Ridge Vineyards Chardonnay Monte Bello Estate Vineyard 2024
(Santa Cruz Mountains, California) - [OB 97] [WE 95] [VM 94] [JS 94] [WA 93+]

About the Wine:
Ridge's 2024 Estate Chardonnay comes entirely from the Monte Bello Estate Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Made from organically grown Chardonnay, it combines ripe fruit and barrel-fermented richness with the site's distinctive mineral character.

Vineyard & Winemaking:
Vines planted from 1982 to 1998 grow at 1,400–2,000 feet on fractured limestone beneath greenstone and clay loam. Wind during flowering reduced the 2024 crop. Grapes were hand-picked, whole-cluster pressed and barrel fermented with native yeasts, followed by natural malolactic fermentation. The wine aged 15 months in 85% American and 15% French oak, 15% new overall, and was bottled in January 2026.

Tasting Profile & Food Pairings:
Complex aromas of clementine marmalade, white peach, and orange blossom. The palate shows pineapple, guava, and a hint of coconut, supported by good texture and balanced acidity. Subtle ginger and kumquat lift the finish. Pair with roast chicken and wild mushrooms.

Technical Details: 750 mL; 100% Chardonnay; 14.3% alcohol; pH 3.50; total acidity 5.1 g/L.

Ratings & Reviews

97 Points – Owen Bargreen:
“Sourced from the famed ‘Monte Bello Vineyard’ this incredible 2024 ‘Estate’ Chardonnay offers baking spice laced pastry crust and custard notes on the nose alongside shades of ripe banana and Japanese pear. The palate is dense and rich with sensational weight and length. This glides throughout the drinking experience, with a near minute-long finish. Extraordinary and very mineral-laden, enjoy now and over the next ten years. Drink 2026-2036”

95 Points – Wine Enthusiast:
“There's a sharp pithyness to the nose of this bottling, with hints of sour cream and the slightest hints of flint and toast. The palate is much warmer and very textural, ranging from brisk citrus to creamy stonefruit, with a comforting and lingering brioche note arising on the finish. Drink now-2034.” – Matt Kettmann (Oct 2026).

94 Points – Vinous Media:
“Broad, creamy and enveloping, the 2024 Chardonnay Estate (100% Monte Bello) saturates the palate with dense, rich golden orchard fruit and spice-laden oak. It then pulls taut, focused and linear, coiling up like a spring before revealing shades of graphite-like minerality. Through and through, the 2024 maintains its suppleness, fading out gently on the understated finish. This is a less hedonistic, less immediate Monte Bello Chardonnay that will need a couple of years to assimilate. (Drink between 2028-2036)” – Billy Norris (Jun 2026)

94 Points – James Suckling:
“A beautiful, toasty, buttery wine, full-bodied and abundant in fruit and oak spices, showing baked-apple, ripe-pear, butterscotch and brioche flavors. Made from 40-year-old vines of the Wente clone, growing on limestone soil and fermented in 4% new oak, mostly American. Drink now or hold.” – Jim Gordon (Mar 2026)

93+ Points – Wine Advocate:
"The 2024 Chardonnay Estate Monte Bello Vineyard opens with a pure, lifted bouquet supported by a powerful backdrop of tastefully judged oak, a perennial hallmark of the wine. Although it is broad and textural in the mouth, it retains a taut, focused core that gives way to a rich, powerful finish, lingering with a generous framing of oak notes that will benefit from an additional year or so in bottle to integrate. This is a tastefully gourmand expression of Monte Bello that should drink beautifully past its 10th birthday." – Matthew Luczy (Apr 2026)

92 Points – Wine Spectator:
“A distinct white, with impressive spice notes including nutmeg, black cardamom and clove that add a warm, toasty quality to the grilled Meyer lemon and Fuji apple flavors. Shows touches of panna cotta and gingersnap, with firm crushed rock minerality and toasted brioche details that are harmonious and complex on the finish. Drink now through 2038. 1,500 cases made.” – MaryAnn Worobiec (Jul 2026)