2022 Monte Bello

Saturated ruby color. Intense aromas of blackberry, black currant, fennel, dry chaparral, tobacco leaf, crushed stone, and toasted oak. On the palate, rich mountain bramble and cassis, polished tannins, and full bodied. Natural firm acidity leads to a long finish showing limestone minerality. JO (11/24)

A third year of drought accompanied by a heat wave during ripening, reduced yields. To manage tannins, all grapes were fermented as whole berries, pressed once dry, and transferred to American oak for natural malolactic. Eighteen of thirty-one lots were selected by blind tasting and, after assemblage, spent an additional twenty months in barrel. This classic Monte Bello will evolve over the next twenty to twenty-five years. JO (10/24)

In 1886, high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the first Monte Bello vineyards were planted, and winery construction begun. A first vintage from the young vines followed in 1892. During Prohibition (1920-1933), the vineyard was not fully maintained; some vines survived into the late 30’s, but by the 1940s they were effectively abandoned. Eight acres of cabernet sauvignon were replanted in 1949. These were the source of the first Ridge Monte Bello (1962) and subsequent vintages until 1974 when younger blocks replanted in the 1960’s were considered for inclusion. Since then, the historic vineyards on the ridge have gradually been replanted.

Rainfall: 28 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Late May
Weather: 2022 was another drought year, with just enough spring rains to help the vines through the season. Two heat spells, one in late July and the other in late August, pushed the vines to an early harvest.

Harvest Dates: 13 September – 10 October
Grapes: Average Brix 23.6˚
TA: 9.13 g/L
pH: 3.36
Fermentation: Grapes de-stemmed, 100 whole-berry fermentation. Fermented on the native yeasts. Natural malolactic.
Selection: Eighteen Monte Bello parcels
Barrels: 100% new oak (95% American, 5% French)
Aging: Twenty-one months in barrel

Hand-harvested; estate grown Monte Bello Vineyard grapes, destemmed and sorted; fermented on the native yeasts; full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur (35 ppm at crush, 114 ppm during aging); depth filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

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