I’m a little confused by most of the replies to the OP’s question as posed in the title of the thread: “Is Monte Rosso California’s best vineyard”. Quite a few respondents are answering as if the OP asked about the best Zinfandel vineyard, as implied by referencing a zin he was drinking, but that is not the question.
My choices would include Monte Bello and Mount eden Estate off the top of my head. I’m sure with reflection I would add more. If the OP’s intension was the best Zinfandel vineyard then my answers would include Old Hill. Lytton Springs, Carlisle, Hayne and Maple off the top of my head.
My thoughts…definitely in the FWIW category:
Assuming we’re talking Zin here. I’ve had a few MR’s over the yrs. It’s a difficult vnyd to categorize.
Even though it’s usually included in SonomaVlly, it’s very/very different from others in that AVA. It doesn’t have
the richness/lushness of, say, Bedrock/OldHill/Pagani/etc. The Zins, when young, have a certain degree of tautness and nervy character.
Lots of high-toned notes, almost like DryCreekVlly Zin than SonomaVlly. I find the Zins, when young, have an attractive perfuminess to them.
But what has always stood out on the MR Zins is their structure. They can, oftentimes, be rather tight/hard/tannic on the palate when young.
Going back to the Ravenswood Zins (which I’ve followed…yada/yada/yada), the MR Zin was (almost) always my least favorite of Joel’s
vnyd-designate Zins…when young. It was only after they started to get some age on them and the tannins softened that his MR Zins would
start to show it glories that MR is truly capable of. Pretty much the same story w/ KentRosenblum’s MR Zins.
I think that probably MikeOfficer/Carlisle does about the best job of anyone w/ the MR Zin grapes. They show very well from the get-go,
yet also age wonderfully. They are very structured Zins, yet don’t show that hard/sinewey character that the Ravenswood/Rosenblum
Zins did when young.
It should be pointed out that MR is a Gallo property. They make Cab & Zin & others from MR under their LouisMartini label. I muust admit
that I’ve never tried any of their (Gallo/Martini) MR reds. The MR Cabs and Zins under they old Martini regime were nothing of the stature
of Ravenswood/Rosenblum. Say what you want about Gallo, I give them credit for making those grapes available to a number of very good
winemakers. That counts for sumthin in my book. Thank you, Gina.
So…is MR Calif’s best Zin vnyd (since I don’t drink much Cab, will not consider that discussion). I would say “no”. But I would rank
MR up there in the top 10-20 Zin vnyds (and…no…I’m not gonna play that game of listing my top X Zin vnyds. That I leave to smarter people).
And I would not include (Beni) Dusi vnyd in my top 10 Calif Zin vnyds. The wines, though very good when young, do not have the structure
and the ageibility of many of the other great Zin vnyds. It’s a beautiful old-vine vnyd and Beni’s care for it is amazing. It looks like he maintains
it with manicure scissors it look so meticulous. But I don’t view it as one of Calif’s great Zin vnyds.
OTOH…I would label MR as one of, maybe the, greatest Semillon vnyds of Calif. Even the old LouisMartini Semillons from that vnyd, despite
his rustic/high-tech winemaking, were something pretty special.
So…FWIW. YMMV.
Tom
Good post Tom as always. I have had the Martini zin versions of Monte Rosso and they are every bit as good as anything else coming from the vineyard. Not super easy to find, but they are out there.
Tom, any chance you remember the 1995 Ravenswood MR Zin and if so can you tell me if it fits into the above or is an exception. I have never had a Carlisle MR Zin and the 95 Ravenswood is about as close to perfect for zin in my book (ignoring Geyser since its often less than 75% zin) as I have ever had. If so then I need to get me some Carlisle fast.
Great post Tom. I agree fully that having Monte Rosso lumped in as part of Sonoma Valley AVA is misleading and inaccurate, which is why I’m happy that Moon Mountain AVA is now established.
I love MRV Zin but if it was only a Zinfandel vineyard, I don’t think it would be in the conversation for “Greatest Vineyard.” To make an unemotional plea, for me it’s the variety of wines, their track record for aging, and most of all that the vineyard expression shines though in the wines, often trumping varietal expression. It shows through as a citrus acidity that you can pick up regardless of the grape, the wines just taste like Monte Rosso.
As far as greatest, I imagine there are many others for which we could make a case. ToKalon, Monte Bello, maybe up-and-coming James Berry. I have not tasted nearly the number of wines from these as I have from Monte Rosso though.
We opened a '94 Ravenswood Monte Rosso a couple weeks ago, and it was pretty close to perfect, although the dinner was such that taking notes would have gotten in the way of our enjoyment of it. The wine was surprisingly youthful, red fruit with orange blossoms and very light, silky texture.
Tom, we visited the Louis Martini Napa facility last year and we were really impressed with how they understand what’s at stake with Monte Rosso and the debt they owe to the Martini name. I think they really see the importance of Monte Rosso and they respect everything about the vineyard.
Interesting point about the Semillon, Tom, and one I very much agree with. Can’t think of too many other Semillon vineyards in California, though. Off the top of my head I can think of Dillian, Louis Mel, Yount Mill, Toffanelli… I’m sure I’m missing a few, but I think the reality is there aren’t a lot of them out there.
Yup, pretty much agree, Mike. There’s some good ones over in Livermore from which TerryLeighton makes his Kalin version. MattRorick/Forlorn-Hope also makes a superb
Semillon. Alas, Semillon is dismissed by some authorities as a “god-forsaken” grape and doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It does, in fact, make one of Calif’s
most ageable whites.
Tom
I used to buy a T Vine cabernet from the Monte Rosso vineyard which was really good. At a glance on CT, it looks like Sbragia, Martini, Arrowwood and August Briggs currently make cabs from there.
One of California’s great and most interesting vineyards? Definitely. California’s best vineyard? No way. Can anyone name a wine from MR that is the best or one of the handful of best wines made in California? If not, how can it be California’s best vineyard?
What’s the most expensive wine made from Monte Rosso fruit? I doubt it’s over $100. With so many $100+ cabs from across the mountain it’s easy to write off or forget Monte Rosso. I’d imagine the same for most of Sonoma cabs, too.
If it were California’s best vineyard, wouldn’t there probably be an ability to sell wines made from there for more than $100? Not that price = quality, but it would be like saying one of Baudry’s vineyards in the Loire is France’s best vineyard.
Is it maybe California’s best QPR vineyard? I’d give that statement more consideration.
I don’t think price is necessarily tied to quality. If Mouton wouldn’t have been promoted to a first growth what would prices be today? Even among first growths, most people I know would be comfortable saying that Haut Brion is the best of the five in most vintages and it is frequently the least expensive of the group.
A lot of the classifications in France have to do with politics and marketing and the status derived from that determines price, not purely quality.
For whatever reason, this wonderful vineyard produces incredible wines at fair prices. Maybe Gallo is low balling their grape pricing which reflects in the shelf price.
Part of the reason I love To Kalon is that some great cabs are sourced there, but there are also some great blocks (I & T) of relatively old sauvignon blanc. Mondavi’s I-Block Fume is pricey but fantastic. The Beckstoffer side has some excellent cab franc which I know Tor and Morlet use.
I have a feelong that in ten years Stagecoach will have established itself of one of the very best vineyards. It’s huge, with varying conditions, and has plantings that are still establishing.
Larry, I was gutted when I first read about what happened at Ruby Hill as well as Cresta Blanca. Have a sinking feeling that the original Chateau d’Yquem Semillon cuttings at Wente (El Mocho/Louis Mel) suffered a not entirely dissimilar fate.
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