#24 Wine Spectator Top 100/2021
#18 Wine Spectator Top 100 (1999 edition - 1996 vintage)
#66 Wine Spectator Top 100 (1996 edition - 1994 vintage)
#79 Wine Spectator Top 100 (1995 edition - 1993 vintage)
#83 Wine Spectator Top 100 (1989 edition - 1987 vintage)
 
95-Points by James Suckling & Tasting Panel.
A beautiful red with lots of blackberries, cloves, stone, spice and purple fruit. It’s full and balanced with a creamy texture and a flavorful finish. Some graphite to the black fruit. More zin this year in the blend.
Blend: 71% Zinfandel, 19% Carignan, 7% Petite Sirah and 3% Alicante Bouschet.
 
RIDGE's history begins in 1885, when Osea Perrone, a doctor and prominent member of San Francisco's Italian community, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He planted vineyards and constructed a winery of redwood and native limestone in time to produce the first vintage of Monte Bello in 1892. The historic building now serves as the RIDGE production facility.
In 1962, Ridge Vineyards made its first Monte Bello, and two years later its first zinfandel. The RIDGE approach is straightforward: find the most intense and flavorful grapes, guide the natural process, draw all the fruit's richness into the wine. Decisions on when to pick, when to press, when to rack, what varietals and what parcels to include and when to bottle, are based on taste. To retain the nuances that increase complexity, Ridge winemakers handle the grapes and wine as gently as possible. There are no recipes, only attention and sensitivity.
In August 2021, Ridge Vineyards joined International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), a group of like-minded wineries that are dedicated to decarbonizing the global wine industry. RIDGE is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050 and completes a biannual greenhouse gas audit utilizing the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol methodology and be verified by an internationally accredited, third-party auditor.