Joseph Barsky

9.8

2019 Vintage. Managed to cellar for 6 years and it was worth the wait as it is singing now. Loved it. Tannins have resolved and it has a lovely velvet mouthfeel with long finish. Balanced acidity to go with food. No rush to drink, will try to cellar further. — 8 months ago

Doug Powers

9.4

[En Magnum] This is absolutely a beautiful, 30-year-old, Beaucastel Rouge in large format, mostly clean (just a trace of Brett), red fruits, still some structure, but not tannic, balanced, complex layers of flavors, long finish, really a top-notch Beaucastel with old school ABV (13.5%)!, lovely!!! — 9 months ago

with Jim

Fiona Riley

10

Amazing wine — 2 years ago

Brandon T

9.6

My favorite in the TOP lineup hands down. Always great and paired well with shrimp and grits. — 4 years ago

Mattias Söderberg

9.2

Red fruit, lesthery nose!! — 6 years ago

with Andreas

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Pontet Canet tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron.

The 96 is a nice surprise add from Clyde’s cellar. Thank you Clyde.

This 96 is beautifully floral. The evolution is right around its peak. The body is medium full and the tannins soft. It’s an elegant beauty.

The fruits are ripe and delicious. Leaner blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries and shades of raspberries. Soft earth; dry top soil, dry rock, limestone minerals, old tobacco, soft leather, cedar with dry and withering red & dark florals. The acidity is like a waterfall. The long finish is well balanced fruit & earth and in a sweet spot.

Photos of; our dinner group, tasting room at Pontet Canet, the horse plows they still use in the fields and Chateau Pontet Canet. — 7 years ago

Steve Messinger

10

1990, perfection. Wonderful boutique of cedar box, clay, and sage. Medium bodied evolved tannins great depth w long finish — 9 years ago

Daron Watson

9.5

How'd the 375ml of '59 Chevy w mid-shoulder fill show?
#LIKEABOSS!
Nose of crushed leather furniture, cigar box, fig, Christmas cake, plum & hints of a red cherry cordial
Still a pop of acidity with the fruit, but richness dominated adding raisin to the flavors along w feral animale & shaved dark chocolate taking over on the lengthy finish — 10 years ago

Nick Wolfe

9.6

This is the 2013 Sluice Box El Dorado southern Rhone white varietal blend with 50% skin fermented. Beautiful copper-orange-gold color and slightly cloudy. Nose has sweet fruit, melon, a bit of citrus zest, and something floral in the way of a tropical garden after rain instead of perfumy roses. Palate shows a bit of exuberantly youthful grapiness, white stone fruit, white pepper, and freshness. This wine is medium bodied, balanced, and very pleasantly shows plenty of fine tannins. Really beautiful wine. — 12 years ago

Neal Krishna Devaraj

9.2

Interesting winery. Grenache Syrah blend. Spicy cinnamon and blackberries — 8 months ago

Tom Garland

9.3

2 hour decant. A marvelous medium garnet color (decent fine sediment). On the nose: dark berries, cassis, forest floor, sandalwood, pencil shavings, chocolate, and cigar box. Taste: layered, balanced, still young wine with dark cherry/plum, cedar, dark chocolate, charcoal, and a lingering tobacco/leather finish. YUM! No hurry, a long distance Las Cases. — 9 months ago

with Brenda

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2002 vintage. Nice fill, good cork. Decanted with a respectable amount of powdery sed. Smelled great during decanting. Tasted 1.5 hours after opening/decanting. Expected light body with delicate tendrils. Medium body with a light palate footprint. Holy shazzbaat. This was absolutely firing. Like top of the pops, straight up to number one. Exceptional knitting and in a perfect spot now. Go all the way back to the inaugural 1982 vintage with this winery’s cabernet…thought my all-time fave was the 1991 altho the 1986 and 1987 were special. The 2020, picked early, thus avoiding the fires, is phenomenal as well. This was on another level and have had approx 150 bottles of Spottswoode Cab in the last three + decades. It was probably the best out of all of them. Difficult to imagine Napa Cab better than this. Power and finesse on display. Not improving but can hold this intensity for another 4-5 years. 12.24.24. — 2 years ago

Willem Booij

9.2

Ok it’s not the greatest year, but this wine is very nice. A real classic Margaux with stil some dark forest fruit, some pencil and a box filled with vanilla stuffed Havana’s. Not a full bodied wine but a real charmer. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.7

Tried this 4 years ago! Deep Ruby with aromas of ripe dark fruits and complex spice. On the palate flavors of ripe concentrated blackberry, cherry and currants, still fresh and vibrant with a great mouthfeel, well balanced. Tannins were soft and full, long finish ending with cigar box spice, cedar and cacao. An elegant wine, developing nicely, great drinking now and will continue to develop through next decade. Wow! — 6 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.3

Fairly fruity on the nose. Hint of black pepper and something earthy/mineral. Flavor is very dry. Dried strawberries and red vines. Classic jammy Zin thing. Some pomegranate molasses perhaps. Fresh and zinfulliciuos. Plenty of tannin to give it more bite than Zin usually achieves. Complex. True. Enjoyable. — 7 years ago

Paul Koplitz

9.0

Best box wine I’ve had. Worth every penny. — 8 years ago

Colin Cahoon

9.4

Classic Rioja. Dark cherry and blackberry nose with cigar box in the background. More dark cherry, plum, leather and mocha on the palate. Chewy tannins and lingering acid through the finish. Powerful but balanced from start to finish. — 9 years ago

Joseph C Burke

9.3

1990 Deep ruby; nose of black cherry, tar and cedar; cherry and cassis on palate, bit of eucalyptus and herbs, sweet tobacco and cigar box. Much better than a bottle of '90 I opened 4 weeks ago which was tainted. — 11 years ago

Lisa Kinser

10

Great with Thanksgiving dinner! — 13 years ago

Doug Powers

9.5

Cigar box, cassis, lovely, complex and layered on the palate, long, lingering, very clean and fresh finish, this bottle is hitting on all cylinders, beautiful old Bordeaux to go with the rib roast!! — 8 months ago

with Jim

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.1

I don‘t know. This has so much oak it overpowers everything. Might need another 10 years to be approachable. Cigar box, black berries. Deep, big and profound. I am not sure I would spend 70$ on this. It needs much much more time. Probably needs to be open for 2 days. Out of the machine at the Wine House in LA. — 10 months ago

Judi Kruse

8.9

Great red - especially for the price. — 3 years ago

Gina Baretela Thompson

9.6

Had pilot noise but not an option I'm app. Dangerous wine, smooth and tasty. — 4 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.5

Auction bottle,
Wouldn’t pay release anymore, but auction price is worth it — 6 years ago

Garen Staglin

9.5

Eucalyptus, and cigar box. Cellared direct from winery. Holding up extremely well. Last bottle. 🥵 — 6 years ago

Bloody Amateur

9.5

Not a “Bordeaux guy” but that may be because I don’t/can’t get my hands on the real stuff. This was pretty revelatory. More floral and delicate and sensuous than I could’ve imagined for a broad category our server called “cigar-box.” — 8 years ago

with Gaurav

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

PJ

9.5

Great way to warm up on a 20 degree night! 🍷 — 12 years ago

Nicolas Ratsey

9.1

Wine spectator top 100 2013 — 13 years ago

Rachel Hughes

9.0

Shiraz (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (23%), Merlot (7%)
2009
Padthaway, Australia — 14 years ago