Alvaro Bustillos

9.2

Cesar mau sacal y carlos ramos — 3 months ago

Mark S.

9.0

After one hour, vanilla, black currant.blue and black berries. Red flower. Juicy. Concentration. Sweet with elegancy Caymus 21 @, 240118 — 5 months ago

Scott Kahn

9.5

Beautiful wine - one that has improved with age! Deep and rich color with a bouquet of cedar in the glass. Dark and plentiful fruit, integrated albeit present tannins, and a long finish. This is best Estournel that I have sampled! — 6 months ago

Steve Somermeyer

8.9

Very nice CA aromas & OK palate & finish. Suspect that the RS is 1-2%. Easy drinking red wine. — 6 months ago

LM Segal

9.7

Earthy and not giving away much initially, was worried after 20 mins. By 30 it blossomed, full on cassis and vanilla tannins, undergrowth. Dark red fruit, Rutherford dust. Notwithstanding a Bordeaux vibe there was no mistaking this for anything but a high-end Napa cab. Awesome one at that. I wouldn’t wait much longer… — 8 months ago

Mike Colantonio

9.4

Very smooth blend. Not too acidic. Not sweet. — 5 years ago

Amit Kumar

9.5

like a neighbor with a seductive surprise...
like strawberry on a summer evening...
its like wow, where did you come from...
is that juniper is smell...oh who cares?
great wine... — 5 years ago

Julian Gross

9.2

This is just a delicious brut rosé, really one of the best out there that isn’t four figures...beautiful fruit that melts on your tongue, just excellent — 6 years ago

Ericsson

9.4

Tasting notes during visit to the winery where absolutely everything is done in-house by hand; preserving centuries old winemaking traditions. In the Tondonia offering one can really appreciate the time and patience dedicated to crafting this wine. The wine evolves to a rustic yet graceful profile with strong notes of dark berries with slight oak and dark chocolate. On the palate the wine is bliss, medium bodied, fully integrated, with balanced acidity and a long finish.

The juice is fermented in old large wooden “tinas,” then transferred to American oak barrels (made in house to medium toast specifications), stored underground in their +100 year old cellars for at least a year. After that it is bottled and stored in the same underground cellars and finally released about ten years later. Learning about their curated winemaking process was inspiring. — 4 months ago

Jan de Weerd

9.6

Highlight of the night! And a surprise to some degree. I kind off had given up on Lynch Bages. Given the high price, to me, the 2015 and 2016 were below expectation. But, boy, this 2018 rung all bells. Super concentrated, layers of evolving dark cherry, blueberry, current flavors and a superb balanced finish. All one could wish for. — 5 months ago

with Tammy

Bob McDonald

9.5

A wonderfully balanced Cabinet blend from Bolgheri. Definitely Cabernet notes but so balanced that nothing stands out. Sassicaia is definitely Bordeaux First or Second Growth standard. Understated but irresistible nonetheless. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon; 15% Cabernet Franc. Probably one of the best non Bordeaux Cabernet blends. — 6 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Brief , informal notes . Medium garnet , garnet terracotta rim . Quite mature and tertiary with coffee , cacau , dark cassis and smoky notes . On the palate there are some sweet ripe dark fruits, meaty notes and a tobacco , soy tinged finish . Quite rounded sweet tannins and balanced acidity . Medium length finish , though just a little one dimensional , this shows pretty well overall . Drink now and over the next 5 years . — 8 months ago

Ian Staub

9.0

I’m a believer in terroir, but this wine, which is an absolute ringer for Chablis, throws everything in question. If this were grown at Rorick with its limestone that would make sense, but semillon from the Napa valley floor? Out of the bottle it’s quite lithe, showing lemon and a bit of seashell minerality, but with an hour of air it begins to show some crisp apple and white stone fruit, and some white flower. Lovely, unusual wine. Enjoyed with grilled salmon and salad. — 5 years ago

Jenks

9.1

Frequent crusher. Such lovely balance between oily custard texture and acidity. — 6 years ago

GaryWEdwards

9.5

Big lush, dark fruit that has not reached its peak window yet. But she ain’t far away. I was able to obtain a vertical of 01,02,03,& 04. My first foray into that vertical. No rush on this one but very impressed. Leather, pepper, if not cigar leaf here . Suffice it to say, there is a lot going on here and my lack of Cali knowledge has new intrigue — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.7

Of all the American red wines that participated in the Judgement of Paris, it could be argued that Monte Bello has shown the greatest propensity to age. In fact, I would go as far as it requires lengthy cellaring to extract its best. I’ve had the good fortune to drink a number of tremendous vintages of Monte Bello over the last several years and this one has got to be at or near the top of the lot.

Opened and poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1991 Monte Bello pours a deep ruby/purple color with an opaque core moving out towards a light ruby rim; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing (still!) with gorgeous notes of ripe and tart black currants, mixed bramble fruit, tobacco, some purple flowers, dill, mint, leather, earth, vanilla and associated baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. The structure remains tremendous which again, seems to indicate youth. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is super long and immensely satisfying. This is one of those wines that will outlive most humans. Drinking well now with a short decant but this has the gas to see 2061 with ease. — 5 months ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

When the weather gets colder sometimes I drink Bordeaux. Probably one of the best vintages for the Château along with ‘82, and it’s in a great spot. Classic mature Paulliac with terrific complexity, an alluring sweetness and long, balanced finish with fully resolved, silky tannins. Fully open and giving. — 7 months ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.6

Love this vintage for Yquem, one of my favorites in this time period along with 88, 90 and 01. Halfsie tonight to pair with the foie gras and then dessert! Nectar of the gods 😚 — 8 months ago

Benny

9.2

One of my favorites. — 5 years ago

Joyce Brooks

9.5

Dependable good taste! $13 H-E-B — 6 years ago