1997 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains from this lot has the following scores - Vinous 94 points, The Wine Advocate 94 points, Falstaff Magazine 93 points, CellarTracker 93 points, Tom Cannavan 93 points, Jeff Leve The Wine Cellar Insider 92 points. This is the tasting note for 1997 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains from Robert Parker - The product of a generous crop and a balmy vintage, the 1997 Monte Bello continues to show beautifully, wafting from the glass with an expressive bouquet of cassis, dried cherries, menthol and loamy soil, lavishly framed by new American oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, supple and open-knit, with largely melted tannins and a generous personality, which is all tied together by the bright thread of acidity that's such a signature of this site. Despite being seemingly fully mature, an open bottle held up beautifully over three days. Even after extensive crop thinning, yields in 1997 were around two tons per acre—high by this bottling's modest standards—and the blend was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, attaining 12.9% natural alcohol.