Ridge Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 1.5 Liter (Santa Cruz Mountains, California) - [JD 90]

Ridge Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 1.5 Liter
(Santa Cruz Mountains, California) - [JD 90]


Regular price $210.00 Sale price $176.97 Save $33.03
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JD90
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Winemaker Notes:

Vintage:

Late spring rains disrupted fruit set in the merlot and yields were likewise down in petit verdot. With less of these two varieties to work with, cabernet sauvignon makes up a larger proportion of this year’s wine. All the grapes were de-stemmed but left as whole berries for slower, gentler extraction during fermentation. After nineteen months of barrel aging, tannins are well integrated. This exemplary mountain-grown cabernet will develop more fully over the next fifteen years. 

94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot

Vineyard: Monte Bello

Appellation: Santa Cruz Mountains

Alcohol By Volume: 14.1%

Winemaking: 

Harvest Dates: 17 September – 8 October
Grapes: Average Brix 25.3˚
TA: 6.72 g/L
pH: 3.55
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed, and sorted; 100% whole berries fermented on the native yeasts.
Selection: Eighteen of twenty estate parcels
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (55% new, 45% one year old).
Aging: Sixteen months in barrel

Hand-harvested, estate-grown grapes; destemmed and sorted; fermented on the native yeasts; full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; minimum effective sulfur (35 ppm at crush, 138 ppm during aging); four egg whites per barrel for tannin reduction; depth filtration at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Tasting Notes:

Inky purple hues with dark plum, black cherry, cedar, cola and sweet toasted oak on the nose. A full-bodied entry with black berry, cocoa powder, brown spices and peppermint on the palate. Layered textures and focused tannins lead to a long finish.

Ratings & Reviews:

90 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate comes all from the estate Monte Bello Vineyard on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, which is much warmer than the western side of the region. A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Merlot that was brought up in 55% new American oak, it has a bright and vibrant perfume of black plums, smoked herbs, darker chocolate, and vanilla-laced oak. It's firm, focused, and linear on the palate, with medium to full body, nicely integrated acidity, and building tannins. It should benefit from a year or two in the cellar, and I would enjoy bottles over the following decade." (Oct 2023)