Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Ridge Vineyards — Estate Chardonnay 2023
Monte Bello Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
100% Chardonnay from Ridge’s Monte Bello Estate, high in the Santa Cruz Mountains and strongly influenced by the cool Pacific. The exceptionally long, cool 2023 growing season preserved freshness and varietal character, while barrel fermentation followed by nine months on the lees added texture and dimension. At 14.1% ABV, it carries surprising substance without sacrificing its cool-climate identity.

Aromas & Flavors
Fresh lemon, yellow apple, pear, citrus blossom, and subtle stone fruit unfold gradually, joined by mineral notes, gentle vanilla, and restrained barrel nuances. Air brings out additional layers without turning the wine overtly oaky.

Mouthfeel
Beautifully texturized yet remarkably fresh. Bright acidity provides tension while lees aging gives the mid-palate a gentle creaminess and polished weight. It keeps evolving after opening, moving between delicacy, mineral energy, and increasingly expressive fruit.

Food Pairings
Excellent alone, but equally comfortable with scallops, lobster, grilled halibut, roasted chicken, mushroom risotto, or richer seafood preparations. Its combination of acidity and texture lets it pivot effortlessly between sipping and serious cuisine.

Verdict
A fascinating expression of mountain-grown California Chardonnay. Delicate yet substantial, refreshing yet textural, it demonstrates how a cool Pacific-influenced site can deliver ripeness without sacrificing precision or energy.

Did You Know?
Monte Bello sits high above Silicon Valley on the Santa Cruz Mountains ridge, with vineyards exposed to significant Pacific influence. Ridge notes that 2023 was one of its longest and coolest recent growing seasons; the extended harvest helped preserve acidity while allowing slow flavor development—the tension you can genuinely feel in this Chardonnay.

🍷 Personal Pick
This sits comfortably among my favorite coastal-influenced Northern California Chardonnays. What gets me is the evolution: refreshing and delicate at first, then progressively more textural and expressive as it opens. It has enough finesse to enjoy completely on its own and enough structure to sit beside fine cuisine. That versatility, without losing its cool-climate personality, is what makes this one special. — 5 days ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Opened about 90min prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2001 Monte Bello pours a deep garnet with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with lovely notes of black currants, blackberries, plum, tobacco, purple flowers, an intoxicating mix of exotic Eastern spices, some cocoa, inorganic earth and minerals. On the palate? The wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is long and impeccably balanced. To my palate, this bottle has reached the age when Monte Bello starts to really become interesting. What a delight! Drink now with some air, through 2051. — a month ago

Benjamin Hickey

9.3

Round, golden brightness in a linear acid line through the middle. So much flavour for a light style. So well balanced. — 3 months ago

Erik Longabardi

9.4

Teroldego forever — 4 months ago

K L

9.1

Solid Italian option and Kurt rec. would try again. Light and acidic but not too much. Grassier than citrus. — 5 months ago

with Matt

Freddy R. Troya

9.5

Sant’Urbano, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2020, Veneto, Italy 🇮🇹

Overview
Produced by Speri in the historic hills of Valpolicella Classico, the Sant’Urbano Amarone is one of the estate’s flagship wines and a benchmark expression of the style. Crafted from the traditional Amarone blend, primarily Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella, the grapes undergo the classic appassimento drying process for several months before fermentation, concentrating flavors and structure. The 2020 vintage shows remarkable balance between richness and freshness, delivering depth while maintaining precision and lift.

Aromas & Flavors
Subtle yet expressive layers of dried raisin, marmalade, and dark fruit compote emerge alongside notes of ripe cherry, fig, and delicate spice. The aromatic profile reveals the classic Amarone character without becoming overly heavy, allowing fruit purity and complexity to remain in focus.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied yet remarkably lively, the wine moves across the palate with impressive energy. Structured tannins and vibrant acidity provide a firm backbone, giving the wine lift and elegance. The texture is rich but polished, and the finish is long, layered, and persistent, suggesting a wine that will continue to evolve and climb with further aging.

Food Pairings
This Amarone pairs beautifully with slow-braised meats, roasted lamb, venison, and rich game dishes where its concentration and acidity complement savory depth. It also shines alongside aged cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino, where the wine’s structure and lingering finish enhance the richness of the pairing.

Verdict
A beautifully balanced Amarone that combines power with finesse. Structured, energetic, and elegant, it delivers both immediate pleasure and strong aging potential.

Did You Know?
The Sant’Urbano vineyard from which this wine takes its name is one of Speri’s historic crus in Valpolicella Classico and is considered among the estate’s most important sites for producing Amarone with both structure and longevity.

🍷 Personal Pick
An Amarone that truly danced across the palate, rich yet vibrant, with subtle dried fruit, marmalade, and compote supported by strong structure and acidity. Delicious now, but clearly a wine that still has room to climb. — 7 months ago

Dave

9.0

Surprised I've never rated this because I buy it often. I like it as it's cheap for cooking, and a bunch of it happily finds its way into my belly. This bottle has a bit of gasoline on the nose, but it is crisp and clean. Using it for shrimp pasta. A little for the shrimp, a little for me.
Listening to Joy Lynn White — a month ago

Brian Hearty

9.1

2021. This big, fruity, oaky (vanilla) wine does not exhibit 16% abv and doesn’t really have a tannic bite. Used to be one of my annual buys, but not any longer. Saw it in the wine store and they had two bottles left on discount to make room for the 2022 vintage. Since I do like this wine with grilled steak, I picked one up and the crowd enjoyed it. I did too with my last bites of ribeye. — a month ago

Michael

9.3

Really sang after two days — a month ago

Lyn Farmer

9.3

Deep Ruby color with intense black fruit aromas of cassis, black cherry, blackberry, violet, vanilla, cedar and crushed stone minerality. Light eucalyptus, forest floor, cigar box and graphite. Well balanced tannin and acidity though the wine feels a bit over-extracted. Delicious but a little heavy. Lots of room for development. — 3 months ago

Mark Mannebach

9.2

Peach citrus upfront with a nice mineral finish — 4 months ago

Austin Hohnke

9.0

Bright, zesty, alpine, earthy, woodsy. — 5 months ago

Clay Bullwinkel

9.4

Wonderful. Aromatic floral red fruit. Slightly smoky. Alpine minerals. Herbs.. — 6 months ago

Kim Bonnet

9.5

2009. Opened beautifully — 6 days ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.4

Not as good as expected. A little tired. Nice tho. Day 3, so good! Time and air made this insane. Love, — 22 days ago

Douglas Braun

9.1

2019-Vintage - this wine seems younger than it is lime zest, grapefruit , white flowers , Stoney element ,med plus acidity aging very nicely like this producer — 2 months ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.

Earthy nose of black fruits with light oak, earth, light vegetables, tobacco leaf, black tea, peppercorn, bell pepper, mediterranean spices and dark chocolates.

Full-bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, licorice, earth, herbs, spices, tobacco leaf, dark coffee, light cola, dark chocolates, peppercorn and black tea.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and cherries.

This 5 year old Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Chile is starting to drink beautifully now. Very complex and nicely balanced.

Needed 2 hours in the decanter to open up properly. Right out of the bottle, the nose was fruity and the palate was earthy. That flipped once it opened up. So interesting.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years, and has good potential to become a 94+ point wine.

I've had a few vintages of this Chilean superstar, and so far my favorite was the 2015 vintage.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food.

A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Carmenere, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 20 months in new French oak barrels.

15% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$125. — 2 months ago

Boris Mathiszik

9.1

Excellent Italian sparkler. Crisp, Chardonnay based, beautiful long finish. Especially good in Trani, Puglia. 🇮🇹 — 4 months ago

Jamie Amann

9.0

Very light color that was almost clear. Smelled and tasted of citrus fruits, mostly lemon. — 5 months ago

Brian Lenich

9.2

Out with Yaz Jeff Yvonne Sweta and Amy — 7 months ago