RIDGE 'Estate' Cabernet Sauvignon (Monte Bello Vineyard) - Santa Cruz Mountains, Central Coast 2022 Bottle

Description

Ridge's Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 showcases a bold and vibrant character, blending 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, and 5% Merlot from the historic Monte Bello Vineyard. Awarded 94 points by Wine Enthusiast, it features dark aromas of dried berries layered with well-integrated toasted wood spices. On the palate, it is creamy yet tense, with intense dark fruit and cappuccino flavours. The Wine Advocate highlights its well-balanced structure and fresh acidity, giving the wine a lively profile, scoring it 92 points. Jancis Robinson rates it 17.5 points, praising its elegant notes of blackcurrant and balanced oak spice. This exceptional Cabernet offers a refined experience, ideal for immediate enjoyment or cellaring for future development.

*****

Ridge's Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from the historic Monte Bello Vineyard, is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, and 5% Merlot. The 2022 vintage is hand-harvested, fermented with native yeasts, undergoes full malolactic fermentation naturally, and is aged for seventeen months in air-dried American oak barrels. This wine embodies the vineyard’s history, delivering structure, complexity, and a refined expression of site-driven character.

The 2022 vintage experienced a dry, mild winter, resulting in limited yields, followed by a warm summer that ripened the small crop evenly. An intense heat wave on Labour Day (September 5th) accelerated ripening, leading to an early harvest. The wine exhibits appealing fruit and firm tannins, with extended barrel ageing to fully integrate the tannins. Enjoyable now, it will reach full maturity in ten to fifteen years.

Saturated purple hues with aromas of black cherry, blueberry, cola, dried herbs, cedar, juniper berry, and sweet oak. Medium-bodied with rich textures that coat the entire palate. Flavours of red and black fruits and exotic spice with layers of gravelly and mineral notes. Long and complex finish.

86% Cabernet Sauvignon
9% Petit Verdot
5% Merlot

DECANTER 95 points
Tasted by: Clive Pursehouse (at Seattle, Washington, 15 Apr 2025)
Drinking Window: 2025 - 2036
The grape that founded the Montebello estate, the Ridge Cabernet, is a Montebello-grown wine made from fruit that doesn't contribute to the flagship, Montebello bottling. It tends to be more accessible in its youth and is softer in its profile. 2022 was the third straight drought year, with low yields and concentrated, small berries with ample tannin. The wine sees 17 months in 50% new American oak, and you pick that up in the aromatics, with a note of sweet tobacco leaf. The palate, however, is loaded with verve, bright saline minerality and taut early-season black fruits on soaring fresh acidity.

VINOUS 94 points
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate delivers an unmistakable Monte Bello stamp. Lavender, black olive, pine forest and cedar tones announce this as what can only be Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet. Layers of forest floor, garrigue and generous black fruit flesh out on the generous mid-palate, nicely offsetting the bright, crunchy acids. This is an exceptional rendition of the Estate Cabernet, especially in this challenging hot vintage. Beautifully balanced and so fresh, the 2022 is fabulously transparent and approachable. Best of all, the gap between this bottling and the Monte Bello is notably narrower than usual. Don't miss it. - Billy Norris

WINE ENTHUSIAST 94 points
Dark, heady aromas of dried berry are layered in lavish, well integrated toasted wood spices on the nose of this bottling, which includes 9% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot. The mouthfeel is expansive on the palate, proving both creamy and tense, as intense dark fruit, cappuccino and oak flavors align. — Matt Kettmann

JANCIS ROBINSON 17.5++ points
Full bottle 1,224 g. 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot. Grapes destemmed and sorted; 100% whole berries. Both primary and secondary (malolactic) fermentations are completed by ambient yeasts and bacteria. Aged 17 months in American oak; 52% new, 20% one-year-old, 28% two-year-old barrels; 56% Appalachian, 27% Missouri, 17% Virginia. pH 3.36, TA 7.08 g/l. Minimum effective SO2 (35 ppm at crush, 120 ppm during ageing). Certified organic.
Deep purple with a fuchsia rim. Every time I review Ridge's Estate Cab I think 'can youthful Cab really be more classic and elegant than this?' and then I move on to the Monte Bello and it is – but I haven't moved on yet and once again I am struck by the light, fresh green blackcurrant-leaf notes, the perfectly balanced oak spice and the brooding black fruit. The tannins are smooth but building with fresh mouth-watering acidity and a long, evolving finish. It absolutely demands age but it's hard to imagine a more promising youthful Cab. (SCJ)

JAMES SUCKLING 93 points
Aromas of blackcurrants, liquorice, tea leaves, cedar and spices. The palate is full-bodied with firmly framed tannins and bright acidity that leads to a bright, savoury finish. There's lovely freshness despite the warm vintage. Drink or hold.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 92 points
Reviewed by: Matthew Luczy
Drink Date: 2025 - 2032
Incorporating 9% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate balances a lovely combination of lush dark fruits and charred, roasted accents, followed by a plush, fluid texture with a succulent core. It concludes with a lifted, pretty finish filled with a compact core of ripe fruits.

Naturally, the main event of any tasting at Ridge is the latest release of Monte Bello, and I'm pleased to say that the 2022 vintage is a beautiful iteration, one that stands out as one of the firmer and more bracing examples of the modern era. Also noteworthy is a particularly impressive expression of the 2023 Estate Chardonnay, which beautifully captures the aromatic lift and effortless character of the vintage. In other news, Ridge recently opened an additional tasting room in Paso Robles, and Monte Bello Winemaker Trester Goetting, who was responsible for the 2022 and 2023 vintages, has departed the team. Head Winemaker and Chief Operating Officer John Olney has taken over the role at Monte Bello, with Lauren Lyall serving as Assistant Winemaker.
Published: Aug 21, 2025