1974 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon [V100][WA100][WS98][JD97][JG95+]

Producer: Ridge Vineyards  
Region: Santa Cruz Mountains, California 
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon 
Year: 1974 

Vinous, 100 Points 

"I have been fortunate to drink the 1974 Monte Bello three times in the last year. I served this bottle, from my cellar, blind to a group of hard-core Francophiles at the end of a dinner that showcased the best of Burgundy and Bordeaux. Every person in the room thought the wine was Bordeaux. No one came close to guessing California, much less identifying the age of the wine or the vintage. When the 1974 Monte Bello was revealed, there was only silence at the table. Tasted from a perfect bottle, the 1974 remains almost unnaturally deep, powerful and intense. It is an eternal wine whose life will only be determined by how well corks hold up. Put simply, the 1974 Monte Bello is one of the greatest and most singular wines I have ever tasted from any region in the world." 

Wine Advocate, 100 Points 

"The 1974 Monte Bello is a spectacular wine that's in its prime today, soaring from the glass with an exuberant bouquet of ripe cherries, plums, cigar box, black truffle and petroleum jelly. On the palate, it's full-bodied, broad and powerful, with a dramatically lavish attack, considerable mid-palate amplitude and a deep core of ripe, succulent fruit framed by melting tannins and juicy acids. There's still some chalky grip on the long, savory finish, and I'd expect this to drink well for another decade or two. 1974 was a great vintage for California Cabernet Sauvignon, and Ridge's Monte Bello is right up there with the likes of Heitz's Martha's Vineyard and Phelps's Insignia as one of the year's qualitative pinnacles." 

Wine Spectator, 98 Points 

"A light sous-bois note leads off, but this shows remarkable fullness and depth with air in the glass, with mulled blood orange and black cherry fruit showing a still-fresh and pure profile. The long and beguiling finish lets embers of black tea, chalk and sage brush play through deftly. This is very long, shows no signs of being tired, though it is clearly fully mature, and stands as a testament to this legendary vintage." 

Jeb Dunnuck, 97 Points 

"The star of the show was the 1974 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello, and it has plenty of similarities to the 1976 yet in a deeper, richer more powerful style. A huge nose of lead pencil, forest floor, cigar tobacco, and cedar box leads to a mature yet vibrant Cabernet that has medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, multidimensional texture, loads of sweet fruit, and a mammoth finish. It’s a brilliant, brilliant wine from this estate that had another two decades of longevity (with the caveat that there’s no upside)." 

John Gilman, 95+ Points 

"It had been fully fifteen years since I last drank a bottle of the 1974 Monte Bello, and I was delighted that Omar and Mark had conspired to include it in our tasting lineup. This is a great vintage for Monte Bello and the wine is just now hitting its true apogee of peak drinkability and the wine will vie with Mayacamas for the longest-lived wine from the 1974 vintage. The bouquet is deep, pure and vibrant, wafting from the glass in a superb blend of cassis, black raspberries, a touch of medicinal tones, gorgeous soil nuances, a bit of saddle leather, incipient notes of black truffles and cigar ash. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and beautifully structured, with a nice touch of sappiness at the core, excellent soil signature, still some backend tannins and outstanding focus and grip on the very, very long, complex and classic finish." 

Alcohol: 12.9% 

*Discounts do not apply to items like this one in the Fine & Rare category. Price and availability in store may vary.