Ridge Vineyards’ 2022 Monte Bello is a mountain-grown, Bordeaux-style blend built around Cabernet Sauvignon. The final mix is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, and multiple reviewers note its long élevage in 100% new oak (about 20–21 months). The vineyard’s high-elevation setting is central to the wine’s profile: Jeb Dunnuck notes sites “start at 1,600 feet and goes up to 2,700 feet,” while Decanter ties the “limestone soils… short distance to the Pacific Ocean… and… seriously high elevation” to a Cabernet expression that differs from much of California.

2022 was marked by drought, and several critics frame the wine as structured and built to age. Decanter calls it “a tightly wound iteration in its youth,” recommending patience: “don’t touch it for another 10 years for the best result” (drink 2025–2040). Wine Spectator similarly points to a “prominent, slightly rigid spine,” suggesting it’s “Best from 2027 through 2039.”

At the same time, the best reviews emphasize balance and finesse rather than sheer weight. Vinous’ Billy Norris (96 points—an excellent review) says the wine “feels like a cooler-vintage wine,” describing it as “juicy, fresh and very old school,” with “true elegance” and notes of “cedar box, tobacco, grilled herbs, tart cherry and crushed rocks.” He adds that keeping it in barrel 21 months “worked out swimmingly,” delivering “textural polish… beyond reproach.”

Jeb Dunnuck awards 98 points—an outstanding score—calling it a perennial “wow” wine with “a lovely creamy, velvety texture” and “well-resolved tannin,” and he expects these wines to age “20–25 years or more.” Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (96 points) underscores its authority, calling it “rich and distinctly firm,” with “admirable oak integration” and a “stern, bracing finish of firm tannins.” James Suckling (97 points—excellent) finds it more immediately appealing, a “fruit-driven example” with “fine tannins and bright acidity,” concluding, “Drink or hold.”