For Christmas dinner this year it was just Helen and I, so I wanted a meal that would not generate a lot of leftovers. I ordered a couple of Wagyu ribeye steaks from D'Artagnan, which I prepared using Alton Brown's recipe. I served them with honey-glazed carrot coins and potatoes au gratin.
I poured a 1995 Ridge Monte Bello, which is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc, and for which I provided a detailed note on my blog in December 2013.
The cork on this bottle disintegrated upon opening and I ultimately had to push the remnants through the neck into the wine, which necessitated decanting through an unbleached coffee filter in a funnel. In short, an even worse mess than the 2013 bottle.
In 2013, I thought this wine was still too young. Tonight, however, it was drinking very well. To be sure, it's still very youthful in appearance--a deep ruby. The intense bouquet suggests cassis, blackberries, and blueberries. On the palate, the tannins have softened quite a lot, making it much more pleasant to drink. There are still a lot of red and black fruit associations, but there are now also maturity markers like leather and tobacco. I think it has at least another decade of potential improvement, but I would not blame you if you opened it tonight. Grade: 95
