patrick_y[PuristSPro Moderator]
28404
I generally prefer French wines over Californians as well...
Aug 08, 2020,09:35 AM
Californian wines are way too "big" and take super long to age. They probably need to be aged an additional 10 years over their French counterparts for all the tannins to "mellow-out." I generally like my Californian Cabernet Sauvignons to be around 20 years old upon consumption.
I have experienced a beautiful Ridge Montebello that was a 1997 that I consumed in April 2019. What a beautiful wine. I'm also a Ridge member, so I taste the wines at the winery and frankly at 2-3 years old, they're all way too young, big, overpowering...
I agree with you that the Californian wines may not be as good as the French Bordeaux wines, but they're definitely worth checking out! Make a moment to stop by the next time you're flying through!