Ridge Winery, May 18, 2013

www.ridgewine.com

It was time again for the Monte Bello Final Assemblage event up atop Monte Bello Road.  Once again, the event was held inside the beautiful old winery barn that now serves as the rustic setting for winery events.  Outside there were a few wine barrels set up as bar tables with umbrellas for enjoying the spectacular weather.  To top things off, the breezy weather from the days prior left a crystal-clear view of Silicon Valley and the south end of the San Francisco bay.  The big surprise was from the elegant stone work being installed to link the tasting room with the event barn.  While not quite complete, I can tell from what is in place that the finished product will be perfectly designed to bring elegance to this rustic setting and its lush gardens.  I’ll post a photo once the job is done.

On a clear day from Ridge Winery, overlooking downtown San Jose

The first wine on the tasting menu was the 2011 Jimsomare Chardonnay, which is showing what a lovely vintage 2011 is turning out to be for white wines, and especially Chardonnays.  Next we enjoyed the 2004 Geyserville, which I had opened just a few nights earlier.  This was followed by the 2012 Monte Bello final assemblage from the barrel, and the 2008 Monte Bello from a magnum bottle.  The 2012 shows incredible improvement from the March tasting event where the wine was still a little premature, but my favorite of the day was the 2004 Geyserville.