100pts Jeb Dunnuck

The 2023 Chardonnay Estate is a unicorn wine, with the acids naturally occurring with ease in this cool, long, extended growing season that the wine world is rightfully excited about, producing wines of tremendous elegance and balance, sourced entirely from Monte Bello Estate. The minerality is off the charts, exuberantly defining the wine after a barrel fermentation of nine months on the lees in 85% American and 15% French oak, 15% of it new. Gorgeously lengthy and bright, winemaker John Olney recommends that for primary fruit.

95pts Owen Bargreen

The 2023 ‘Estate’ Chardonnay is entirely sourced from the famed Monte Bello Vineyard. Coming from this cooler vintage, the wine was stored in a combination of American oak, French oak and Amphorae before bottling. Challah bread and vanilla creme brûlée all mark the nose alongside banana and hints of ripe mango. The palate is plush, ripe and laden with minerality. Very seamless throughout the drinking experience, with a light dusting of salinity and fat mouthfeel, this combination of richness and freshness really makes it sing. Glorious now, enjoy over the next eight to ten years. Drink 2025-2033.

94pts Decanter

Ridge has made this Chardonnay from the Montebello estate since 1962, but it's less than 5% of the planted acres. This comes from the lower slopes of the original Klein Ranch. A long, cool growing season pushed this Chardonnay back a month in 2023, in terms of harvest dates. An extended hang time gives the wine a nice balance. While it's opulent and ripe, with vanilla bean and poached pear from 80% American oak, its whole cluster is pressed and spends 6-8 months sur lie with a weekly battonage. The palate is lushly fruited with creamy notes of lemon curd, baked apple and a bright, nearly savoury finish. Delicious.

93pts Wilfred Wong

The 2023 Ridge Monte Bello Estate Vineyard glides smoothly and beautifully across the palate. This wine offers aromas and flavors of dried leaves, earth, peach skin, and oak. Serve it with Stuffed Sole, featuring crab and shrimp, and topped with delicately seasoned breadcrumbs. (Best Served: 2025-2032)

Winemaker Notes

Apple fruit, brioche, and vanilla on the nose. On the palate, focused notes of citrus, pear, bright acidity, and a clean finish.

Winery Notes

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.

Blend: 100% Chardonnay