In Bond Fine Wine. 2022 Ridge Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA. Red usa-california in 6x75cl. Top critic score: 95/100 (DE). Drinking window: 2025–2050. Sold in bond by Albany Vintners, independent fine wine merchants.
Ridge Vineyards is a pioneering California estate, founded in the 1960s with the limestone-rich slopes of Monte Bello Ridge in Santa Cruz Mountains (AVA). Its legacy was cemented when the 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon was ranked 3rd in the historic 'Judgement of Paris'. Renowned for its elegant Cabernet Sauvignon and also its old vine Zinfandels and traditional fields blends from historic sites across Sonoma County, Ridge crafts some of the most ageworthy and authentic wines in the United States. These are great terroir-driven wines, from a winemaking philosophy of minimal intervention, native yeasts and transparent winemaking to express the site, vintage and varietal character. Ridge remains, without question, one of America’s greatest wine producers.
Billy Norris (BN) — 94/100 · Vinous, 2025-10-01 · Drink 2025 - 2038
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate delivers an unmistakable Monte Bello stamp. Lavender, black olive, pine forest and cedar tones announce this as what can only be Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet. Layers of forest floor, garrigue and generous black fruit flesh out on the generous mid-palate, nicely offsetting the bright, crunchy acids. This is an exceptional rendition of the Estate Cabernet, especi…
Wine Advocate (WA) — 92/100 · Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com, 2025-08-21 · Drink 2025 - 2032
Incorporating 9% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate balances a lovely combination of lush dark fruits and charred, roasted accents, followed by a plush, fluid texture with a succulent core. It concludes with a lifted, pretty finish filled with a compact core of ripe fruits.
Jancis Robinson MW (JR) — 17.5/20 · JancisRobinson.com, 2025-08-06 · Drink 2030 - 2050
Deep purple with a fuchsia rim. Every time I review Ridge's Estate Cab I think 'can youthful Cab really be more classic and elegant than this?' and then I move on to the Monte Bello and it is – but I haven't moved on yet and once again I am struck by the light, fresh green blackcurrant-leaf notes, the perfectly balanced oak spice and the brooding black fruit. The tannins are smooth but building w…