Good Juice Direct

Gorgeous Wines From Paul Draper

Folks sometimes ask me what the best California Cabernet Sauvignon is. I tell them it's one I can rarely get, the Ridge "Monte Bello". Time and again I have picked it in blind tastings of top California Cabs as the best on the table. But there's so little of it, and it's so expensive, that I only rarely get any for the store. This is not about that wine, anyway. But it is about Paul Draper, the guy behind Monte Bello Cabernet. He's such a good winemaker that every wine he releases is impressive. I've recently tasted two, a white and a red, and I wanted to tell you about them. Draper has been winemaker at Ridge since 1969; he practices what he proudly calls "Pre-Industrial" winemaking, a reference to Jancis Robinson's comment that 90% of the world's wines are "industrial". The results are spectacular.

The 2012 "Monte Bello" Chardonnay below is lovely, an elegant expression of the grape that often reminded me of fine white Burgundy yet clearly displays the California influence. The grapes are grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains at the 2200 foot level from 27 year-old vines; very little new oak is used. It shows in the quality.

The 2012 "Geyserville" cuvee is an exotic, and so enticing that even Zinfandel haters will love it. Stephen Tanzer certainly agreed with me in that, giving it a 93-point score (an equivalent of 95 points from anyone else. It's a truly special wine.

2012 Ridge Chardonnay "Monte Bello" (Santa Cruz Mountains, CA) Shelf price: $52.99 Collectors' Club price $43.45
Not a score to be found, but a quote from Matt Kramer of The Wine Spectator: "... simply one of the world's greatest Chardonnays, bar none." My score: 92 points

2012 Ridge "Geyserville" (Sonoma County, CA) Shelf price: $41.99 Collectors' Club price $34.43
93 points, Stephen Tanzer: "(71% zinfandel, 19% carignane, 7% petite sirah, 2% mataro and 1% alicante bouschet): Inky purple. A heady, exotically perfumed bouquet displays scents of dark berry liqueur, potpourri, smoky oak and Indian spices, with a hint of licorice in the background. Fleshy, palate-staining black raspberry and boysenberry flavors become brighter and spicier with air and pick up a sexy lavender pastille nuance. Supple tannins add support to an extremely long, sweet finish that extends the berry and floral notes. As fine an example of this consistently excellent bottling as I've had in years."

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