2019 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains 750 ml

Four Stanford Research Institute scientists took a historic trip up the hill above Cupertino back in 1959. They made a quarter-barrel of Cabernet from the property located 2,000 feet above the valley floor, and immediately recognized its extraordinary quality. In 1969, the group hired Stanford philosophy graduate Paul Draper as winemaker. 

The Cabernet that Draper made at Monte Bello just two years later placed fifth at the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting, and since then, Ridge has become an icon. It’s been named North America’s #1 Most Admired wine brand by Drinks International, and a Wine & Spirits magazine Top 100 winery 20 times.

Much of this acclaim is on the strength of their flagship mountain-grown Bordeaux blend, which is not just one of the most consistently excellent wines in the world, but one of the most age-worthy: The wine that placed fifth at the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting bested every one of its competitors—all the California classics and Bordeaux First Growths—when they were tasted again three decades later.

This is one of the benchmark bottles of California, and if you’ve had the pleasure of partaking in Monte Bello’s regal bearing and nearly endless ageability, you likely know what we’re talking about. If you’re a wine lover but haven’t yet tasted this landmark wine, there’s no better place to start than with this one, which promises to deliver pleasure as far into the future as you care to consider. Whether you want it to mark a milestone in your life, pass on as a gift, or just to revel in a decade (or three, or five) from now, there’s no more perfect bottle for your cellar.