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Blueberries, currants and flowers. The nose just pops out. Intense. Full body, with a round and velvety tannin structure and lots of currants, ripe strawberries. Very intense every. Black pepper at the finish. Muscular yet toned. Very structured yet balanced. This needs a minimum of four to five years of aging. Paul Draper says that perhaps this is as great as the legendary 1991. Made for aging.James Suckling | 97 JS(Cabernet Sauvignon “Monte Bello”- Ridge Vineyards) The 2007 Monte Bello weighs in at a very grown up 13.1 percent alcohol and is a great, great wine in the making. The nose is deep, complex and flat out brilliant, as it offers up scents of pure cassis, a touch of bell pepper, tobacco leaf, espresso, a beautifully complex base of soil and a deft touch of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and utterly seamless, with a rock solid core of fruit, beautiful, nascent complexity, ripe, well-integrated tannins and stunning length and grip on the palate-staining finish. A stellar Monte Bello. (Drink between 2022-2075)John Gilman | 95 JGRelatively fat for a Monte Bello, this wine shows its richness in fruit rather than playing on weight gained from oak. The freshness of the fruit keeps it firm, finely balanced and clean, a more accessible young wine than this vineyard tends to give. There's a pure cassis flavor running through it, emphasizing the clarity of lovely, ripe Cabernet. As approachable as it may be now, it's substantial enough to age for a decade or more.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SA retaste of the flagship wine, the 2007 Monte Bello (a blend from this famous estate of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc) reveals a dense ruby/purple wine with a floral, blueberry, and earthy cassis nose and elegant mid-weight flavors with impressive purity and classicism. There is good acidity, firm tannin, and modest alcohol (13.1%). This is not the most concentrated or powerful Monte Bello, but one built on finesse and elegance. According to the back label, only 41% of the production made it into this wine from the 103-acre estate vineyard. Give this wine another good 5-7 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 20-25 years.Robert Parker | 92+ RP(13.1% alcohol): Bright ruby-red. Pungent, fresh scents of currant, mocha, tobacco leaf, graphite minerality and brown spices, plus a whiff of leather. A penetrating, youthfully tight midweight with a lovely claret-like balance of currant fruit, minerals and herbal, tobacco-leafy elements. Smooth in texture but enlivened by elevated, almost peppery acidity. Finishes with an element of energy and finesse I don't find in many high-octane Napa Valley examples from this vintage, but then this is a less massive style of Cabernet. The persistent finishing flavors blow past the firm tannins but there's little in the way of easy sweetness today. In fact, I suspect this wine is passing through a sullen stage.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

The textural component to this wine, and all of those from Rhys, is worth the price alone. The nose starts with aromas of lemon curd, baked orange and a light nutty tone before the palate’s chalky texture engages the entire mouth as citrus flavors abound.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2021 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains is a peek at the stellar produce of Rhys’s 2021 single-vineyard white wines. The nose opens with fresh, racy aromas of sea spray, lemon curd and Granny Smith apple. The mid-palate displays a level of creamy richness that takes substantial cellaring to unlock in the rest of the lineup. The signature tension and angularity of the Rhys style are present, albeit with a welcomed softness and generosity of texture. Readers holding this admirable array of wines should start here and hold off on the single-site wines for at least a few more years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPI love the nose on the 2021 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains, which feels lifted and briny with aromas of wildflowers, white peaches, honeycomb, and candle smoke. A blend of three vineyards, it’s medium-bodied to full-bodied and rounded through the midpalate, with a silky mouthfeel and a long, savory finish. As with the Anderson Valley Chard, this is going to drink well now or over the coming 6-7 years, and it’s a great value.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2021 Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains) is a gorgeous appellation level wine, and also a wine that will drink well with minimal cellaring, unlike most of the 2021s. Lemon confit, marzipan, dried flowers and chamomile all grace this soft, open-knit Chardonnay from Rhys. Bright saline notes extend the super-expressive finish. Terrific.Vinous Media | 92 VMBright and distinctive, with notes of tangerine, orange blossoms and lemon curd that show a hint of toasted sesame. Offers aromatic details of fennel, nutmeg and dried ginger, with a note of sea spray and a long, expressive finish. Drink now. 1,200 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS