2021 Monte Bello Chardonnay
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
A dry, cold winter was followed by a warm spring and moderate summer. From the bottle: 'ripening was even and balanced during a harvest that began in late August and finished three weeks later. The grapes were pressed as whole clusters, barrel-fermented on the lees, and barrel-aged for eighteen months ... Ingredients: hand-harvested grapes, indigenous yeast, naturally occurring malolactic bacteria, oak from barrel-ageing, minimum effective SO 2 .' Bottled June 2023. Medium lemon. Lightly reduced and flinty, with vanilla oak notes and an undercurrent of cream. Creamy palate with slight grip from oak and a pithy bite to the rich orchard fruit. Leaner acid structure cuts through the fruit and pulls out the finish. Doesn't feel quite ready yet – the oak flavour is mild but you can feel the texture hasn't quite integrated. (SCJ)
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Rich, flinty and nutty, the 2021 Chardonnay Monte Bello is a voluptuous, curvaceous, rounded wine. It oozes with flickers of reduction, diving into ripe yellow plum, toasted hazelnut, sweet cream butter and a salty core of mineral tension. It could really use a bit more energy to help shoulder all that weight. Nonetheless, it’s admirable in its concentration and richness. The 2021 is an excellent, though not exceptional, edition of Monte Bello Chardonnay.
The 2021 Chardonnay Monte Bello is a satisfying mix of rich, oak-induced framing and a vibrant, balanced texture. Aged in a mixture of American and French barrique, the élevage is apparent with decadent, creamy aromas outlined by notes of citrus curd and oceanic lift. The palate is toasty and ripe in the mid-palate, with hints of crunchy citric energy peering through the edges of the finish. It develops considerable richness with time in the glass, adding popcorn kernel and buttered toast notes. This is a lovely rendition of a consistently singular California Chardonnay.
About the producer
Best known for its iconic Monte Bello, Ridge Vineyards makes some of California’s finest wines – particularly Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. Long a pioneer of sustainable farming and minimal-intervention winemaking, Ridge makes an extensive range from Sonoma County and the Santa Cruz Mountains.