Martin G Rivard

10

Quick funny story:
Christine & I are LUCKY to have Kelly work in our office but we are BLESSED to be able to consider her and Darryl as dear friends.
We recommended to Kelly, prior to her going on vacation in Charleston SC, that they should stop by the Belmont hotel. They have a bar and restaurant that is 2nd to none in that area. Christine & I LOVE it!!!! Kelly sent me a quick text to say “hey, we’re at the Belmont! And about to have dinner!”
Being the goof ball that I am..... .....I called the Somm and said “I don’t care what they ordered, bring them a Shafer Hillside Select with some age on it!!!”. 10 minutes later he was decanting a 2003 Hillside Select table side! I love that hotel! Incredible service, incredible food and always a phenomenal experience! The only thing better are-our friends that are there right now!!!!

I didn’t Have a drop of this wine but I am scoring it a 10 based on experience alone!! It must have been “Badass in a Glass” as I always say!
I’ll let Kelly and Darryl fill in the official tasting notes!
by the way Kelly: don’t love SC tooooooo much, Christine & I can’t operate that place without you! See you next week! 👍👏👏👏👏👍
— 8 years ago

with Christine

Conrad Green

9.6

Very intense. Powerful gunpowder, flint, lime. A dazzling and broad midpalate. Really juicy and focused with none of the over-ripeness you sometimes see in 05. Killer. No signs of premox and will probably kick ass in 20 years on this showing. — 9 years ago

with Naoko and Larry

Pablo

9.1

Dark color, earthy, dark cherries and a bit of licorice (??). Silky smooth. Would drink again in several years to see how it continues to develop. — 9 years ago

Colin Nuckolls

9.7

I see what all the buzz is about with this vintage. Holy crap this amazing. Bacon fat and animal fur! Out of this world — 10 years ago

Ming L

9.0

Vanilla, cured meat, cherries, smoky, plum.... a bit of everything on the nose but in a very restrained and harmonized way. On the palate it tastes much like a Burgundy with earthy freshness and fine balance between acidity and alcohol. Medium finish with mellow tannins. For a 15 year old Grand Reserva Rioja, the price is unreal. I can certainly see why it's wine of the year in 2013 for Decanter. — 10 years ago

Flavio Menezes

9.0

Very powerful, extracted. Will still improve, as it took over an hour to open up. Good with food, but I clearly see why I drink less and less Bordeaux. — 10 years ago

Yianni Stone

9.0

Picked this up at Fatted Calf. Love to see 12.8%. Perhaps a little RS but very tasty. At $30 I'll take a case. — 11 years ago

with Haley

Sanjuana Walters

Skurnik Wines Domestic Portfolio, Freelance Writer

9.5

Sanjuana had this 11 years ago

S V

9.6

Elegant and smooth let tour. Quite beautiful and youthful. Beguiling aromatics. Gone too fast, and would've loved to see where it would have been in a few more hours — 11 years ago

Michael Lobaza

9.7

Excellent offering from ifyouseekaywine.com. — 13 years ago

Sarah O'Kelley

9.2

Love this Little known region and little known winery; they actually put the region on the map. They never released their wines as they saw it as a conflict of interest since they were instrumental in creating the Doc. The importer was able to buy their entire cellar resulting in Gems like this 2001 being available. It opened up into something complex and lovely. Dried fruit, earth & leather! — 8 years ago

Vincent Seufert

9.0

My Labor Day wine. Sad to see summer come to an end but alway looking forward to fall, which this wine is perfect for. — 9 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

This wine had some tobacco and earth FUNK after it was opened up. The herbaceous and tobacco ash note on the nose was almost identical to the 1980 Beringer State Lane cab. This did blow off after an hour, but the wine was less fruit than I thought it would have been. Lots of dark figgy jam. Tobacco and cigar box. I'm sure the fruit came back after I left, but this would have been 2 hours after opening and just didn't have the time to see this one though, hence the "NR" rating. Impressed by this wine, and probably one of the older Monte Bello wines I've been able to drink. — 9 years ago

with Benjamin

Diane Demetrioff

9.3

Such an awesome wine! Loved it. — 10 years ago

Roman Sukley

9.8

2000 vintage. Smoky, meaty, mushrooms, forest floor. Very Burgundian in character. Black currants, a little sassafras and a hint of mint. Look up complex in the dictionary and you'll probably see a photo of this wine. I was a little worried that this wine might have been over the hill, but now I'm a little sorry I opened it as this was my last 2000, and it has years to go. — 10 years ago

Diane Kessler

9.1

I've had my bottles for a couple of years but tasted this at the winery last month. It showed really poorly and felt I had to try one of mine and see if the winery had a bottle that was representative or an off bottle. Well, this one is singing. Beautiful red fruit, florals, a little smokiness, and a deliciously long finish. Nothing wrong with the wine, but why such a disappointment at the winery. — 10 years ago

Tiffany Olson

9.6

Ok... So haven't popped the cork yet, but it just arrived and really excited to see what others have to say! I'm just assuming I'm really going to like it — 11 years ago

Sharyn Grant

9.0

Big quality fruit bomb - 2006 - drinking softly now, open 2 hours. Would like to see if the fruit resolves over the next few years. — 11 years ago

Francis Plante

9.4

Wow - you know I had my biggest wine disappointment with a 1998 Beaucastel and this 2005 brings me back on why i pay so much for Grenache. It was an amazing experience and it is still so very young. I unfortunately broke my decanter with this wine but it was worth it. I am glad i still have 2 in my cellar. See you in 6 years brother. — 11 years ago

Rathapol Limthongchai

9.5

Cant remember. But will definitelybuy one next time i see one. — 13 years ago

Robert Harmelin

9.3

Superb has great aging potential can’t wait to see how things develop over the next 10 years — 8 years ago

Steven Gullo

9.2

Not a solid vintage but this is remarkable. Notes of menthol, eucalyptus, dried currants and a textural, lengthy finish. Could still see a few more years. — 9 years ago

.

9.3

Decided to open this to celebrate our oldest starting college today.

This is showing noticeably better than my last bottle, 2 yrs ago. It really benefitted from 2-3 hours of air and, at the 5+ hr mark, is still going strong. The nose is quite beguiling once it fleshes out and the palate is pure class. Unmistakably Napa in its ripe fruit, but there's a lot more going on than that here. Layers of flavor unfold over time and, along with nice supporting tannins, suggest that this one has a long and wonderful future ahead of it. I wish I had more to see where it goes. — 9 years ago

Lehshel Kolter

9.0

Oak dominates with hints of blackberry, black plum, and violet. I would like try the 2011 vintage again in a few years to see how the tertiary flavors develop. — 10 years ago

Eric Egan

9.5

From magnum; slow-oxed for three hours.

Lovely deep colour, with healthy (not flabby) bricking, though slightly shaken up from the car journey (despite having held it tightly all the way); enchanting nose, like standing in the depths of a cedar forest! Also hints of peppery leather, sweet liquorice, and pencil shavings. Lovely depth to the nose, permeating into the room as the meal progressed. Wonderful length (40s or more) and great balance, with well integrated but still firmish tannins and fantastically poised acidity.

I inspected the dregs the following morning (see picture) and the bottle still smelled amazing - even stronger than the night before, though the wine itself had started to flag a bit. Nonetheless an amazing drop! — 10 years ago

Jamie Prettitore

9.0

Interesting to see how it has evolved - nuts and savory more than lemon and zip — 10 years ago

with James and Lori Ann

Phyllis Skene-stimac

9.5

Fabulous wine! For the price point this drinks like a much more expensive wine. Fresh fruity perfectly balanced. — 11 years ago

Eric Grasser

9.2

Had to try it. Half-bottle. See you again in 20 years. — 11 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.4

2004 vintage. 86% Cabernet Sauvignon on the '04. Very good complexity, huge concentration and some very expensive carpentry applied on new French oak barrels. Bright acidity and fine grained tannins. Lovely aromas of black berry and black currant, plush oak, sweet spices and layers of complexity. Still very young. The structure should see this improve in bottle for many years to come. Outstanding. — 11 years ago

Jeff Totoritis

9.3

Gamay. I would love to see more of you. Such a bright girl.

Dare some Dutch Gouda for contrast of nut and berry.

— 12 years ago