The Orlando Friends Tasting Group will be tasting selected vintages of Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon this upcoming weekend. I have previously described the Monte Bello home AVA (Santa Cruz Mountains) and will continue that enlightenment herein with a discussion of the estate's positioning within that space.
The below chart shows Monte Bello's positioning within the confines of the AVA, revealing that it is (i) on the eastward (inland) side and (ii) more specifically, in the Saratoga/Los Gatos sub-region. Our earlier reporting has shown the conditions experienced by inland vineyards as well as vineyards within the Saratoga/Los Gatos sub-region. Those conditions are reprised on the chart.
Fruit for the Monte Bello wines are sourced from four vineyards ranging in elevation from 1255 feet at the lowest point to 2664 feet at its highest.
Each of these vineyards had its own unique history prior to being merged into a common whole when brought into the orbit of the Ridge Vineyards founding families. These histories are captured in the following timeline array.
The chart below is a composite of screen shots which shows block maps for two of the Monte Bello vineyards: Perrone and Rousten. First, the chart shows the estate's practice of block-based farming. Second, it indicates that all of the blocks are farmed organically. Third, the chart shows the dominance of Cabernet Sauvignon in the plantings. Of the 25.66 acres planted in Perrone, 14.3 acres are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon while the remainder is spread between Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Merlot. Two acres lie fallow. In the Rousten vineyard, 17.7 acres of the 28.29 acres of vineyard blocks are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder planted to Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, and Zinfandel.
The no-interventionist approach to winemaking that is practiced by Ridge Vineyards requires that the highest quality grapes be delivered to the cellar door. For example, the winery eschews commercial enzymes or nutrients during the winemaking process meaning that the grapes have to come equipped with the stuffing to carry it through to the end of fermentation. In Ridge's view this quality of fruit is delivered through a comprehensive and responsible farming approach built around Sustainability and Organic Farming.
The grapes for the Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon are sourced from four vineyards, each at differing elevation levels in the Saratoga/Los Gatos sub-region of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, and each having its own distinct history prior to being pulled into the estate's orbit. The environmental conditions surrounding these vineyards, and, hence, the conditions under which the grapes are grown, yields high-quality Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to the cellar door.
In my next post I will discuss the Ridge Vineyards process for converting these grapes into the exquisite wines for which the estate is known.
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