The Top 10 California Wines to Collect Right Now

Wine Enthusiast

July 2024

Wine Enthusiast editors have scoured California for the most investment-worthy wines the Golden State has to offer and recently released their article, The Top 10 California Wines to Collect Right Now.

It’s almost fifty years after the Judgement of Paris and no one needs to be convinced that California wine is good, largely great, often excellent and, with a bit of age, otherworldly. And the secondary market has caught on. Blue-chip California bottles will frequently command three, four or five-digit sums on the secondary market.

Among cult Napa producers like Dominus, La Jota, Scarecrow, and Harlan Estate, Monte Bello nearly tops the list at #2. Wines were ranked from 1 through 10 based on their average appreciation over a 10 year period.

#2 Ridge Monte Bello

“Monte Bello’s ability to improve with age is almost unparalleled. It’s one of the clearest examples of why fine wine benefits from aging.”

Elaine Chukan Brown

Ridge is an outlier in the world of California collectibles. The home property isn’t located in the Napa Valley, for one. It’s a pilgrimage to get to: Visitors take switchback roads through the Santa Cruz Mountains to reach the estate, which sits between 1,300 and 2,700 feet above sea level. That elevation has defined Ridge’s wines—they’re firmly structured, intricate and famously known for ageability.

“Monte Bello’s ability to improve with age is almost unparalleled,” says Wine Enthusiast Writer-at-Large, Elaine Chukan Brown. “It’s impressive in its youth, but older Monte Bello is a pleasure. It’s one of the clearest examples of why fine wine benefits from aging.”

David Parker, founder of Benchmark Wine Group, one of the largest buyers of fine and rare wine, nods to Ridge’s “genius winemaking,” which, he says, has made it one of “the most respected classic Cabernets in California.”

Our Newest Release – 2021 Monte Bello (100 points!)

Exclusive to RIDGE Club Members | Extremely Limited Vintage

The 2021 Monte Bello will be available exclusively to club members during the month of August. Become a club member for access to this outstanding (and very limited) vintage.

Related Reading

• 2021 Monte Bello Featured in “The Best in Wine”
• 2021 Monte Bello Earns 100 Points
• Monte Bello Vintage Tracker – A vintage-by-vintage resource for how your bottles are developing over time.
• A Comprehensive Guide to Wine Ageing