Brent Young

9.5

Sweaty Animals? Yes please

DAY 1
👃Complex. Distinctive. Amazing. Charcoal, pepper, sweet dark cherries, smoke, barnyard, sweaty animals, earth, garrigue & violets
👅Full bodied. Complex. Balanced. Purple/red fruit, thyme, licorice & pepper. Silky. Finishes with mod+ tannic pull. Delicious
Note: With time in the glass the nose and palate lost some focus and animation. Still drinking well but probably lost 2-3 points

The remaining wine was Slow Decanted in my refrigerator

DAY 12
Slow Decanting this wine did not improve this wine. Just as with Day 1, letting the wine aerate resulted in less intensity. The wine did not develop any faults and was still a very nice glass. It just wasn’t the firecracker it was on first pour

Verdict: A fantastic wine. It was best as soon as it was poured on Day 1. I would not decant this wine or give it extra time in the glass.

Question: I have noticed this with many CdPs in the past. They do not do well with aeration. And it seems particularly true of wines with more structure. Anyone else notice this? — 3 years ago

Michelle M

9.7

Softly polished subtle notes of summer berry bushes, firecracker smoke, faint hints of prunes, pine bark, and candy cane in the bouquet. Prune juice, tart cherry, vanilla extract with strong chalky tannins puckering the tongue.... stronger blackberry and softer tannins emerge after a full 24 hours (!) in the decanter. Always a fun little adventure to smell and taste this one. — 5 years ago

Austin Hohnke

9.5

Works every time. So fresh and youthful. 13.5% alc. Always a great pleasure to try a Monte Bello. Didn’t drink enough to admire all the layers, but it’s gonna be a firecracker. — 8 years ago

Austin Hohnke

9.3

Like an intelligent child, testing the limits of manipulation. This is gonna be a firecracker in 10 years. Suppressed black pepper and olive notes with a muted floral nose and tightly wound fruit. Call me crazy, but this has a ruby grapefruit quality to it right now. Just an infant. — 9 years ago

David Kline

9.2

Muddy old girl, rusty brown with a shock of bone white wisps, shoreline lacing with mangrove roots. Whiskey soaked raisins and grilled peaches leap from the glass. Firecracker flavors of gun powder and rum barrels of American oak. Match-singed paper, ginger and root beer. Soy-carmelized eel, dark, unsweetened chocolate. Licorice extract, toasted coconut, burnt bay leaf, espresso. Brooding beauty that has no quit in her. — 10 years ago

with Courtney

Liz Aragon

9.3

There is no need to have anything sweet after dinner, this blend temps the palate to a fancy texture; creme brûlée anyone? It reminded me also of a cozy breakfast with crepes and sweet cream or Belgian waffles with warm maple syrup, a breakfast delight. — 11 years ago

William Paley

9.3

water candy, rose, caramel, grapefruit skin, firecracker, white pepper, garment dust, red hots — 4 years ago

with Jess

Ely Cohn

9.3

Rose with no inferiority complex. Pradeaux is rich and exciting. A glowing firecracker. Haribo Cherry gummies - oily, the freshly opened kind. Then classic notes - red ripe strawberries, raspberries, blood orange, Vietnamese cinnamon. Rosemary and thyme sneak right in.

Big, round, a complete circle. — 4 years ago

Emily Virgil

9.6

Delicious, peppery firecracker 🧨 of a wine!! — 7 years ago

gino CapitalG

Round Pond Wine & Olive oil educator/sales

9.3

Really nice and perfect for my wife bday. Happy 4th to my firecracker wife. #bubbles — 7 years ago

Raj Harb

9.5

Firecracker — 8 years ago

Ryan Sherman

9.2

#firecracker — 10 years ago

boyd

9.2

Nose has a little burnt firecracker action but the palate is completely on time. Lemon rind and almost like a cheesecake situation. Finish just goes and goes. Gives a nod to every single tastebud. If I could afford it, I'd drink these wines like they are the cure. — 11 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.8

Speechless…
Guigal La Doriane meets Aubert Ritchie and then back to Chapoutier l’Oree.
Monumental wine showing mesmerizing notes of tropical fruit and flowers. Deep, rich and intense. Pine-Apple and papaya, firecracker, ginger and candied lemon. Such an impressive and heavy-handed wine… yet Its fantastic acidity makes this is so complete, so hedonistic, so cerebral….
Just great.. 🤙🏻 — 4 years ago

Michelle M

9.4

Black cherry, prunes, blackberry bushes, cocoa powder, burnt toast, and firecracker smoke on the nose. Similar notes on the palate, short juicy finish but slightly chalky tannins linger quite a while. Had more the next day, it’s changed quite a bit. Smoke smells are tempered, cherry smells are stronger. Same with the palate - stronger fruit, softer wood influences. Mouthfeel is still juicy but more polished, astringent fruits and spicy tannins on the finish decrescendo more slowly and skillfully, and a touch of Szechuan peppercorns linger a long time. Had to bump up my rating. Definitely recommend opening the bottle a day prior to drinking
— 5 years ago

Willem Booij

9.6

This is a firecracker of a wine! Very soft and open with a enormous length. Love the fat, spicy taste. This is pure silk and now very enjoyable. — 6 years ago

Ira Schwartz

9.2

Citrus and fading oak on the nose. In the mouth it reminded me of sushi as this bottle was all about texture. Sat in your mouth but then started to build like a firecracker with a long fuse. Slowly citrus flavors and nut flavors are joined by apple skins and sets up camp on your tongue. Squats there but never explodes . — 7 years ago

Kim Kolb

8.9

Minerals and some gun flint on the nose with hints of chocolate. Has a little firecracker taste! Mineral and gun flint follow on the tongue! This is such a rugged Pinot! Love it! Almost for those that truly can enjoy such a big daddy Pinot! — 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.2

2007 vintage. From Jay. Clusel-Roch Cote Rotie "Les Grandes Places" - Quite the little firecracker. Very sexy and seductive on the nose with the rich scent of blackberries and ripe black cherries wrapped up in an envelope of smoke. Very lush on the palette mirroring the elements picked up on the nose with the presence of cracked black pepper. Fruit forward but with good balance...there is no lack of acidity here and the tannins are precise and well integrated. Very decadent wine but in a sophisticated fashion...St. Moritz in the '60s. Lovely ruby colour. Punches above its weight. Drink now to 2020. 92/100.

— 10 years ago

Mandy Morkrid

9.0

Very fruity — 12 years ago