Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Ridge Vineyards – Chardonnay – 2023
Monte Bello Estate Vineyard – Santa Cruz Mountains – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
A mountain-born Chardonnay from one of California’s most historic estates. The long, cool 2023 growing season delivered a wine of vibrant energy and varietal purity, shaped by indigenous fermentation and extended lees aging. Ridge once again proves that Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains can rival the world’s finest in precision and longevity.

Aromas & Flavors
Lemon zest, green apple, and white peach lead with lifted notes of chamomile, fresh herbs, and wet stone. Subtle toasted hazelnut and light vanilla cream echo softly from the barrel work, never overpowering the fruit.

Mouthfeel
Bright, linear acidity frames a medium-bodied palate with tension and focus. Silky texture from nine months on the lees adds quiet depth, finishing mineral, citrusy, and long.

Food Pairings
Grilled branzino, butter-poached lobster, roast chicken with herbs, shaved fennel salad, or creamy burrata with olive oil and sea salt.

Verdict
Beautifully balanced, mountain-driven Chardonnay that captures Ridge’s signature restraint and purity. Enjoy now or follow for the next decade, this vintage will reward both patience and curiosity.

Did You Know?
Ridge ferments its Chardonnay with indigenous yeasts and relies on minimal SO₂, crafting the wine with a philosophy closer to Burgundy than to typical California richness. The Monte Bello Estate vineyard sits at high elevation on fractured limestone soils, one of the rarest soil types in California for Chardonnay. — 6 days ago

Norman

9.5

Winemaker dinner at Nari. Fabulous and if not tied for WOTN it might win in some cases. — 4 months ago

WC Fields

9.0

Young. Nice to check in on these Horseshoes but I’ve learned they can go the distance. A few more years and this will unfurl. — 6 months ago

Elmars

9.0

This wine is of exceptional quality. While it may have been slightly premature to consume (released in 2021), it exhibited pronounced tannic characteristics. — 2 months ago

Janice in Livermore

9.0

2019 Cab at Kuumbwa Jazz Club in Santa Cruz. Raul Midon concert. — 3 months ago

Sam Rubin

9.6

Very complex strong Pinot noir. Antonio’s 60th in Nantucket!!! — 3 months ago

Colleen Tomasello

9.2

Full bodied and with a great taste of oak. So rich in flavor. — 4 months ago

with Mike

Ericsson

9.2

Current release. Still need much time in the bottle, but will show well in about a decade. — 2 months ago

Todd Anderson

9.2

Lovely delicate fruit balanced with some complexity. In a good drinking window. Paired well with grilled salmon for dinner — 3 months ago

Pooneet K

9.0

Not as good as the bottle we had 2 years ago. All of the great lemon peel and minerality and texture and acid are still there - but this is oddly lacking on the mid palate, so you get a nice entry and exit but not a lot of meat in the middle. — 3 months ago