"Odedi"

9.3

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Let's bring Merlot back!

Dark inky in color with a reddish rim.

Very pretty nose with black fruits, cedar, licorice, light vanilla, tobacco, chocolates, coffee, Indian spices, cola and light black tea.

Full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with sweet raspberries, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, chocolates, toast, light vanilla, dark coffee, Indian spices, light cola licorice and peppercorn.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a delicious 9 year old Merlot from Columbia Valley. Rich and extracted. Spicy and entertaining.

Peaking now and will continue to drink nicely in the next 5 years.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after 3 hours of airtime.

Nicely balanced with a soft mouthfeel. Smooth and elegant. Fruit forward and tangy. The high alcohol is well integrated by now.

Good by itself as a sipping wine.

A blend of 75% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. Aged for 22 months in (85% new) French Oak barrels.

14.9% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$75. — 5 days ago

B. Tutar

9.4

Delicious deep long finish — 22 days ago

Tom Garland

9.2

Pop and pour. A splendid medium straw color. On the nose: asian pear, crisp apples, lemon rind, almonds, floral. Taste: chalky, oily, vibrant wine with lemon zest, white peach, saline, slate, and a mineral lime peel long finish. YUM! Nice compelling wine at 19 years. — 17 days ago

with Brenda

Matt Forester

9.2

Very good and gets better with a few minutes open. — a month ago

Scott Kahn

9.5

Beautiful wine - one that has improved with age! Deep and rich color with a bouquet of cedar in the glass. Dark and plentiful fruit, integrated albeit present tannins, and a long finish. This is best Estournel that I have sampled! — 12 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Opened and double decanted several hours prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1996 pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with a lovely combination of ripe and desiccated fruit: cassis, brambles, horse blanket, cigar box, old leather, earth and spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Another lovely and immensely charming Poyferré. Drink now with a decant and through 2046. — 3 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Quite light lemon yellow , very persistent , fine bubbles . Quite taut and strict on the nose , chalk dust , white flowers , honey suckle and elderflower , lemon peel , touch oyster shell and a touch of fresh baked bread . On the palate really good volume and density , lively acidity . Lots of citrus with good mineral , oyster shell notes . Long and mineral , saline, tinged finish , hint of toasty brioche on the end . This is really quite young and shows tighter and more mineral than the first bottle we had . Would leave this a few years and will have a long life , better in 10 -15 years and last well a further 10 or so . Great potential — 2 days ago

Mary H

9.4

Happy New Year 🥂
Toasty brioche, green apple, key lime curd … perfectly long finish 👌🏻 — 21 days ago

Vino Joe

9.8

Phenomenal. Waves of tropical and succulent fruit. Thick and formidable but also long and layered. — 24 days 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. — 3 days ago