1992 Monte Bello
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Tasting notes
The 1992 Monte Bello from Ridge came in a magnum. Black plum and iodine, melted dark chocolate, cassis and peppermint on the complex nose, a scent of a Wellington boot emerging with aeration! The palate is beautifully balanced, still youthful and vibrant with almost pixelated fruit, star anis towards the persistent finish. Perhaps provenance and format played a role here, but this is absolutely delicious. Tasted at the "Judgement of Clapham Junction" dinner in London.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
This was a magical showing for the 1992 Monte Bello—and the best bottle I've ever encountered. At age 26, the wine is still stunningly vibrant and youthful, bursting from the glass with a classic bouquet of cassis, blackberries, black truffles, gravelly soil and pencil shavings. On the palate, it's full-bodied, multidimensional and utterly complete, with superb concentration and energy, its richly layered mid-palate framed by fine-grained, satiny tannins, concluding with a long, sapid finish. Above all, it stands out for its seamless balance and delineation. While for many years the more flashy and dramatic 1991 stole the limelight, as the dust settles, the deeper, more complex 1992 has emerged as the greater wine and one of Ridge's true classics. The product of an October harvest after extensive crop thinning, it's a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 9% Petit Verdot that attained 13.4% natural alcohol.
Great complexity. Medicinal, racy and lively. Very subtle and dry – not very typically Californian! I think I would have guessed French if given it blind. (JR)
Half bottle. 20% Merlot. Sweet and just slightly dry and chunky. Not quite as harmonious as the 2002. (JR)
About the producer
Best known for its iconic Monte Bello, Ridge Vineyards makes some of California’s finest wines – particularly Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. Long a pioneer of sustainable farming and minimal-intervention winemaking, Ridge makes an extensive range from Sonoma County and the Santa Cruz Mountains.