2008 Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

2008 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon "Estate"

SOLD OUT! If you live in Asheville and  love California Cabernet Sauvignon, you should get your fanny over to Table Wine asap and pick up a bottle of this wine from this legendary producer.

Ridge Vineyards has been headed up by Paul Draper since 1969 when he joined the winery as chief winemaker. He brought with him winemaking experience he had garnered at Chateau Souverain, as well as a winemaking venture in Chile with fellow Stanford alum Fritz Maytag.

2008 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon "Estate"

94 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

SOLD OUT

Ridge gained serious respect when their 1971 Monte Bello was chosen by Steven Spurrier as one of the California wines to take part in his 1976 blind tasting that put the best of California wines up against the best of France.  It finished fifth in that original tasting, but 30 years later in the 2006 rematch, Draper’s 1971 wine finished first, edging out the 1973 Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon.

These days, while many producers the world over have altered their winemaking styles to produce more “internationally styled,” riper, and more forward wines, Ridge continues to stick to their original formula. It is that formula that helped to create their 2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

Let’s not get confused here, the winery still produces a wine labelled simply as Monte Bello. It typically retails for $250+ and is regarded as one of the “First Growths” of California and one of the great Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines in the world. This is not that wine, but is sort of a “baby” version of that wine, and in 2008 Draper felt that the quality reached a level where he felt comfortable enough to include the Monte Bello Vineyard designate on its label.

I think he called it right here and so does The Wine Advocate. They rewarded the wine with a 94 point score and said that the wine “has to be one of the most compelling values in California Cabernet.”

Antonio Galloni reviewed the wine and said this about it: “The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is compelling. Where to start? An expressive bouquet redolent of sweet herbs, tobacco and incense leads to a gorgeous tapestry of dark red fruit. The Estate is drop-dead gorgeous, with the silkiest of tannins that frame an extraordinary finish. ” He recommends drinking the wine between 2013 and 2028, but I have had the wine recently and it is like all great wines in the sense that it is delicious now, but it will truly the reward the patient collector.

Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville