WTN: Ridge Chard

Ridge 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, Monte Bello. Roasted pineapple, dried apple, and a long, rich, lemony midpalate. Pretty much fully integrated wood. The flavors here go from broad and ripe on entry to focused and intense by the finish, which gives the wine an appealing propulsiveness. Biggish but also lithe. Totally compelling.

[David M. Bueker]

I was sampling a Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mtns. tonight as well (Arnot-Roberts Trout Gulch) and was also quite impressed. Good region for Chardonnay.

Love Ridge’s Chardonnay. But then I tend to love most of their stuff.

I only have (and have only had) a few bottles here and there of the Monte Bello Chardonnay, which isn't produced every year (as opposed to the Estate), so I was curious to get a sense of where this was in its development. Maybe it's been on this plateau for a while, but in any case it strikes me as *just* entering maturity, with plenty of freshness to spare and perhaps even a little fat left to shed. I have one more of these left and will plan to open it around 2023.