Neil Valenzuela

9.5

Deep ruby color. Aromas blueberry, asphalt and RC Cola. Soft, gorgeous wine, full of blue fruits and delicate tannins- superb!! — 6 days ago

Ted

9.5

Superb glass of grape juice. Silky smooth. Outstanding!! — 21 days ago

with Jeni

Abigail McDonald

9.5

grapefruit notes, citrusy, pineapple notes, smells fresh and fruity, light, not much of an aftertaste, one of the best i’ve tried so far this semester and i don’t typically like whites — a month ago

with Jordyn

David Shaw

9.0

Lavender, blackberry and a little funk in nose in initial pour. Dense ruby red. Light body, slight skin astringency finish. Needs some time to open. Fairly tart. Raspberry flavor emerges first, then cherry. 24 hours later, fresh table grape character and seed tannins predominate. This is a solid light tasting table red with plenty of tannins for aging. I do find I miss the Zinfandel portion from earlier vintages but get more bottles of these and the style will grow on you — 3 months ago

Bryan Kesting

9.3

Plenty of secondary notes at 11 years of age. Drink up if you have them. — 11 days ago

Vino Joe

9.5

Wonderful wine. One of my favorite vineyards. This is always a high quality wine. This one is still young but getting its legs. Vibrant and fresh if not yet rounded out. There is complexity that will only build. The length is good now but I know will be significantly longer in near term. Cherry. Fig. Eucalyptus. Loved this wine. Looking forward to sampling the next few I have over ensuing decade. — a month ago

Victor Hsu

9.3

Privileged to sample the 2016 Monte Bello at the winery as part of their Library offerings. The bottle is $375 at the winery. Tight and tannic after 8 years (and half an hour of decanting) but promising much more. Josh at the winery concedes that it’s in a dumb phase but should reach its peak in 20-30 years. I could analyze and pick apart this one for hours. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over two days. Best on Day 2. The 2022 Carignane “Contra Costa County” pours a deep magenta with a near opaque core and an electric looking rim; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with a combination of tart and ripe black plums, black berries, licorice, soft baking spices, stony earth and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium and bright; energetic with lovely minerals. Lovely stuff. Drink now through 2032. — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1985 vintage. Nice fill. Excellent cork. Decanted and tasted after 15 minutes thru the 1.5 hours it lasted. Very little sed. Plenty of color. Light-medium body but got bigger and more developed after 45 mins or so. Tobacco, earth and cedar in spades along with dark fruit. This has plenty of life remaining at a high level. Wonderful stuff. 3.24.24. — a month ago

Paul J

9.0

PnP. Better than previous bottles of older vintages. Started out nice but became too tannic and rough for me. Not a ton of fruit present, more earth, herbs, and minerality. Decent depth. — 2 months ago

with Brooke