Theo Cowan

9.5

30 years old. Deep golden amber color. Mild acidity, medium/full body. Complex pear, banana. — 2 months ago

Victor Hsu

9.3

Privileged to sample the 2016 Monte Bello at the winery as part of their Library offerings. The bottle is $375 at the winery. Tight and tannic after 8 years (and half an hour of decanting) but promising much more. Josh at the winery concedes that it’s in a dumb phase but should reach its peak in 20-30 years. I could analyze and pick apart this one for hours. — 4 months ago

Jeremy.Buss

9.2

Let this decant for 45-60 minutes and definitely helped open it up. Nose has slight bouquet of dark berries along with cherry and hints of leather. A very light jam flavor in mid palate and subtle tannins that make this wine something you can merely sip away or combine with a meal. — 5 months ago

Jose Lorenzo

9.3

Thanking my team — 7 months ago

Ed Chin

8.9

Something awkward about this. Good fruit and structure though. — 7 months ago

Brian Grech

8.9

Pale straw color but rich body, low fruit and medium minerality, and a touch of salinity. Very dry. — 9 months ago

with Ashley

Steve Gerths

9.4

1886 vines from the great Monte Rosso vineyard. This was a very nice cherry fruit red zinfandel. — 2 years ago

Nicole Noakes

9.0

This was quite good, both with food and just to drink by itself. Would get again. — 2 months ago

Craig Becraft

8.9

Appealing subtle vibrancy stone fruit underline, mineral nice interweave of flavors very pleasant wine — 3 months ago

Javier Alonso

9.5

2009
Excelente vino
16,5 grados ensamblados a la perfección
380€ — 4 months ago

Blake Anderson

9.4

Lovely oak smell, medium-full bodied, dark fruits, lightly dry. — 6 months ago

with Kaito

Jay Kline

9.2

This used to be Montevertine’s “second” wine (after Pergole Torte, obviously) but the vineyard was torn out and replanted in 1998. After that, their eponymous bottling was elevated to take its place while “Pian del Ciampolo” eventually became the “third” wine. Truthfully, they are all three different expressions of Radda so don't take my numerical rankings as a hierarchy of quality (though one could certainly make arguments in terms of importance). I digress, “Il Sodaccio” is producing fruit once again however, the singular expression is now history. This bottle represents “Il Sodaccio’s” swan song.

From magnum. Opened about four hours prior to service. The 1997 “Il Sodaccio” pours a garnet color moving to a slightly orange rim. Medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous but surprisingly spry given it’s a quarter century old. The fruit is more or less a mix of ripe and dried cherries, red plums, curaçao, cacao, porcini, dusty earth and some warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins that have well integrated but still there. Acid is medium as well. Confirming the notes from the nose. The fruit is round while the finish is long and a touch savory. A lovely expression of Montevertine that extolls the virtues of the 1997 vintage with its abundant fruit and soft, friendly character. I mentioned to our guests that this bottle gave me the feeling of a warm hug from an old friend. Drinking well now and while I don’t expect further positive development, this magnum certainly has the legs for another 10 years. — 7 months ago

Benjamin Shirk

9.3

McCarthy & Schiering, $11

Bursting with tropical flavors, lots of pineapple and guava, almost reminds me of POG juice. Balanced with a crisp acidity and very easy to drink. Amazing for the price, I immediately went back and grabbed 2 more bottles — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1985 vintage. Nice fill. Excellent cork. Decanted and tasted after 15 minutes thru the 1.5 hours it lasted. Very little sed. Plenty of color. Light-medium body but got bigger and more developed after 45 mins or so. Tobacco, earth and cedar in spades along with dark fruit. This has plenty of life remaining at a high level. Wonderful stuff. 3.24.24. — 3 months ago

Anthony De Blasi

9.4

Good Aglianico from Puglia. Nice sweetness and more polished tannins since my last bottle. Very aromatic nose. — 4 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

Speris began working as vine growers in Valpolicella seven generations ago. Deep Ruby with aromas of dried berry fruits and sweet smoky spices. On the palate flavors of ripe plum and sweet berries with cacao, spice and fig flavors. Fine tannins, long complex rich finish ending with fruit, tobacco and earthy notes, good structure. Will continued to get better with age, good now. Sustainable. — 5 months ago

Roger Ray

9.1

"this is a wine made from Portugal grapes, and poor, stony soils and in a continental climate characterized by wide temperature ranges. Composed of regional great varieties - predominantly the aragonez, sarah, and Torigo National, it reveals the typical character of its origin. It is intense with rich aromas, complex flavors and is an excellent partner to good food," — 7 months ago

Todd Anderson

9.0

Lower than usual 14.5.%. Well made - wish I would have drunk earlier for fresher fruit. — 9 months ago

Tom Garland

9.2

1 hour decant(little fine/cloudy sediment). A breathtaking dark magenta color. On the nose: jumping from the glass are stewed cherries/plum, herbaceous, licorice, roasted meat, earth, touch of menthol. Taste: elegant, juicy, velvety wine with dark cherry, pepper, chocolate, cedar, and a anise/tobacco medium plus finish. From the Sonoma side of the Mayacamas mtns. Purchased on a recent visit...beautiful indoor/outdoor tasting room featuring their small production wines. If you want to throw down some serious change they offer a terrific multi course food and wine pairing in the underground cellar. — 10 months ago

with Brenda

Erica Calka

8.9

Easy drinking went great with pizza! — 2 years ago