Sourced from a neighbor of Ridge’s Monte Bello
- 95 pts James Suckling95 pts JS
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2021 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
95-Point Cabernet from Ridge Monte Bello Territory
Martin Ray was a pioneer of California viticulture, right alongside legends like Don Chappellet and Robert Mondavi. Mentored by the legendary Paul Masson, he crafted single-variety wines from 1943-1972 at what is today the Mount Eden winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. His wines were widely renowned and enjoyed by Presidents Johnson and Nixon.
If Martin Ray had the opportunity to taste a wine like this 2021 release, he’d be proud. Winemaker Courtney Benham and his team have harnessed the energy and structural ageability renowned in wines like the iconic Ridge Monte Bello, while giving dramatic lift, layers, and complexity to one of the finest 100% Cabernet Sauvignons from the Santa Cruz Mountains that we’ve tasted.
Benham has been working toward this since 1990. After finding some of Ray’s still-aging wine in a warehouse, Benham purchased the Martin Ray brand and set out to revive Ray’s mission of producing single-variety artisan wines, from a new home in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley.
Benham’s 2021 Martin Ray Vineyards & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon is “Exhibit A” of his commitment. This Cab’s main source, Fellom Ranch, is a plot of land adjacent to Ridge’s Monte Bello Vineyard, purchased by the late Senator Roy Fellom in 1929. The vineyard was planted by his grandson, Roy Fellom III, who painstakingly shaped steep hillside terraces at 2,200 ft. elevation, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and evenly. The nearby, organically-farmed Cooper-Garrod Vineyard down the hill contributes to this wine’s power and concentration.