling nose. Lots of lift and subtlety with a bone dry finish but great appetising fruit and drive. Surely one of the world's best red wines from this uncelebrated vintage? Bravo!' - Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com, 18.5/20 (Nov 2013)
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