3 | Wine | Red, 2002

"This wine has well-integrated flavors, deep color and a full mouthfeel. It displays intriguing aromas of cassis, black cherry and dark chocolate, with undertones of sweet tobacco and cedar. Rich texture and a restrained oak framework support the opulent flavors of ripe blackberry, cherry and cassis."

"A candidate for one of the longest-lived Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines in California is Ridge’s Monte Bello. The 2002 Monte Bello Proprietary Red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, with more of the Cabernet component than the 2001 possesses. Aromas of white chocolate, charred oak, black currants, tar, cedar, and earth are followed by a full-bodied, tannic red that is not as fleshy or fat in the mid-palate as its older sibling."

"An amazing effort for the vintage, with black cherry compote and hoisin sauce notes layered with mineral, black tea, vanilla bean and dark cocoa. Long, supersilky finish is carried by fine-grained tannins."

"It has an incredibly intense nose, much more linear and focused than the more flamboyant 2000, with scents of dark cherry, creme de cassis and a touch of honey and melted dark chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied with a slight grainy texture on the entry, a hint of cooked meat inflecting the layers of toasty dark berry fruit. It is very harmonious and perhaps at this juncture, edgier and grittier than the millennial Unico."

"Time has served our Lot 263 2002 Ribera Del Duero Gran Reserva well, revealing an incredible nose of cedar, graphite, licorice, black pepper and sweet cigar smoke. It has incredibly pure plum fruit and a silken opulent texture paired with a powerful structure built for aging – this wine will go another 20 years easily. Fruit and earth meld seamlessly here and you can actually smell the minerality that runs the length of this beautiful wine."