Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Very pleasant blend out of Pauillac; 67% Cab Sauv, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cab Franc work so harmoniously together that delivers an enjoyable medley of red berries and black currant aromas and taste. This particular wine has been aged for 18 months in 75% new wood French barrels, which shows it finesse and precision on the elegant finish and mouthfeel. Unbelievably smooth and noble on the palate. Enticing finish and incredibly structured tannins. This wine can age beautifully! — 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. — 6 months ago

Joe DAscoli

9.3

Super sweet and oaky on first open but matured up with a 3 hour decant

Still quite fruity but with steak, it gives a lot of red berry fruit and the oak is reasonable and the sweetness is gone with the airtime.

Overall good wine but I thought it lost out to the Paul Hobbs LPV ‘14. — 7 months ago

Cristina M

9.0

Garnet-colored. Hits like it might be astringent but immediately smooths out and rolls across your tongue leaving a layer of tannins that diffuses nicely. If you swish it around, it will make you pucker. Very dry but buttery if you keep it centered in your mouth. I bought it because of an average rating of 9.3 for this 2020 vintage but I don’t think I’d rank it that high. Maybe a 9.0, a little disappointing for $50. — 8 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Drinking well with its dried red fruit, berry, cassis , cedar, leather, earth, graphite & tobacco notes. Sadly my last btl out of 2 owc’s purchased on release — 9 months ago

Bob Bath

Master Sommelier & Educator CIA Greystone

9.2

Out of magnum — 3 years ago

Conrad Green

9.0

Slight marmalade, hints of honey. A bit like aged Chenin in character. Still fresh but a little tangy. Fleshed out — 3 years ago

with BOT, Matt and 1 other

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Deep ruby , thin pink rim . Fresh cassis , blackberry , quite spicy with a touch of vanilla, red plum . Quite open and enticing . On the palate this is somewhat linear with cool dark fruits , cassis , red plum , grafite and saline touch . Fills out well with quite grippy , cool tannins , fresh acidity , and good length with grafite , cassis finish . This is obviously not ready , however it was an enjoyable wine to drink over dinner , the freshness and cool fruit character are quite apparent , and the tannins though gritty are somewhat in the background . Though it was worth the experience , I would leave bottles a further 10 years before trying another. This is an elegant and well judged wine . — 4 months ago

Vijay Parikh

9.5

This bottle knocked it out of the park! Beautifully balanced, white flowers, honeyed elegant with a superb finish perhaps the best version of this terroir I have had — 6 months ago

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

Shay A

9.5

After missing a ‘70s and ‘80s Heitz vertical many years ago, I vowed to seek out a bottle as all the comments from the tasting were astoundingly positive. My last bottle of Heitz Martha’s was the ‘01 (which was great) a few years ago, but at 46yrs, this was quite the experience.

The ‘78 has a bit of a legendary status, so expectations were high. Upon opening, the cork was in good shape (sigh of relief) and the color was unbelievably dark ruby with some bricking (another sigh of relief). The singular signature menthol/eucalyptus began to fill the glass, alongside aromatics of red berry fruits, espresso, some sort of sweet brown sugar/caramel note, and a savory-graphite type note too. Beautifully elegant on the palate with more red fruit, herbs (bay leaf?), and even some pipe tobacco (subdued, not in your face), but it sports the classical old Napa cab profile that is pure. Spectacular wine, and I could simply smell the wine all day…the aromatics were so powerful the entire time.

Open in bottle for three hours and powered through the entire time. Wish I had another so I could have the same experience! — 7 months ago

Slestyan

9.2

Tasty but a little out of age — 9 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

I never would have anticipated drinking my birth year of Cheval Blanc out of a Solo cup yet, here we are. The ‘81 is ruddy still; deep garnet color with some browning towards the rim and loads of sediment. The nose shows some of the telltale green-ness of vintage but everything has found harmony: the fruit has blossomed and structure has integrated. Dark fruited with tobacco, dried purple flowers, mushrooms, herbs and soft eastern spices. Charming! No particular rush to drink these but lovely now. — 9 months ago

Vino Joe

9.5

The goal was to only pour out half with the Coravin. This wine had other ideas. The whole Magilla came out and man was it nice. Perfectly blended and packing lots of power as well as finesse. So glad this is in its drinking window. Nice change of mix from Italian wines. — 5 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Medium lemon yellow , fine bubbles . Quite restrained and mineral focused on the nose , then lemon confit , quince, touch of orange flowers, with some pastry notes , white flowers , honeysuckle also . Quite intense and mineral on the palate , fills out well with some lemon oil and pastry notes also , but this is reserved and elegant in style , more mineral , chalky and more intense than the 2013 had last week. Really refreshing acidity . Long and complex on the finish , I would imagine this needs more time than the 2013 too. Come back in 5 years , will show well for a further 10-15 years , perhaps longer. Very promising . — 5 months ago

Daniel M

9.2

You're not 40 every day and I wanted a special wine to celebrate that special day. Fortunately the wine bar / open kitchen restaurant we went to had that special wine, amongst 400 references, that I had been desperate to taste for a long while. I didn't take notes so it's all from memory, but the nose is what I liked the most. Coconut notes, leather, cherries, coffee... I spent probably 15 minutes in total smelling that wine. The palate was great with some acid drive, some matter but not in an overwhelming way, some gentle, well integrated tannins in the rear, before a long finish with savoury notes, red fruits, coconut and that gentle grainy tannic layer. A great experience to top up a day to remember.
Oh and if you happen to be in Warsaw, Poland and be looking for a great wine place, make sure to check out Kontakt - wino & bistro. — 6 months ago

Mike Evans

9.5

Leather, raspberry, and hints of minerals and dark chocolate, with fine tannin giving it support, some anise comes out with air, great depth and complexity, drinking incredibly well. — 7 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2000 vintage. Last tasted 9.25.23 (9.2) after 1.5 hours decanted. Popped and decanted this for lunch. Great fill and solid cork. Throwing a bit of sed but less than anticipated. Meh nose. Medium body initially. Started off on the rich side of the ledger but not plush. Had some smoothness afoot. Tasted after 45 mins open, 1.75 hours open and 8 hours open. First two were unspectacular. After lounging in the decanter 8 hours, wine had firmed up, thinned out, picked up plenty of secondary flavors and had that previously missing grip. If you're gonna open this during the holidays or anytime soon, do it very very early...otherwise, it'll be a total waste. Wine has miles to go. No rush to crush but just air it out in advance properly. 10.16.24. — 9 months ago

David Leiman

9.4

1984, surprisingly tanic, acidic, and Heavy dried fruit, prunes and dried figs. over oxidized tasting at first but interesting. From producer to cellar at breakers in palm beach. Small leak out the bottle on one side of the cork. Over time it settles and the dried fruit subsides and then the lighter acidic flavors of fresh berries comes forward. — 3 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