Martin Sher

9.3

Perhaps a little past prime, but these two Alexes from the mid 90s are so wonderfully elegant. — 5 years ago

Philip Dobrin

9.1

A little muddled. Great nose but exhibits neither the complexity of a mature wine nor the structure of one its prime. — 6 years ago

Paul Krzych

9.1

Well worth the price. Drinking very well and perfect with prime rib. — 7 years ago

CYesh

9.0

A bit past it’s prime but the bones are still there. Delicious. — 8 years ago

Christian Ford

9.0

Quite nice but clearly way past it's prime for this half bottle — 8 years ago

Palmer Emmitt

Owner/Winemaker Judge Palmer

9.4

I think my first Monte Bello and it does not disappoint. A very charming wine with an intriguing tomato component backed up by tons of cassis - "classic" California Cab. Great structure and for me in its prime right now (from half bottle). — 8 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

9.4

Ideal maturity! Like Pontet-Canet and Leoville-Barton, Gruaud made a better 1994 than the more famous 1995 & 1996. This isn't just good for an off year- with prime rib it is great cassis loaded, medium bodied, vibrant claret. — 9 years ago

Diabolus In Vino

9.0

Light bodied, past-prime, but classic fruit. 😋 — 10 years ago

Damon Slachter

9.2

@Greg Wirth now this is some good stuff — 11 years ago

Davis Smith

Sommelier Acquerello

9.1

A customer thought this was past its prime. That's fine, more for me. — 11 years ago

Michael Phillips

9.2

Brownish edge restrained nose leathery and garrigue at or slightly past prime but still lovely — 5 years ago

Cory Bolton

9.6

I have an affinity to Mike Smith wines. Let this baby breathe for a couple hours and it opens up well. Prime for drinking now — bold, dense fruit flavor that you’d come to expect from a Napa cab powerhouse wine maker. Full body and long peppery finish. Still a winner in my book. — 6 years ago

Chad Thompson

8.9

Might be the bottle but just a bit past its prime. Still good - sweet core, good acid, dark fruits. — 7 years ago

Bill Bender

9.6

Silky sexiness. Black licorice, tobacco, bruised plum. An ethereal experience paired with prime porterhouse, black truffle and foie gras. Can’t get much better for me on a warm San Diego October night. — 8 years ago

R Henderson

8.9

A little past its prime, but still drinking fairly well. — 8 years ago

Matt Brock

8.9

2 days open and still prime. Jammy cab with lots to offer: a little fruit on the nose, a little spice on the finish. Always a winner. — 9 years ago

with Jennifer

Will Rogers

9.4

Prime 47 Indianapolis NFL Combine — 10 years ago

Steve Anderson

9.1

Bonus Wine #2 after Arietta wine dinner. a bit of barnyard on the nose. Consensus was this was past prime, but still a nice treat. Thanks @Dustin Cano ! — 10 years ago

David Stein

9.0

Give it some time to open before drinking. Prime time for this 2001 vintage. — 11 years ago

John Wight

Sommelier/Wine Director Luce Restaurant

10

1982
At us prime! Stunning n gorgeous ! — 11 years ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.2

Blackberry jam nose with some leather, tar and leaf litter. Color is quite opaque and garnet with just a little bricking. Lots of dark ripe fruit and preserved fruit on the palate. Full body, quite rich, powdery, and tannins still quite prominent. Very satisfying. Just entering its prime- may be better in 5-10. — 5 years ago

Benjamin Keator

9.5

Unfortunately we were not able to give this a proper decant this time. Nonetheless the quality and finesse still shines through. IMO the 2003 is just now entering it prime drinking window. Tannins have softened nicely. Good fruit integration. Still needs a bit of time in the glass to open. Over the course of an hour it was only getting better and better. Wish we had had time to do a 4-5 hr decant. — 7 years ago

with Jimmy

Justin Sun

9.4

A little past it’s prime - but that nose tho. Wowzers. — 7 years ago

Louis Taylor

9.0

We liked this wine, full bodied with a fruity bouquet. — 8 years ago

Seiji Takeuchi

9.1

Japan! Love this beer! — 8 years ago

Richard Adams

9.7

Outstanding purity and balance. Prime window now. — 9 years ago

Jack Clare

9.5

Decanted, it was outstanding all evening...not early or late, in its prime! — 10 years ago

Adam Jesberger

9.0

Beaucaillou means beautiful stone. This for sure is beautiful, but a bit one sided right now. The nose is elegant, delicate and complex. The nose has loads of rotting macerated black cherry and dried black currants. For sure what one would love from an aged bordeaux, however, the palate was a bit flat. Mainly earthy and herbaceous and lacking fruit. The nose barely translated to the palate besides its sage and dried mushroom like earth. I did love it, but i think it could have shown better fruit on the palate a few years ago. Very difficult for me to find that perfect scale of aged tertiary notes with enough fruit presence to keep it balanced. This, for me, was past its prime. Not what id expect considering Bordeaux's classic aging ability. — 10 years ago

Kurt Krestinski

9.0

Smooth. Dark purple. Hints of blackberry raspberry and grapefruit. — 11 years ago

Rick Baumgarten

9.9

Prime time. Soft as velvet — 11 years ago